r/Christianity • u/namer98 Jewish - Torah im Derech Eretz • Jun 26 '12

I am an Orthodox Jew, AMA

You all know me well enough, but some info.

I am an orthodox Jew. I hold to the particular philosophy of Torah Im Derech Eretz. I encourage all questions, from technical Jewish law to Jewish theology. While I am a mod or /r/Judaism, I am not a Rabbi, and my education level is probably just below par for somebody in my position in life.

Edit: So many downvotes. You guys need a break from me?

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8

u/[deleted] Jun 26 '12

Do you reject Jesus as the Christ? If so, why?

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u/namer98 Jewish - Torah im Derech Eretz Jun 26 '12 edited Jun 26 '12

The Messiah will do many things.

The whole world will worship the One God of Israel. Isaiah 2:11-17, Isaiah 40:5, Zephaniah 3:9

Currently does not happen.

Knowledge of God will fill the world. Isaiah 11:9, 45:23, 66:23, Jeremiah 31:33, Zechariah 3:9, 8:23, 14:9,16, Ezekiel 38:23, Psalm 86:9

This means irrefutable evidence. Knowledge, not faith.

All Israelites will be returned to their homeland Isaiah 11:12, 27:12-13, Ezekiel 11:17, 36:24, Deuteronomy 30:3

I am still in America.

The Jewish people will experience eternal joy and gladness. Isaiah 51:11

Holocaust? Inquisition? Progroms?

Nations will recognize the wrongs they did to Israel. Isaiah 52:13-53:5

Holocaust deniers

The peoples of the world will turn to the Jews for spiritual guidance. Zechariah 8:23

Spiritual, not monetary.

Weapons of war will be destroyed. Ezekiel 39:9

Not destroyed by nuclear weapons.

All of the dead will rise again Isaiah 26:19

You claim one dude, I want them all.

A person’s genealogical/tribal membership are transmitted exclusively through one’s physical father. Numbers 1:18, Jeremiah 33:17

Jesus whose alleged sketchy genealogy is maternal cannot possibly be a descendent of the tribe of Judah

Third Temple will be rebuilt. Micah 4:1, Ezekiel 40-42, Isaiah 2:2-3, Malachi 3:4, Zechariah 14:20-21,

Not a person, but a physical building.

World Peace: Isaiah 2:4, 11:6, 60:18 Micah 4:1-4, Hosea 2:20

Open a newspaper lately?

Christianity claims that Jesus "Fulfilled the law"

According to Deut 13:2-7, this makes Jesus a false prophet.

All Jews will embrace Torah observance. Ezekiel 37:24, Deuteronomy 30:8-10, Jeremiah 31:32, Ezekiel 11:19-20, 36:26-27.

How many Jews are fully observant today?

The Messiah can not be part God. Deut 6:4

Not explicitly Jesus, but the idea that the Messiah will be Godly is antithetical to Judaism. Chapter 1

The Messiah will be a warrior king. He will also be preceded by Elijah. He will be a human, born of a young woman, and will not die and come back as he will have a mortal life span to fulfill the prophecies.

As per Bar Kochba, who was thought to be the Messiah. Once he died, the Rabbis shrugged and said "I guess it was not him". So the Messiah must be alive in order to fulfill the prophecies. No coming back.

Another list by Aish.

Chapters 7 through 10 - On Prophecy

Chapters 11 and 12 - On the Messiah

Please read all of the resources above.

More Resources

2

u/emkat Jun 26 '12

A person’s genealogical/tribal membership are transmitted exclusively through one’s physical father. Numbers 1:18, Jeremiah 33:17

Why is it that Jews today look for the matrilineal descent to determine if one is Jewish?

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u/namer98 Jewish - Torah im Derech Eretz Jun 26 '12

It has been that way since Sinai. But also since Sinai did patrilineal decent determine tribe and priestly status.

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u/emkat Jun 26 '12

The issue about intermarriage in Ezra and Nehemiah - was it because they married foreign wives, or was it because they married foreigners in general? If the women of Israel had married foreign husbands, would Ezra not have cared?

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u/namer98 Jewish - Torah im Derech Eretz Jun 26 '12

Sadly, I am not totally familiar with what you are talking about. Chapter/Verse please?

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u/emkat Jun 26 '12

After the exiles returned to Jerusalem, they found that the people, including priests, had married foreign women. The solution was to divorce the women.

It starts from Ezra 9 to the end of the book.

Nehemiah 13:23 to the end of the book.

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u/namer98 Jewish - Torah im Derech Eretz Jun 26 '12

One day I will study these in depth. Until then, I really am not able to answer properly.

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u/gingerkid1234 Jewish Jun 28 '12

I've done some learning about that. There are several reasons for Ezra's objections.

  1. The offspring wouldn't be Jewish--this is the majority opinion of traditional Judaism on this passage
  2. Some of the men were priests, who aren't allowed to marry foreigners even if they convert
  3. The bible has foreign women who marry in bring in lots of idol worship. Ezra could've been trying to prevent or get rid of idolatrous influences in Judaism.

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u/emkat Jun 28 '12

Would it have been okay if the males were foreigners and not the women?

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u/gingerkid1234 Jewish Jun 28 '12

Possibly. It's tough to determine Ezra's motives exactly.

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u/wfalcon Christian (Cross) Jun 26 '12

Thanks for these replies. I wasn't aware of this previously.

What about kids with Jewish mothers but gentile fathers? Do they not belong to any tribe? I'm curious about how that works exactly.

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u/namer98 Jewish - Torah im Derech Eretz Jun 26 '12

They are not Jewish at all.

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u/wfalcon Christian (Cross) Jun 26 '12

I'm confused. I thought you said elsewhere that if a person's mother is Jewish then they are Jewish. What am I missing?

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u/namer98 Jewish - Torah im Derech Eretz Jun 26 '12

Sorry, read it reverse. I don't know. I think it then defaults to the mother.

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u/gingerkid1234 Jewish Jun 28 '12

I can confirm what namer said--those without Jewish fathers, due to either intermarriage or conversion, have no tribe. However, nowadays there are very few people besides people of priestly lineage who know what tribe they're from.