Hi -I'm Jewish (page 3)

DevonMcBride

Hi and welcome Moshe.

I sent you a Private Message (PM).

Devon

Conversion isn't easy nor could that decision have been for you. I am Jewish and was raised in a conservative family and have a very extensive Jewish education. I'm here because it helped explain so much of what has gone on, and what is going on still, in my apostate lover's life and head. The two of us no longer think any "organized" religion is "right," but rather all are created by men, and were originally created because the religious leaders were the political leaders too. Way back into the beginning of time when humans were tribal, someone ran the group and dictated the rules. Clearly there was a need.

Now things are different. We have a secular goverment (that is way too far into our business as it is), and religion fills many other needs, among them social and moral guidelines. Those may be well and needed by the masses, however as long as the leaders of any "church" need to maintain their positions of control (a man-made need...not G-d given), we'll steer clear of all of them.

My children are being raised as Jews, though their education in that area has been spotty and more cultural than religious. We still talk about the meanings and reasons for things.

Do you have children and if so, where do they stand on this? Are you able to have a relationship with them if they are adults? And your parents? Have you lost everyone in the process of converting?

Dansk

Hi Moshe,

WELCOME!! It's good to make your acquaintance!

Ian

Evesapple

Hi Moshe!

I married a Jewish man, had a Jewish wedding and joined the temple the next day our Rabbi was so awsome! I never actually converted but my husband and I do attend temple from time to time...it's non-Orthodox as you may have guessed....it's Reformed Judaism...I do appreciate a lot of the teachings and find that I can follow a lot due to my past JW ubringing, though I find their different perspective quite refreshing. I'm actually thinking of taking a class at my temple.

Welcome.

Eva

DevonMcBride

I think that most Jews consider Messianic Jews to be practicing Christians

Exactly. Most Messianic Jews were never Jewish to begin with. Some of them had Jewish relatives but they themselves were never Jewish. The belief in Jesus is completely contradictory to the Jewish Torah and therefore Jews don't accept the Messianic movement as legit.

After researching and attending a service at the Messianic Synagogue near me, I found that it was Christianity in disguise, supported by Evangelical Christian churches with the agenda of converting Jews to believe in Jesus. Out of 75 members, only 5 were actually Jewish. All of the others were raised Christian.

Additionally, the bible the Messianic movement uses, is not the same as the Hebrew scriptures the Jewish people use. They translated a Christian bible into Hebrew, threw in a few Yiddish words(which is not biblical at all) and call it Jewish when in reality, it is far from Jewish.

Devon

Mary

Hi Moshe;

I find the Jewish faith quite appealing too. While I'm sort of tetering on whether or not I believe Jesus was the Messiah. But let's say he was. In the NT, there is no record of Jesus abandoning his Jewish faith, or telling his disciples to either. By todays standards, I think Jesus would be considered a Reformed Jew. While the Jews may not celebrate Christmas or Easter, they have a rich history of all their other yearly celebrations that have been practiced for thousands of years.

Anyway, welcome to the board!

BrendaCloutier

Welcome Moshe! Glad you're here.

I thought about Judaism many years ago. In many ways it makes some sense for a JW to convert, as so much of JWism about Jehovah is built around the OT. Plus the celebrations, ceremony, etc.

But I love cheeseburgers and raw oysters....

Hugs

Brenda

avishai

Welcome!!

moshe

Thanks for all the good vibes. Not like one other forum ,T-er-w-tch.! Judasim can be as restrictive or open as you want. We don't keep Kosher in our home, but don't eat pork. We do eat chesseburgers! Reform Temples would be the most easygoing-Orthodox the hardest. Conservative (ours) in the middle. I like Rabbi Harold Kushners books- they give a a good feeling for Jewish thinking- "when bad things happen to good people" is probably his most well known.

I never could fit in a Christian church- my 2nd wife was pentecostal- never could see the speaking in tongues. My first JW wife divorced me in '89- after I left the organization. She finally saw her way out a few years ago- My present and "last" wife has been Jewish all her life. I did see how the WTBS had co-opted the OT verses to fit the Messiah of their religion, just like every other Christian religion. No one ever thinks to ask a Jew what they teach the Messiah to be- I found that www.messiahtruth.com to give some good info about the Jewish idea of Messianic prophecy. But I am not here to convert anyone- Conversion is not an easy undertaking - Judaism wants you to live a moral life- and aren't you doing that already ;-)

Shalom.

moshe

beebee

Yeah, it's tough to get in, but once in, you can do anything you want and still be Jewish. My mom always said it is important to always remember who you are because Hitler killed many a Jew that didn't claim to be Jewish, and in some cases didn't even know as the Jewish relative was distant.

One difference I told my kids years ago between Judiasm and Christianity (their dads are Christians) was that our religion teaches a love of G-d, not a fear. I have never doubted that love or feared judgement. (At least not judgement by G-d, judgement by my mother..oy..that's another subject!)

However, lest anyone think it's more honest, think again. Dating an ex-jw is like dating a biblical expert. My guy really knows both testaments inside and out. One night when we were talking about something I had heard on TV - the statement by a Jewish scholar that EVERY religion has had blood shed in its name - I told him that didn't make sense; when had the Jews shed blood? He then talked about how the Jews had been ordered "to slay every living thing." Jews typically only cover the first 5 books and an occasional story (like Esther, King David), as extensive as my education was, I really know nothing about the supplementary texts.

So I went to Jewish.com and wrote to the "Ask the Rabbi" column. I asked why these other books were ignored and how come I had never heard the bad things? His answer was very disappointing but went something like (paraphrased) "we want our youth to be excited about being Jewish so we don't tell them the bad things..." I prefer honesty myself. Doesn't change who I am or what I believe, except that now I have no faith in ANY organized religion. My relationship with G-d is personal....

Anyone else reach the same conclusion????

(why do I have such an impossible time getting paragraph spacing to show????

Hi -I'm Jewish

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