if you truley have studied jewish texts, believe in God and think of yourself as a jew, do you really need a conversion ceremony. i'v always wondered about this. Jah Bless. Peace
Dave, good question. If Judaism were only a faith or belief system, it might seem reasonable to suggest that a person could convert to it by shifting one's beliefs. However, it's actually the religion of the Jewish people. Much the same as a person couldn't become a Sioux by only learning about their religion and adopting it independently, the same is true in this case. It's a tribal religion and the idea of peoplehood and religion can't easily be divorced. There are those, born Jewish, who identify with peoplehood and not religion and in that sense it becomes more of a cultural identity (a bit of a misnomer since Jewish culture can vary quite a bit across the globe.) Judaism is much less about belief than it is about action anyway.
Really? didnt abraham started to preach about their being one God and he spread that idea to many people. Or is it that the people he taught it to where all isrealities (Jews)?
According to the Jewish mythology, Abraham is the first forefather of Judaism, the other two being Isaac and Jacob. Abraham is in the Torah the first person called a Hebrew and G!d makes an initial covenant with him and his offspring. Down the line the house of israel, jacob, his sons, their famliies, etc end up in mitzrayim. When they leave there's a mixed multitude with them. That mixed multitude ends up assimilitating into the Jewish people and accepting the revelation of the Torah at har sinai (that's where, traditionally, the written and oral torahs are received which include the 613 mitzvot and how tools for applying them in new situations.) The word Jew I think only appears in megilat esther in the tanach, but I could be a little off. It comes from the nation of Judah which became Judea.
yeah but the mixed multitude of people all started out not being with abraham. And when they joined up with him together they all formed the jewish people. so to me its more spirtual then cultural, just look at mobern day isreal. there are many nationalities that are jewish African, Middle eastern, white. So i still believe its a matter of faith not culture.
Dave, I wasn't saying the mixed multitude were from Abraham. They were other people, but they were accepted into Bnai Yisrael, the house of Israel, that is of Jacob, at Sinai. They were adopted into the family. I didn't say it's about race or culture. I said that Jewish culture varies around the world and that it's about peoplehood. There have always been ways to convert into Judaism, but converting is a way of joining the tribe. Not only that but Jews have spread all over the world and an analysis of the DNA of these different groups shows that they do in fact all share similar gene markers, even if they look very different from each other. But it's not about that. It's about peoplehood, becoming a part of am yisrael, the people of israel. When someone converts, they'll often choose the hebrew name ____ ben/bat avraham v'sarah which is to say ____ son of avraham and sarah. They're recognizing that they're actually becoming a part of a new family, a new tribe, that goes all the way back to Abraham and Sarah. Judaism clearly defines a Jew as someone whose mother was a Jew (in some cases also father) or someone who has gone through the formal process of conversion which includes study, brit milah (for a man), mikveh, and going before a beit din, a rabbinic court. If a person were to actually accept Judaism, then they'd have to also accept the Jewish process of conversion. Otherwise they wouldn't really be accepting it.
My understanding is that the laws of return have been modified in recent years due to strong lobbying by Reform and Conservative Jews and that the Israeli government no longer descriminates. Perhaps I'm mistaken. I'll have to check into it.
from what i've read, all jews are allowed resettlement. but mitzrahi (sp?), basically arab and african jews, have to convert to the orthodox branch for resettlement. i'm pretty sure a gentile would have to convert to the orthodox branch also.
i was watching the history channel and the person was shwoing how the irish are the lost tribe of benjamin and so now i am going to get circumsized to be in accordance with my jewish religion
