Article Discussion: Should We Teach Judaism by Beliefs or by Rituals Not by Belief A

[admin]

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[Unregistered]

Will you please be so kind to send me brief info., about customs, social, religious and cultural Jewish traditions from the time JesusChrist was a child.  I wan to share this brief info., to children next Friday.  It will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.  Landy

[Unregistered]

Thanks to Rabbi Wolpe for the brief on the Jewish faith family.  I find myself more of a Deist than a Catholic and I have difficulty reconciling the two.
We all need a faith-base and I think Rabbi Wolpe has opened a door for me.
Thank you.
Willliam

[Paul Broughto]

I am looking to study in depth what in the Jewish culture prompts such success by so many Jews in the different fields like science,music, philosophy etc. Any suggestions...Thanks

[Unregistered]

Jews are not inherently different than any other group. We've got our geniuses (Albert Einstein, Jonas Salk, et al) we have our crooks (Madoff) and we have our average people just like any other group of people.

We do not try to convert others to Judaism as there is no advantage to converting.  We believe that anyone who leads a good life (Google the Seven Noahide Laws) they are entitled to a place in the world to come.

Where we are a bit different is that we're encouraged to  read and study Torah every day and learn what our fathers and mothers did in the past.

We tend to be ethical and even though we're only .2% of the world's population, we've won more than our share of Nobel prizes.  Jonas Salk discovered a way to stop the dreaded disease polio. When he was asked about patenting the drug, he refused saying, "Would you patent the sun?"  He could have been a billionaire, but he didn't want money to get in the way of people getting the vaccine.

We're surrounded by professionals and are mentored by them and encouraged to follow in their footsteps.  I'd not have earned a Ph.D. in computer science had I not been told over and over again that I could do it.

Does that make me better than others?  Of course not. Do Jews think that they're better than others. NO!  We do not exclude non-Jews from the promise of a world to come as long as they keep the seven Noahide laws.  Keep in mind that Jews have 617 commandments to keep while Gentiles have only seven.

Lastly, we are charitable. Jew, non-Jew, it makes no difference, if there is a need and we've got the wherewithal, we'll chip in.  I have no idea of what percentage I give to various charities, I was taught not to let my right hand know what my left hand was doing.

Basically, though, Jews are pretty much like anyone else. I have to admit, however, that it's a kick knowing who my far ancestors were.  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), etc.

But the bottom line is that we all have a common ancestor: Noah.  So, in reality, we're all related!  Jew, Gentile, white, black, yellow, red...we're all related as children of G-d.  Let's all love one another; the things that separate us are artificial.