A Jewish Friend Posted this, help me understand

[phil19034]

Just because we don’t say to an atheist “You are no longer a Jew” doesn’t mean Judaism endorses atheism… the idea is absurd.

As FYI - My Jewish wife and I were married by an atheist member of the Jewish clergy…
The cantor became an atheist after this daughter died. Six or seven years later, we were married in the eyes of the Church, when I returned to practicing my faith.

 

[Moses613]

As FYI - My Jewish wife and I were married by an atheist member of the Jewish clergy…
The cantor became an atheist after this daughter died. Six or seven years later, we were married in the eyes of the Church, when I returned to practicing my faith.

Ok, but “atheist clergy” is still absurd - even though I know these types exist.
Perhaps it’s trite or will be perceived as unsympathetic, but if someone becomes an atheist “because” a loved one dies, then I don’t think they believed in God in the first place.
I assume your wife converted since otherwise a priest wouldn’t marry you.

 

[phil19034]

phil19034:

Furthermore, I once read a Rabbi saying (when I was looking into mix marriages) the following: “There is only ONE rule for Jews today - ‘Jesus Christ is not the Messiah’” (it pains me to even type that). This Rabbi went on to say afterwards that Jews are free to believe anything else - even atheism. Actually, I was even married by an atheist member of the Jewish clergy (a cantor) before we had our married regularized by the Catholic Church!

Actually, that’s not at all true. Jews have many rules they must follow. Like 613! Of course, some aren’t applicable today because they relate to the Temple.

Religious Jews believe that Moses brought the Ten Commandments and the Torah down from Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments are special because they were heard by all of the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. However, in traditional Judaism, all of the 613 mitzvot in the Torah are equally important.

Judaism - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I know, my wife is Jewish. But what I wrote is that I once read a Rabbi who said all of that. I didn’t say it was Jewish Theology. I said a reform rabbi said it.

And I was married by an atheist member of the Jewish clergy - a cantor (later I was married in the Church)

So while I know what Jewish theology teaches, there are heretical rabbis teaching all sorts of stuff

 

[phil19034]

Ok, but “atheist clergy” is still absurd - even though I know these types exist.
Perhaps it’s trite or will be perceived as unsympathetic, but if someone becomes an atheist “because” a loved one dies, then I don’t think they believed in God in the first place.

Yes, I agree

I assume your wife converted since otherwise a priest wouldn’t marry you.

No, my wife did not convert. Catholics allowed to marry non-Christians. Priests are allowed to perform mixed marriage. But we didn’t have a 2nd wedding ceremony. We had something called a Radical Sanation where at least the Catholic member of the couple is interviewed to make sure that he/she understood the Catholic understanding of marriage and that the Catholic simply didn’t understand the rules. Then, the Church retroactively recognizes our original marriage.

However, you may not have ever heard of this because it’s relatively rare.

God Bless

 

[ConstantLearner]

I know, my wife is Jewish. But what I wrote is that I once read a Rabbi who said all of that. I didn’t say it was Jewish Theology. I said a reform rabbi said it.

Yes, I can believe a Reform rabbi said it, but it’s not what Judaism actually teaches. I suppose some very fringe Catholic priests could have said the same thing, yet it would not be what Catholicism teaches.

A member of the Unitarian Universalist Church once told me they could be atheists if they so decided. I know nothing about that Protestant sect, so I don’t know if he was accurate of not.

 

[Wesrock]

I haven’t read all the subsequent posts in this topic, but “my religion doesn’t forbid this therefore you’re violating my religion” seems a lot weaker than “this is a religious practice and you forbidding it is a violation of my religion.” Outlawing circumcision, for example, would strike me as a violation of someone’s religious freedom as a Jew.

 

[Psalms62]

The Use of Cryopreserved Sperm and Pre-embryos In Contemporary Jewish Law and Ethics

Richard V. Grazi, MD​

Corresponding author:
Richard V. Grazi, MD
Division of Reproductive Endocrinology
Maimonides Medical Center
Brooklyn, New York 11219
FAX: 718-972-5871 #### Joel B. Wolowelsky, PhD

Department of Jewish Philosophy
Yeshivah of Flatbush

Introduction​

In 1990, the Ethics Committee of the American Fertility Society1published a comprehensive reaction to the Roman Catholic Instruction on Respect for Human Life and the Dignity of Procreation .2 In general, the Instruction argued from the perspective of its religious tradition against the moral legitimacy of most new procedures; the Ethics Committee, arguing from the consensus of contemporary society, found these procedures to be morally acceptable.

The Ethics Committee rebuffed the Instruction’s general conclusions because it saw assisted reproduction “not as a replacement of sexual intimacy, but as its logical and technical extension… The Committee believes that the Instruction, in its laudable effort to avoid mechanizing marriage and procreation, has too easily accepted natural procedures as morally normative.” The Ethics Committee3 recently issued a restatement of its position, reaffirming its general approach and investigating additional ethical concerns of Assisted Reproductive Technologies.

There is a misperception among some professionals involved in assisted reproduction that all conservative religious systems have identical attitudes on these matters. We4-7 have reported elsewhere on the position of Halakha (traditional rabbinic Jewish law and ethics) on various issues that relate to assisted reproduction and present here a report on recent halakhic discussions concerning the use of cryopreserved sperm and pre-embryos (pre-transplanted embryos fertilized in vitro). Religious deliberations generate and contribute to public debate on the issues, much as they each compete, in a sense, in determining public policy.

Halakhic Judaism​

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> Blockquote

 

[Psalms62]

The Use of Cryopreserved Sperm and Pre-embryos In Contemporary Jewish Law and Ethics

Richard V. Grazi, MD​

Corresponding author:
Richard V. Grazi, MD
Division of Reproductive Endocrinology
Maimonides Medical Center
Brooklyn, New York 11219
FAX: 718-972-5871 #### Joel B. Wolowelsky, PhD

Department of Jewish Philosophy
Yeshivah of Flatbush
Brooklyn, New York 11230

Abstract​

We report here on the use of cryopreserved sperm and pre-embryos in contemporary Jewish law and ethics (Halakha).

Introduction​

In 1990, the Ethics Committee of the American Fertility Society1published a comprehensive reaction to the Roman

Halakhic Judaism​

Like Roman Catholicism, Halakhic Judaism looks to its religious sources rather than public consensus in developing its moral positions. It posits a dual legal structure, asserting a universal human morality, which it sees as binding on all people, and a specifically Jewish system, which is generally more stringent but which is applicable only to Jews. The basic sources for the investigation of the traditional Jewish position on any ethical or legal issue are the Bible, the Mishna and Talmud, and universally accepted codifications such as Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah or Karo’s later Shulhan Arukh . Some issues associated with artificial reproduction have been discussed from Talmudic through contemporary sources, and Hebrew and English summaries of these discussions exist.9-11 But most of the current issues center on problems that arise from applying new technologies, and these must be addressed by contemporary rabbinic scholars. Unlike the situation in the Roman Catholic community, halakhic rulings on current issues cannot be promulgated by any central authority, as there is no formal hierarchical structure to the various rabbinic authorities and courts currently functioning.

Positions on prevailing issues are developed by circulation of responsa (rabbinic rulings) to questions posed to various rabbinic authorities. As Lichtenstein12 notes, “A sensitive posek [halakhic decisor] recognizes both the gravity of the personal circumstances and the seriousness of the halakhic factors… He might stretch the halakhic limits of leniency where serious domestic tragedy looms, or hold firm to the strict interpretation of the law when, as he reads the situation, the pressure for leniency stems from frivolous attitudes and reflects a debased moral compass.”

Further reading:

Contraception​

by Tirzah Meacham (leBeit Yoreh)

One of the major sources dealing with contraception is Tosefta Niddah 2:6: “[T]hree women use a mokh (contraceptive absorbent):
Contraception by Tirzah Meacham (leBeit Yoreh)