by in a new york bethel minute 13 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
i am pretty sure there are many different (excuse my layman) "denominations" of judaism, but what typically is the hope of a jewish person? do they believe they are going to heaven? do they believe in a paradise earth? do they believe in hell? i guess i could research this myself, but since we have some jews on board... i'd like to hear your opinions. plus, im lazy.
bethel
There are different levels of observance such as:
Reformed - Which is the most liberal. Services are a mixture of English and Hebrew (may vary by congregation) and they usually hold only Sabbath (Friday night and Saturday morning) services, plus holidays. Few members keep Kosher.
Conservative - Middle of the road. May hold daily morning services. Services are predominately in Hebrew with a sprinkling of English for those that don't read Hebrew.
Women have equal power to participate and be ordained Rabbis as men in Reformed and Conservative congregations.
Orthodox - Follows the rules more closely. Most keep kosher and the men engage in daily prayers and wear kipot (the little beanies). They may be Modern Orthodox with short hair but still with the Pais (curlyque sideburns), or they may be more traditional. The Hasidic movement is on the right wing end of Judaism, and within the Hasidic movement there are even more fundamental groups. Women usually sit separately from the men and men do not ever touch a woman that isn't their wife, or their wife if she is unclean (period +7 days), not even a handshake.
There are many segments of each of the above. Like all religious organizations, there's always someone who wants to do things a bit different.
The basics remain the same regardless of level of observancy:
I've never heard the term "paradise earth" used prior to exposure to the Witnesses and I have a pretty extensive Jewish education and was raised in a combination of Conservative and Orthodox traditions.
One of the major differences between Christianity and Judaism (besides the obvious) is that we are taught love and respect for the Lord, not fear. We are encouraged to study, seek out multiple views and DISAGREE if we choose. The culture encourages its members to be well educated and always has. The reason men used to strive to be wealthy was not for the accumulation of things so much as to be able to have more leisure time to study the Torah (first five books of the old testament), the Haftorah, and other scriptual and related texts. The Haftorah, interestingly enough, was created during the Dark Ages and Inquistions when Jews couldn't openly study the Torah. Instead the studied the teaching of the great prophets who relayed the moral teaching via stories. In modern times, a passage from each, the old testament and the haftorah are read each Saturday am, and at the Bar or Bat Mitzvah of a young person.
Hope that helps.
Oops almost forgot - Armaggedon is a Christian thing, there is no basis for it in the OT.
beebee
a great post, very informative. Thanks very much!
Pope
The Hebrew phrase "Olam Hava" (please forgive the spelling) means "The World To Come" Some would say that is a similar expression as a paradise Earth but the meaning is purposely vague so that Jews concentrate on making this life, this world a better place. The next life or world will be taken care of by God so don't waste a lot of time on what that might be, instead focus on what is in front of us.
For the same reason the idea of any kind of Hell is also vague and not considered important.
In the Talmud a man is told by God that his purpose is to make the world a better place. He will never finish his task but is told he cannot stop.
Beebee, thank you very much, that was a good post and I learned from it. If you don't mind, I would like to ask a few of questions. I don't know much about Jews, but I am very interested to learn more. Sorry if my questions sound a bit dumb, but I don't know the first thing about all this.
*So, the Torah contains the first five books of the OT. Why the first five books? Are the other books of the OT assembled in a book as well?
*The study of the teachings of the great prophets.. are you talking about people such as Daniel, Isaiah, etc...?
*Is God being called Yahweh, or just God?
*Do the Jews still expect the Messiah to be born?
*If they don't go to 'heaven', then what happens after death?
Should you have time to write down a few answers, I'd much appreciate it. Thanks a lot.
I hope that beebee does not mind but I would like to answer the first question.
What Christians call the Old Testament the Jews call the Tanach. It is divided into three parts, the Torah is the five books of Moses, then the Prophets Isaiah etc. and then the Writings Psalms Proverbs etc.
These three groups of Bible books encompass what the Watchtower calls the Hebrew Scriptures.
Thanks Robert. How about the books that are left out in some bibles? I can't remember their names, but there are like 4 books which I used to see in the bible when I was a kid, and recently found out that they were left out in most versions. Are there books included?
30 years ago I probably could have answered most of these off the top of my head.
Your first question has been answered.
*The study of the teachings of the great prophets.. are you talking about people such as Daniel, Isaiah, etc...?
I honestly don't remember but I don't think so. Jewish.com may answer.
Is God being called Yahweh, or just God?
There are a numbers of words used in Hebrew, in addition to "Lord" " the Almighty," and "G-d" which are used in English. The most common used is "Adonai" which, while all other Hebrew words are pronouced with consistent phonetic rules, Adonai is the allowed pronunciation for a Hebrew word that is YAY (the a vowel has an aw sound) but that is NEVER pronounced or even sounded out in your head as you read. It's strictly sight read. But it is pretty darn close to Yaweh. Jews don't use Yaweh. Then it gets a bit tricker. You are only supposed to say "Adonai" in prayer, if you are just practicing, then it is "adoshem." Other words include "Hashem." I don't remember the others as I am no longer active or observant. Moshe will likely know. But the others are far less used.
*Do the Jews still expect the Messiah to be born?
Yes.
If they don't go to 'heaven', then what happens after death?
I don't think anyone worries about it. I'm not sure what the fundamental belief is on this, but growing up in this culture, it is hard not to be "Christianized" and believe in Heaven, and that as long as I've repented for my sins, I'm in.
Personally, I have no idea if there is a heaven, and my mother's house was hell, so I figure I'm better off working to make my life, and the lives of those I touch, as good as possible. I also have a personal belief that IF there really is a judgement day (at the pearly gates) that we will be judged by our DEEDs - how well we treated people, how honest we tried to be, how well we fulfilled our jobs as parents, and how generous we were to people in need. No where in my beliefs is the concept that one must belong to ANY religion or church. They are man-made, not devine.
I do suppose that except for the no religion thing, much of what I believe we will be judged by is backed by Talmudic and Biblical scripture as I was taught.
