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Ger vs. Bnei Isreal
an "Ism" unto Itself
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Trying to ascertain
the Talmudic castes: whether or not someone is a goi, a ger, bnei Israel, or
a Cohen is a "Ism" unto itself. I imagine many mistakes are made.
It would make more sense to simply answer the question, "Who is a
Jew?" with "One that says they are a Jew." That is the
position Felix Posen took at Jpost.com (Aug 13, 2009). So much time is spent
on, "Who is a Jew?" a matter of birth rather than ethic. I would
suggest that if more time was spent on ethic, Bnei Noach would walk out the
door, and no mistakes would be made ascertaining, "Who is a Jew?"
Posted By Craig Hamilton, Sandwich
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Israel: Orthodox and
Reform
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What is Orthodox,
but taking religion and history more seriously than another denomination?
Every Jew should study Orthodox Judaism. In the manner of study, I believe
Orthodox Judaism is better, but I don't believe it is practical that a
minority of Jews should be able claim monopoly on conversion. This hypocrisy
becomes apparent in the Law of Return for Israeli citizenship that accepts
Reform conversions, as Orthodox Jews deny them at the synagogue. Good enough
to be Israeli, but not good enough to be Orthodox is a contradiction. It
follows that Israeli law is for practice, but Orthodox law is for study.
Posted By Craig Hamilton, Sandwich
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Quasi-Jewish Is Not
a Lie
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All the indicators
say that there is such a thing as quasi-Jewish, only the Orthodox minority
denominations have the audacity to say quasi-Jewish is a lie. Gentiles
commonly circumcise their young, and perform other Jewish mitzvahs. The 613
and the rabbinical commands are kosher for anyone, and it is hardly a tragedy
if a gentile doesn’t properly perform a Jewish mitzvah. In the melting pot of
America, Judaism is no longer as separate from other nations as it has been.
Jews that don’t recognize “quasi-Jewish (more than Noah tzedeks)” are
hijacking Judaism. Of course Jewish and Jewishness can exist as they have,
but quasi-Jewish should be accepted for those people that feel a strong
association with the Jewish tribe, but haven't been in the mikvah.
Posted By Craig
Hamilton, Sandwich, MA
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Religious Vote
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Becoming Jewish
should be like voter registration, quick and easy. I happen to be a Democrat.
It wouldn't make me a better, more loyal, or more dedicated Democrat if the
law made it harder to become a Democrat. The only thing that would happen is
that there would be fewer Democrats, since it would be especially hard to
register to this party. You probably even lose pro Jewish people this way. In
my opinion, it just creates more confusion when people aren't able to join
the political party or religion of their choice easily. Everytime a Rabbi
tells me that I am not a Jew, I feel as if I, a Democrat, were handed the
Republican primary ticket, and denied my proper chance to vote in the primary
of my choice.
Posted By Craig Hamilton, Sandwich, MA
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What's with
downplaying key Democrats?
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What good is a brain
without any muscle? Jews need both. I agree that their is no smart choice in
politics, but yet some really smart people have been Democrats, and in fact
this makes joining the Democratic Party a good idea. Bill Clinton's IQ is
over 160. People here are arguing as if Bill Clinton's intelligence or even
still others that the condition of his heart is related to the difficulty his
conversion to the Democratic Party. Jewishness shouldn't be an issue of
brains, soul, or muscle, but a combination of these things. I hate to speak
ill of Stephen Hawking, but for all his supposed brains he has not much when
he contradicts himself and certainly he could certainly use some muscle.
Posted By Craig
Hamilton, Sandwich, MA
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Elite Earthworms
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Some people say that
converts blow away Jews by birth in observance. That is a horrible tone.
However, the Talmud does say, “How much more sincere the heart of the
convert?” A convert should feel connected to the Jewish people, not better.
Also, converts should expect some exclusion because most Jews are cousins. We
tend to be more altruistic toward people with similar genetics. Read the
Richard Dawkins book The Selfish Gene. Oppression would give you a whole new
perspective. Moses was the most oppressed prophet, and that helped him to be
compassionate even toward animals. If you believe Jews are elite, or that
converts are better, you should compare your ideas to that of the Baal Shem
Tov. He taught humans were no greater than worms. Biology tells us that our
ancient ancestors were worms. Jewishness is not about belonging to an elite
group. Read Habakkuk 2:4, and see how puffed up some of these commentators
are. How foolish is an idea of elite earthworms?
Posted By Craig Hamilton, Sandwich, MA
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Why would anyone
want to convert?
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As the number of
laws given in the Torah increases, the average life expectancy of a patriarch
goes down. And, before you get on your high horse and knock the age of people
like Methusaleh or Serug as being mystical or something like that, understand
that there are people that today live to be the ages of the patriarchs in the
Bible and especially how absurd this would probably seem to someone living in
the Dark Ages whose life expectancy was only 25. That the ages we attain in
modernity are possible is yet another example (like the technological
revolution) that we are sampling the soup prior to the age of Mosiach. In
fact, I read the other day that a baby born today has a 50% chance of living
to be 100yrs old. That is to the person in the Middle/Dark ages the ages we
attain now would have seemed as mystical to them as the ages given when
reading the Bible.
Posted By Craig
Hamilton, Sandwich, MA
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Righteous
gentile doesn't sit well with me. I love the Torah for the most part, but parts
of it don't sit well with me. To me this makes me quasi-Jewish because I never
sealed the deal and I have no plan to.
Posted By Craig Hamilton, Sandwich, MA
1.
That's interesting that you deny quasi, as if G-d never created a hermaphrodite
or something similar. Why can't quasi be a level? For me, quasi or shades of
grey is how I see most things. Take for instance chemicals in chemistry, all
have a purity rating.
Posted By Craig Hamilton, Sandwich, MA
I disagree that the
idea of quasi has to become one thing or another and that it is the anti-thesis
of Torah. The world is ripe with quasi-Jews looking for a place to socialize.
This is partly due to how popular the Tanach is and literacy. Consider how many
people support Israel and how unpopular Christian fundamentalism is in the
highly educated North East. Many people not classified as Jews are hungry for a
religion that is both about a Jewish G-d and contains the ethic of the Law of
Moses. I believe if such a religion were started, then it could last the test
of time even if members never officially converted to Judaism because in my
experience it is not the Tanach holding people back, but it is Jewish culture
that seems a little scary.
Posted
By Craig Hamilton, Sandwich, MA
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Why would anyone
want to convert?
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As the number of
laws given in the Torah increases, the average life expectancy of a patriarch
goes down. And, before you get on your high horse and knock the age of people
like Methusaleh or Serug as being mystical or something like that, understand
that there are people that today live to be the ages of the patriarchs in the
Bible and especially how absurd this would probably seem to someone living in
the Dark Ages whose life expectancy was only 25. That the ages we attain in
modernity are possible is yet another example (like the technological
revolution) that we are sampling the soup prior to the age of Mosiach. In
fact, I read the other day that a baby born today has a 50% chance of living
to be 100yrs old. That is to the person in the Middle/Dark ages the ages we
attain now would have seemed as mystical to them as the ages given when
reading the Bible.
Posted By Craig Hamilton, Sandwich, M
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J. or C
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Actually, K is
probably the phonetic answer. Craig is a permutation of Korech, or as I have
heard it pronounced Koreckh. - See Korah 1917 JPS translation
Posted By Craig
Hamilton, Sandwich, Massachusetts
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