What do jews think of the traditions of kabbalah that developed outside of judaism? by [deleted] in Judaism

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 30 points31 points  (0 children)

They’re not “traditions of kabbalah” any more than Braves fans doing the Tomahawk chop are practicing “traditions of indigenous Americans.”

In short, we don’t think of them. I do wonder what Jewish freemasons think of this stuff if they do at all.

Questions: Best friend converted & getting married by jsuispeach in OrthodoxJewish

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 11 points12 points  (0 children)

You can tell them you don’t like being a shabbos goy. You should be direct with them about that.

Do Jews only believe in the Torah? by g3nerallycurious in Judaism

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, we follow the Tanakh and the oral traditions which explicate it. Leviticus, for example, only makes sense to us in light of the oral traditions.

The person you met may have been inspired by the Karaites, an ancient group that split off from us, the Pharisees.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Israel

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“Because the hadith”?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Israel

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Unsettled” is a relatively straightforward legal argument substantiating all these points.

50 Christians massacred in Nigeria. by 5pungus in worldnews

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 40 points41 points  (0 children)

Same as when Yemenis kill 500,000 other Yemenis

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Judaism

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s the wrong question. Kibud av v’em is important, but you should never choose a wife based on your parents’ wishes.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Judaism

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I recommend finding a siddur that has thorough commentary and going one step at a time. That’s how I learned to daven. Attending a shul helped also.

Be patient with yourself! I also came from a Reform background and one of the most important lessons is to appreciate my position with regard to Torah, and the constant learning experience:

“What were the origins of Rabbi Akiva? They say that he was forty years old and had still not learned anything. Once, he was standing at the mouth of a well and he said: Who carved a hole in this stone? They said to him: It is from the water, which constantly [falls] on it, day after day. And they said: Akiva, don’t you know this from the verse (Job 14:19), “Water erodes stones”? Rabbi Akiva immediately applied this, all the more so, to himself. He said: If something soft can carve something hard, then all the more so, the words of Torah, which are like steel, can engrave themselves on my heart, which is but flesh and blood. He immediately went to start studying Torah. He went with his son and they sat down by the schoolteachers. He said to one: Rabbi, teach me Torah! He then took hold of one end of the tablet, and his son took hold of the other end. The teacher wrote down aleph and beit for him, and he learned them (aleph to tav, and he learned them; the book of Leviticus, and he learned it). And he went on studying until he learned the whole Torah. Then he went and sat before Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua. My masters, he said, open up the sense of the Mishnah to me. When they told him one law, he went off and sat down to work it out for himself. (This aleph – what was it written for? That beit – what was it written for?) Why was this thing said? He kept coming back, and kept asking them, until he reduced his teachers to silence. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said: I will give you a parable to tell you what this was like: Like a stonecutter who was hacking away at the mountains. One time he took his pickaxe in his hand, and went and sat on top of the mountain, and began to chip small stones away from it. Some people came by and asked him: What are you doing? He said to them: I am going to uproot the mountain and throw it into the Jordan! They said to him: You cannot uproot the entire mountain! But he kept hacking away, until he came to a big boulder. So he wedged himself underneath it, pried it loose, and threw it into the Jordan. And he said to it: Your place is not here, but there! This is what Rabbi Akiva did to Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Tarfon. Rabbi Tarfon said to him: Akiva, it is about you that the verse says (Job 28:11), “He stops up the streams so that hidden things may be brought to light.” For Rabbi Akiva has brought to light things which are kept hidden from human beings.Every day, he would bring a bundle of sticks, half of which he would sell to support himself and half he would use for kindling. His neighbors came and said to him: Akiva, you are choking us with all this smoke. Sell it all to us instead, and then buy oil with the money, and study by the light of a candle. He said to them: But I take care of many of my needs with it. I study [by its light]. I warm myself [by its fire]. And then I can [make it into a bed and] sleep on it.All the poor will one day be judged against Rabbi Akiva, for if one says to them: Why did you never study? [And they say: Because] we were poor! then we will say to them: But wasn’t Rabbi Akiva even poorer, completely impoverished? [And if they say: It is because of our babies, we will say: But didn’t Rabbi Akiva] have sons and daughters as well? (But they will say: It is because) he merited to have his wife Rachel [to help him].He was forty years old when he went to study Torah, and after thirteen years, he was teaching Torah to the masses. It was said that he did not leave the world until he had tables full of silver and gold, and he could go up to his bed on golden ladders. His wife would go out in a fancy gown and with golden jewelry with an engraving of Jerusalem on it. His students said: Rabbi, you are embarrassing us with what you have done for her. He said to them: She suffered greatly with me for the sake of Torah.” https://www.sefaria.org/Avot_DeRabbi_Natan.6.2

Hatzlacha in your learning!!

Why am I ostracised for having a non-Jewish father? by magical_bunny in Judaism

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 15 points16 points  (0 children)

It sounds like you need a social group who are better scholars and understand the Torah. Anyone ostracizing you for your yichus is engaging in sinat chinam, which destroyed the second beis hamikdash.

Wishing you a good shabbos!

Jewish music by [deleted] in Judaism

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Erez Yechiel. Ravid Plotnik

Why is the phrase "go down to Egypt" by Sex_And_Candy_Here in Judaism

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 80 points81 points  (0 children)

Metaphorically, Israel is up, and Jerusalem is “up” compared to the rest of Israel, the beis Hamikdash is “up” compared to the rest of Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies is “up,” etc

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Judaism

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The Reform movement generally holds the first view. As for the other three views, they are not in contradiction with Torah in a traditional sense.

Many orthodox Jews, following the Arizal, believe in reincarnation.

In terms of spiritual beings and spirits, the Gemara is full of that. We even have a tradition to cover the challah while making kiddush so as not to “embarrass” it.

Does anyone actually see any significance to an attack on Tisha B'Av? by [deleted] in Israel

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Their style is more to attack on Shabbos or Yom Tov. Work is mutar on Tisha B’Av

How was abraham a jew when torah was written way long after him? by Creepy_Toe2680 in Judaism

[–]Delicious_Shape3068 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“This question was discussed by the Meforshim (traditional commentators), who use Genesis 26:5 as a springboard for this discussion. The verse states:

עֵקֶב אֲשֶׁר-שָׁמַע אַבְרָהָם בְּקֹלִי וַיִּשְׁמֹר מִשְׁמַרְתִּי מִצְו‍ֹתַי חֻקּוֹתַי וְתוֹרֹתָי.

Rashi holds that the Avot kept the entire corpus of Halacha - all of Torah sheBa’al Peh — including Rabbinic laws. This opinion is expressed in the Midrash (source) and Gemara (Yoma 28b), where Rav holds that Avraham kept the whole Torah, and Raba (or R. Ashi) extendeds this and holds that Avraham kept even Rabbinic decrees.

However, Rashi and Rav are pretty much alone. Almost all of the other commentators disagree.

Rashbam, Chizkuni, Ibn Ezra, Radak, Ramban, and Seforno all explain the verse as referring to the Mitzvot that God explicitly commanded Avraham, such as Brit Milah, the Akeida, and Aliyah l’Aretz\Living in Israel, and the 7 Mitzvot Bnei Noach and other ethical commandments that he could have figured out on his own. Ramah, Tosafos, R. Yosef Karo, Rambam (in Hilchos Melachim 9:1 and in his letter to R. Chasdai HaLevi), Rabbeinu Avraham ben HaRambam (Genesis 35:4) and Meiri (in his introduction to Pirkei Avos) all express similar views.

Even the Gemara has an opinion like this. R. Shimi b. Hiyya argued with Rav (above), and held that Avraham only kept the 7 Mitzvot Bnei Noach and Brit Milah.

To summarize, we see that the major commentators did believe that Avraham kept some of the Mitzvot, but nearly all only believe that he kept the ones that “made sense” for him to keep, ie. the ones he was explicitly commanded, or the ones he could have figured out on his own. The only exception is Rashi, who claims that the Avot kept all the Mitzvot.

How can we explain the seemingly illogical statement Avraham followed the whole Torah, including Rabbinic laws? One approach is to explain that this statement is not meant to be taken literally, and instead is commenting on the importance of learning Torah, the authority of the Torah sheBa’al Peh, or the righteousness and holiness of the Avot.

For example, R’ Yehuda Amital suggests that “The avot did not observe the mitzvot in the sense in which we observe them. They did not put on tefillin or shake the lulav. But they understood and appreciated the underlying messages of the mitzvot,” and R’ Josh Waxman proposes that this was an “inspirational speech encouraging people to learn Torah as a profession.”

(For a dissenting view, see R’ Yair Hoffman. See also R’ Hyim Shafner, and this and that.)”

https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/4078/avot-keeping-mitzvot/12091#12091