Ask me anything (almost) about Judaism

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This is kind of a silly question but I’ve never been able to fully understand, despite looking around on the internet. I don’t quite understand the genetic link of Judaism. For example, how is it that Jewish people are at greater risk for some genetic diseases, when one could convert to Judaism? If I, for example, was to convert to Judaism, my risk of these would not increase. Why/how is there a genetic connection between Jewish people if it is a religion? 🤔 If you can help me understand this, you’ll be my hero! 😂
 
Because it is more than just a religion. Jews are ethnoreligious group of people. Yes, someone can convert to Judaism, but genetically, it’s not their ethnicity.

In an analogous way, think of those who are Native American. Someone can be adopted into a tribe, and they are considered fully a member of that tribe, but genetically speaking, they are not.
 
Fellow Jew here.

You are very brave to this. Wishing you the best. And hoping that people give you the respect you request as you go through this thread answering their questions. It can be difficult answering questions like this for such a large online community. All my best.
 
Thank you for your good wishes. Feel free to reply to any question you feel you have some particular knowledge about.
 
I think highly of the Chabad Lubavitch movement. It is the largest Hasidic community in the world and is particularly effective in its outreach programs aimed at Jews of all stripes. The great Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson was a leader of Chabad, and he was a good man and brilliant thinker: some in the movement even thought he might be the Messiah.
 
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I agree. Jews are a people, a nation, a culture as well as members of a religion.
 
Meltzerboy has been part of this community for a very long time and is highly respected 🙂 If you read thru the thread, you will see that clearly demonstrated.
 
Yes. I am quite aware. I have read through much of what has been written by Melterboy2 so far. I am not sure what you are getting at as I was only wish the very best.
 
Chloebelle,

Certain diseases are believed to be more common among Jews because of something known as the “founder effect.”

In genetics, the “founder effect” is simply the term used to describe the loss of genetic diversity which occurs when a new population is established from a small number of common ancestors. This describes the situation of the Jews quite perfectly since historically speaking they have tended to marry only other Jews. When mutations occurred in their DNA, those mutations weren’t passed along to other groups of peoples. Instead they stayed among their own people. Due to the “founder effect” they were not reduced or lessened by the introduction of new genes that would have normally been allowed in the national pool if Jews had intermarried more often.

There are very few converts to Judaism, and sometimes some converts don’t marry into the Jewish pool. So the “founder effect” keeps the mutations strong within, and certain neurological diseases, for example, become more common among Jews at birth. Genetic testing is therefore recommended when signs appear early in life because of this.

This can happen to any group of people that tends to marry closely within its own kind whether for religious or cultural reasons.
 
Midge said:
And hoping that people give you the respect you request as you go through this thread answering their questions. It can be difficult answering questions like this for such a large online community.
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When you wrote the above, it sounded as if you were thinking perhaps he would be disrespected or that he would find it difficult in this community, that is all. I was just reassuring you that he is very well respected here, and has been for a very long time. 🙂
 
I have attended a Judaism class conducted by a Cantor. I asked if I would be allowed to convert to Judaism if I believed that Yeshu was the Messiah. She replied that I could not. Is this the same in all sects (aside from Messianic sects) of Judaism?
 
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First of all, thank you for being open enough to have this thread. My question comes from the reply of yours from post #27 of this thread (16 days ago) which surprised me- do you really believe the Holocaust was due to God trying to test the Jewish people? If so, how do you see God? (I see God as a loving Father but I would have a hard time reconciling that view if I thought that the Holocaust was provided by God). May God bless you.
 
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That is correct.

There are certain reasons for this, and it goes beyond the usual reasons most Christians are aware of regarding why Jews reject Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah.

One of the reasons is that the nation of Israel itself doesn’t accept government rule by monarchy anymore. In fact, practically no modern government is ruled by a monarch. Thus the Messiah could never come as a king and rule over Israel or the world by means of a monarchy. Monarchies have had their day. Those days are gone. A democracy like the United States would never give up its power to a monarch either.

Also, after the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Jewish sages began to revise the concepts of the Messiah into more abstract ideals, moving away from a personal ruler. Only the most traditional Orthodox rabbis kept the view that the Messiah would still be a person after the rise and fall of Simon bar Kokhba, but other teachers began to leave room for other possibilities.

With the introduction of Zionism, Reform Judaism, and the Reconstructionist movement, the view of the Messiah grew even more abstract for many liberal Jews. Instead of a human ruler, these Jews saw the Messiah as a promise of the eventual evolution of humanity itself, when human beings would grow to fully reflect God’s image to the point of ending war, poverty and suffering.

For these reasons, along with the other arguments most Christians often hear why Jews reject Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah, it is not possible to make a claim of belief in Jesus Christ compatible with Judaism as it currently stands without betraying its theology.

Even without affiliation with any of its denominations it isn’t possible to be a Jew and accept Jesus as Messiah, as said before, Israel no longer accepts government by monarchy. It betrays the secular grounds of Zionism and the reality of the State of Israel as it stands today.
 
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That depends on whether one regards Nazarene Jews as a Messianic sect. These are Jews who accept Jesus as the Messiah but do not accept Him as the Son of G-d. They still exist today as a small group. They do not link themselves with Messianic Jews, Hebrew Catholics, and the like but rather consider themselves fully Jewish although other Jewish movements do not.
 
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Thanks for your reply, which I found informative. But you use the name “Jesus” which derives from the Greek and implies the acceptance of Christian theologies…

If I don’t accept the Christian theologies of virgin birth, trinity, worship of God in a human form, etc, would I be considered eligible to convert to some sect of Judaism? If I decided after such a conversion that Yeshu ben Pantera was the Messiah, would I be asked to leave?
 
This is an interesting perspective. However, I do not fully agree (since when do Jews agree on anything?!). Orthodox Jews are not the only stream of Judaism that believes the Messiah will be a real person. Conservative Jews also do and so do many (not all) Reform Jews. It is largely Reconstructionist Jews and Humanist Jews (again, not all) who have foregone this idea. One other point: the Messiah was not really meant to rule the world. The main purpose of the Messiah is to bring peace to all the nations of the world, as well as facilitate the ingathering of the tribes toward Israel and the intensification of Torah study. It is only incidentally that many gentiles might convert to Judaism in his presence although this too is not obligatory.
 
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@meltzerboy2 Thank you for starting this thread. Judaism is very dear to my heart, and I’m always happy to have the opportunity for further learning. Thank you also to @Midge and @Moses613 for adding your voices.

If I may take this opportunity to say so, Meltzerboy, it’s so good to see you actively posting again. Your voice of reason and charity has been sorely, SORELY missed on the forum. I’d like to thank you for consistently treating all CAF members with respect, even (especially) those with whom you disagree. You provide a brilliant example of what discussion can and should be: no snark, no condescension, just sincere and thoughtful dialogue. Thank you 🙂
 
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