Jews are not a community of proselytizers; they do not seek converts to Judaism. In fact, rabbis traditionally discourage conversions. Jews believe in one God and do not attempt to humanize Him as Christians do, but their tradition has been to leave others to their own beliefs. Jews almost never excommunicate one of their members, nor have they ever in their history been on a crusade to root out heretics (Prothero, 2010, p. 251). The mark that Jews have made in the modern world is as a result of their achievements. It is not for anyone else to say how fervently an individual embraces his religious beliefs, but it certainly seems to the outsider that Jews are guided more by their commitment to community, including the family, than by any other teachings of their faith. Shapiro (2013) argues that American Orthodox Jews have, in some ways, embraced Orthodoxy even more tightly as a way to protect their families against what they see as increasing vulgarity in our culture. Orthodox Jews are also distressed by declining birth rates, increasing divorce rates, militant feminism, and the legalization of homosexual marriage. Unlike some Christian religions, however, the Jews do not protest publicly or denounce others in the name of God. They do, however, look to these changes as threats to the family, their basic unit of community. In a larger context, a threat to the family is a threat to being Jewish, for threats ultimately undermine the community and the connectedness people feel toward their community. In a 2011 address to the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Rahm Emanuel reflected on what it means to be Jewish. Emanuel, Chicago's first Jewish mayor, represented Illinois in Congress and then became White House Chief of Staff in 2008. He resigned to serve his city. "To be a Jew," he said, "is to be a member of a community -- and that's not just our community, but the community at large… We have an obligation beyond our community to serve." With this statement, Emanuel acknowledged that there is a Jewish community that is eager not just to assimilate, but to contribute in a meaningful way. Prothero...
252) says that, with Judaism, community was the starting point. Emanuel's words, and his service, demonstrate the Jewish belief in this idea.
Judaism Misconceptions about various religions have been present for a long period of time. Some of the religions that have been the subject to common misconceptions include Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. In this text, I address some of the misconceptions I had with Judaism and how they were altered via my encounter. Further, I amongst other things also discuss steps that can be adopted to minimize misconceptions individuals harbor in
Judaism Religion Rabbinic Judaism is the main form of Judaism that has existed from the 6th Century to date. From this form of Judaism, three different forms of Judaism have been established which are conservative, Orthodox and reform. Covenant -- Torahic teachings defines it as an agreement that the people had with God. An Arch of Covenant as highlighted in the books of Samuel and Kings symbolized the agreement between God and
Today, Christianity is the belief of more than a billion people in the world, who believe in the teachings and in the life of Jesus Christ. Therefore, to a Christian, 'Jesus of Nazareth was and is the Messiah or Christ promised by God in the prophecies of the Old Testament', and he, through his life, then his death, and finally his resurrection, 'freed those who believe in Him from
According to Goldschmidt & Davidson (2009), the conflict between Muslims and Jews could have been intensified by the quarrel that took place between Muhammad and the Jews of Medina. In fact Goldschmidt & Davidson (2009) indicate that there never used to be war between Jews and Muslims even though the Zionist are indicated to have believed that the Jews while under Muslim rule were treated like second-class citizens. Christian
Another major practice first set forth by Abraham is that of the practice of circumcision done on all baby boys of Jewish faith. Abraham had initially started the practice on Isaac. It was done primarily to distinguish the Jewish people and represent a mark of the Jewish faith. This tradition has continued on into the modern era, and is still regularly practiced by those of the Jewish faith. As
Judaism is a major world religion, honored and practiced by at least ten million people around the world, probably more ("Jewish Population"). The vast majority of Jews live in the United States and Israel, but there is also a sizeable Jewish population in Europe too ("Jewish Population"). Judaism is also one of the oldest religions still practiced in the world today, and its historical origins date back to 1800 BCE
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