Ask a Jew

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

Do Jews have any respect for Islam??

In addtition to what the other guy said, according to the Bible the founder of the Arab tribes was the son of Abraham. Abraham had two wives, Sarah and Hecuba. Sarah was barren, so she told Abraham to have a child wuth Hecuba. This child was Ishmael (I think, not too sure on his name) Soon though, God gave Sarah fertility and she and Abraham had a child, Isaac. We all know Isaac's story. After that God told Abraham to cast out Hecuba and Ishmael. Abraham really didnt want to, but God said he would take care of them. So with a heavy heart Abraham sent them into the wilderness. Long story short, Hecuba and Ishmael almost die, God puts them near a well, Ishmael goes on to be the leader of teh first Arabs. While Isaac goes onto lead teh first Jews. This stroy is also present in the Koran (I believe, this next part was told to me by my Hebrew School teacher) but they say that Abraham kept Ishmael and cast out Isaac. Or somehting like that. So, with a rounding logic, Islam was created by an Arab, who we are technically blood cousins with. So we have a respect for Islam.

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

Can Jews really only find partners through a "matchmaker"? That seems terribly... restricting.

No. Matchmakers were common in pretty much all cultures at one point. They are still make a good business in the Orthodox community, and while not orthodox, I almost got talked into using one myself.

Jewish matchmakers are no different than a good dating service. The look into what you are looking for in a partner, and try to match you up. At least one in person meeting is required before an engagment may be considered (and of course you can meet/talk as much as you like, just like any other way of being set up).

Two of my observant orthodox cousins used a matchmaker. One was such a shy guy he'd have probably never meet a girl otherwise, and the other frankly did so because her standards were so high she couldn't find someone who met them within the community. Both marriages have worked out wonderfully and they really were people that completed each other.

Edit: Also, what's the deal with circumcision? Is it meant to represent your submission to God?

No. We are told it is simply an outward token/reminder of our contract with God.

That wasn't the only reminder we were given, we were told in several ways to use tokens to remind us (and the history of the Jewish people shows we need reminders lol), that's just the only one in our flesh.

But why circumcision in particular? I mean, I don't want to be offensive or anything, but is it backed up by some idea that next time you feel like beating your meat or sleeping with someone, you'll look down at the little guy and think "oh shit, that's right, god is watching me. Nearly forgot" because if not, then why can't, say, a tattoo or something like that fit the bill?

Short answer:Abraham did it.

Long Answer:Abraham, at age 90 something, was wandering around in the desert. God spoke to him and said "You shall circumsize your self with a sharp rock" And so Abraham circumsized himself at age 90 something with a sharp rock. And it was a sign of his convenant with god. And what the other guys said about cleanliness and sand in the desert. Uggh... I shudder to think of it. I remember my younger brother's "Brisk", the ceremony of circumcision. It was rather like a house party.

EDIT:I'm not sure exactley where it is in the bible, but its in there. I havent looked at a text in the longest time, but I have a good memory. So, not to sling shit about the guy above me, but this is why we circumsize.

 

[rutger5000]

Can Krav Maga actually be considered as a martial arts, or is it just fighting dirty?

 

[Pecoros7]

Yes. They are our brothers. Except for the last 60 years, we have gotten along better with them than pretty much anyone else in our history. We both have edicts telling us to respect each other. Our traditions are very close on the core religious beliefs. It is well established in Jewish law that converting to Christianity, even as a farce, is considered an (almost?) unforgivable sin, but the same is not true of conversion to Islam. One of our greatest thinkers commented that conversion to Islam is not a good thing, but is a forgivable sin. That's a rather stark difference.

I'm curious; is this because of lingering animosity between Jews and Christians over (often brutal) oppression or because Christianity is seen as heretical? Many Christians I know view Judaism as their spiritual heritage and presume a kinship with Jews. I can certainly see why Jews would not feel the same, I'm just wondering why they don't specifically.

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

Can Krav Maga actually be considered as a martial arts, or is it just fighting dirty?

Depends. How dead do you want your enemy? Do you consider efficency an art? It depends on your definition. If you think art is killing your enemy in the most efficient, fastest, and least dangerous to you way possible, then yes it is an art. If you're thinking of techniques, forms, and other things like that, I cant really comment because I dont know Krav Maga but I think the answer is no.

 

[Kadoodle]

Do you consider yourself jewish through religion or ethnicity?
Do you consider other jews from differing nations to be of the same race or religion as you?

I ask because often you see jews portrayed as a race of people and not a group of people with the same beliefs like most other religions are.

You can be jewish through either, so, consider yourself jewish through whichever is true to you? If you are a black Christian, what do you consider yourself, a black Christian through race or through religion? You can have someone of jewish heritage and be a devout Hindu.

As Bioshocked has stated though, you need to define the difference between the race (ethnicity) and the religion. Its rare that the two are intermingled, and no other religion is so firmly intwined. But there is significant difference.

What's the meaning and significance of those little hats? They barely cover the top of the scalp and I've seen them being taken off more than I've seen them on heads.

I know there's a word for them...

The yarmulke (pronounced ya-ma-ka) is worn by Orthodox Jews to permenantly cover your head. It is to signify the separation between God and man (more or less, alot more to it than that). Its actually not that interesting. Whats more interesting is the squaring of the head with leaving hair uncut (those jewish curls people notice? Thats actually a thing). Where do you think middle-eastern turbans come from?

Yamulkah is the yiddish word. Also used is the word "Keepah" which is the hebrew term.

What do you feel - being a jew - on Israel blockading and ruthlessly killing innocent Palastinians? Also, what's your definition of zionism?

The media does a very bad job of portraying israel, largely due to the vast amount of subliminal anti-semitism in europe. This is why the BBC is notorious for bias reports against Israel.

Are you aware that the Palestinians send hundreds of missles each day into Israeli suburbs, killing innocent civilians? Are you aware that Hezzbolah, Hamas, and other palestinian terrorist groups want to eradicate Jews and Israel from the face of the earth?

The Palestinians are far from innocent. If they hadn't been backstabbing fucks back when Israel was shared, this situation wouldn't exist. Israel is doing what any good country would do.

I've been to Israel. The people there are not savages. It's actually more civilized than countries like America.

 

[Wildflowers]

[Massive wall of text

See, I dont have a problem with the questions being posed. I have a problem with how openly you attacked a contingent of people who were not personally responsible for it. Like blaming some person leaving in east side London for the generals of Gallipoli. I have issue with you attacking people who had nothing to do with it.

There are constructive and useful ways to post and expect a structured response. I responded (poorly) in kind. It may have been a bad choice on my part, but given how quickly these threads degenerate, I was attempting to end something that was in no way going to end well.

..also, odd that you capitolized the word 'jew' at the end. If you were looking for the non-racist dedication of the noun in the sentence, you would have said NOT, or YOUR. Just saying. I find it hard to believe that you are entirely unpartisan.

I am unpartisan, and in many ways, uneducated. I mostly know about the religious side of Judaism, and not the current political state of Isreal. Seems to me we should leave it at that, and stop attacking other people on the internet. It gets nowhere. If you need it, here is an official apology - Im sorry for calling you a racist in what I perceived to be an open attack on a race of people.

 

[Duruznik]

[small]I don't see this ending well, but what the hey.[/small]

Do you really receive multiple days of gift giving during Hanukkah?

How does that work compared to Christmas?

Most people forget the actual significance of Channukah was the invention of Guerilla warfare. The candle thing was just a 'miracle' to get the kids excited about it, but really it was about the Macabee's family (almost like a clan, really) going to war against a splinter faction of the Hellenist Greeks and winning.

Actually, the original point was to celebrate the miracle of the oil lamp lasting for 8 days instead of 1. The heroic rebellion as a whole was there too, but it wasn't as big a deal until the Zionist movement wanted to give the holiday a more modern relevance during th eearly 20th century.

Actually if you read the Hunukkah story you will be hard pressed to find any mention of any miracle relating to lamp oil. That probably was a cultural add on at some point.

The 8 day festival is because the Temple had to be rededicated after it was retaken and that was traditionally an 8 day party.

I just did a bit of research, and it turns out the miracle was first mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud, which would date the story several centuries older than the actual event. Huh, turns out my teacher was talking out of her ass.

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

Can Krav Maga actually be considered as a martial arts, or is it just fighting dirty?

What makes a marshal art a marshal art?

Krav Maga is hand to hand combat. Fighting dirty would make it sound like there was no strategy or method to it, and that isn't the case. It also makes it sound like you think in active combat someone trained in Karate wouldn't use every advantage they could find, which is probably not the case.

Off topic. Are you Jewish? Cause when you quoted me, you made it sound like you weren't.

OT:Yeah, in my martial arts class (American Kempo) we were taught that if youi stand there and preform nice little "hiyah!" kicks and stuff, you'll get beat into the ground. We fought to win.

 

[Kadoodle]

Can Krav Maga actually be considered as a martial arts, or is it just fighting dirty?

It's not a martial "art" per se, but it is exponentially more effective than oriental martial arts, primarily because there is no ranking system or "discipline" or "honor" bullshit.

The other secret is that about 90% of the techniques involve kicking your assailant in the balls. It's super effective.

On a separate note, a krav maga instructor once taught me a valuable factoid: It only takes 2 pounds of pressure to crush someone's eyeballs.