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Aish HaTorah

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  1. Aish HaTorah
    We call the afterlife Olam Ha-Ba, or The World to Come. There is not a lot of definitive consensus with regard to dogma and Olam Ha-Ba, in my opinion, but as with all things Jewish and Theology...there is a LOT of speculation (read arguing). We don't believe in the idea of hell in the traditional Christian way of thinking (and, I presume LDS as well?). We do believe that there is a state of punishment that results from sins committed, although it isn't permanent. Within the many flavors of Judaism, it is a pretty unequivocal belief that mortal death is NOT the end of our existence. Torah nods to this in many places. Deuteronomy 11:13-15 and Leviticus 26:3-9, for example. This is just the surface, of course. If you or anyone is interested, perhaps a sub-thread within the Jewish category could be started. I appreciate your question very much.
  2. Aish HaTorah
    Thank you!
  3. Aish HaTorah
    Honorary Jew...hmmmm. As for wandering in the desert, don't remind me. Pesach (Passover) is soon enough. Hehe.
  4. Aish HaTorah
    And invite all the pigs you know...it's the safest place they can spend an afternoon, among Jews.
  5. Aish HaTorah
    I am well-pleased to be here. THAT is a loaded question. It depends on your flavor of Jew. Many Hasidic Jews practice some form of Qorbanot (sacrifice), animal notwithstanding. Especially during Yom Kippur. The glaring problem with this, of course, is that there is no temple in which to provide said sacrifice. Home sacrifices were and can be performed, but it isn't the same as the temple was destroyed. Without quorbanot, we believe forgiveness is received through repentance, prayer, as well as good deeds. This, by the way, is why many Jews wear black, to mourn the temple.
  6. Aish HaTorah
    I was hoping to avoid hubris as well. That is always a danger. Not with me, I assure you! But with some. I've heard, anyway.
  7. Aish HaTorah
    I am so sorry about that! I forget what people know or do not know. I should make no assumptions; that isn't fair. Thank you for checking me!
  8. Aish HaTorah
    Well..."minor" is a bit subjective , but yes in essence. Your faith, as does most all of Christianity, has its roots in Judaism. Of course, there were no Jews before Abraham. Your view of Yeshua and who he was is a bit of a hurdle for us.
  9. Aish HaTorah
    You are correct, It does say Elohim, which is a plurality. G-d often refers to himself in the plural, but then He uses a singular form of whatever verb follows. In the example from Bereshit you mentioned above, Elohim is plural, while the verb "bara," created is singular. This isn't always the case. He sometimes uses the plural form of the verb as well.
  10. Aish HaTorah
    Absolutely! Yeshua, of course, was Yehudim, so he would most certainly have been referring to Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6:4-9:
  11. Aish HaTorah
    Singular, yes. That is a very LONG debate for which you will get no consensus. Ask two rabbis a question and you'll get three answers . We recite it twice daily, except on Yom Kippur when we recite it thrice. We consider it a mitzvah.
  12. Aish HaTorah
    It can mean g-ds as well, absolutely. It is definitely plural. The absolute literal translation of "El" is strong or mighty one. We recite that word in the Shema every day.
  13. Aish HaTorah
    Thank you!
  14. Aish HaTorah
    I have quite a few. Then again, I just joined this site today, so you don't know me, and you therefore would not have any assumptions to make about my hobbies. Now I am just rambling, forgive me. I have a great fondness for old clocks and watches. I have been fascinated with them since before my Bar Mitzvah. I love the cogs and springs and gears. It gives me great pleasure to find an old and forgotten pocket watch and make it work again. Great thread, by the way. And Shalom to you.
  15. Aish HaTorah
    Let's see...what brought me to this site? The Almighty Google. As to the matter of whether or not you are all crazy, the jury is still out. You have all, indeed, given me a warm and thoughtful welcome. Thank you. You may call me Aish. I don't believe I am Catching Fire like some of those Hunger Games folks, but Aish will do. I am interested in most any discussion. I cannot promise that my contribution will be at all stimulating (I tend to suffer at times from verbal diarrhea), but I do genuinely enjoy conversation. What sorts of questions...I am sure that there will be a few (or more) that will come to me in time. Any and all questions you'd like to ask are welcome. From serious theological to esoterical to cultural to...whatever.
  16. Aish HaTorah
    Elohim, as in the Hebrew plural form of El? The plurality of G-d. Thank you for clarifying that. Thanks to all of you.
  17. Aish HaTorah
    Elohim, as in the Hebrew plural form of El? The plurality of G-d.
  18. Aish HaTorah
    Elohim, as in the Hebrew plural form of El? The plurality of G-d.
  19. Aish HaTorah
    Whew! At least it isn't an important political year.
  20. Aish HaTorah
    I do not believe that I am familiar with the "antemortal name of Jesus Christ. You are correct, however about the respect part. We take it a step further. To us it is forbidden to say the name of HaShem (i.e. the tetragrammaton "yod hey vav hey").
  21. Aish HaTorah
    I just started a thread there. Thank you for that. I know the intent is to keep this thread to introductions.
  22. Aish HaTorah
    I did it just because I knew you were going to ask. Haha...see my response below.
  23. Aish HaTorah
    You mean the one I just changed? Sorry about that. The tablets, of course, are the Torah. The Hebrew on the tablets are the first 10 letters in the alefbet. The two Hebrew words are "Etz Chaim", meaning "Tree of Life."
  24. Aish HaTorah
    Ok, got it. THank you!
  25. Aish HaTorah
    Shalom everyone. A moderator (my apologies for forgetting which) was kind enough to point me in the direction of this subforum. I have not had the opportunity to read any of the topics here, but I wanted to say hello and to offer my friendship as well as my brain (that didn't sound quite right...) to anyone who wishes to ask me questions or share your own experiences with our culture and faith. Oh, and I happen to be Jewish. I suppose that might be apropos to mention. I greatly look forward to meeting each of you. A few things I'd like to mention: 1) I am NOT easily offended. I am kind and respectful, and if you are the same, I would appreciate that. Ask me anything without fear. 2) I am NOT here to challenge your faith or disparage your beliefs in any way. I love learning about all faith experiences. 3) I work odd hours, so if you ask me something and it takes me a spell to respond, please do not think I forgot you. If it takes a REALLY long time for me to reply, I may not have seen what your post. 4) I am in recovery from sarcasm. This is an ongoing process. You have been warned. May HaShem bless you and keep you.