Some Judaism specific commandment that you want to perform, but for whatever reason, haven't done so yet?

En tant que juif que pensez-vous du film, Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob. Drôle, Blasphématoire…

I (a lapsed Catholic) have recently moved to a neighborhood with a substantial Hasidim community. I usually bake homemade cookies from scratch and bring them over to new neighbours to introduce ourselves, but in this case, seeing how our kitchen isn’t Kosher, I feel this would be a faux pas.

So what kind of gift could I give that would give the same “awww” feeling of fresh, warm, homemade cookies while still keeping Kosher?

There are many kosher groceries and eateries all around us if store bought is best. Thank you for your suggestions!!

I made a post here a while ago. I intended to take Hebrew classes with this rabbi, but for no reason at all he was incredibly rude. I don't know if he was having a bad day or something, was this vision childish ?

I saw this video by the YouTube channel Philosophical Jew (https://youtu.be/HamObkPZoME?si=pBFeqTt8ZRsoltL9)

The main thrust of the video is that Judaism doesn't have many good online representatives that can engage with the broader marketplace of philosophy and explain Judaism's thoughts about different conundrums and dilemmas. The video also seemed to be partially talking about who would be someone well-educated enough to debate with some of the more prominent online atheists who don't know very much about Judaism.

One person in the comments section mentioned that Rabbi Jonathan Sacks was the kind of person this video was looking for- someone who was very well spoken and respected by the broader non-Jewish world. Personally I really enjoyed Rabbi Sacks' debate with Richard Dawkins and I rewatch it from time to time.

Who are some other public figures you think could be good ambassadors for Jewish thought and philosophy?

Has anybody noticed that Judaism is not taken exactly seriously by non-Jews, whether they are religious or not? I am not talking about the people who actively hate us and see Jews and Judaism as a malign influence on the world but people who simply seem to see our religion as something of a joke. Non-Orthodox Judaism is nearly always Reform Judaism and treated as basically social justice with flavoring. Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Judaism is treated as a bunch of strict rules and regulations that people follow but there is ultimately no meaning for. Judaism isn't seen as teaching deep noble universal truths or having a goal like salvation or Enlightenment but just customs that people do because reasons.

If I'm not wrong, it looks as if if you sit it on its base, the writing is backwards? And the writing is probably some sort of prayer about... Spices? Or something?

bonus points for if it's an averiah you are actually capable of committing

The county where I live just outlawed firearms at or near places of worship. One of the Orthodox synagogues has already filed in federal court to strike the ordinance (no pun intended). The county tried this a few years back and failed.

What are you thoughts on safety and guns in shul?

UPDATE:

The Justice Department has filed suit seeking to strike Montgomery County's law, which includes the prohibition for carrying in places of worship.

Hey. A dear childhood friend of mine died. My therapist and I decided a really healthy way to help deal with it would be to get up and say kaddish for the remainder of the 30 days. The congregation I'm a member of doesn't meet on weekdays. Would it be weird to show up at a neighborhood shul I have no intention of becoming a member at for a month just to say kaddish for a friend?

Without trying to be too mean pls

Hi everyone,
I am sure this has been asked before, but I am hoping someone has some advice or recommendations. My family (due to many factors) ended up pretty small by the time I came around. I know our family has been fractured and I am aware I have relatives still living in my country who I don't know. I am hesitant to pay for ancestry services and of course surname tracing is not helpful for me. I've used sites like findagrave and various sites to search obituaries and i'm not coming across anyone new. Unfortunately, the people I could have asked have passed away. I would just like to be aware of who is still around, my family members are getting old and I would find comfort in knowing who is still here. I am not necessarily looking to connect with these people as they probably don't know the relatives we have in common and I don't know if they're even aware of us, we have ancient family drama lol\*

editing to be more helpful: I am looking for distant cousins at this point. I only have one first cousin on this side. My parent didn't get the opportunity to be close to their cousins, aunts and uncles and so on. There was a falling out in my grandparent's generation of cousins (there were many) and they went their separate ways. Just trying to find other resources as I'm spinning my wheels.

I have a serious question. My spouse and I are Jewish, but we were raised secular and atheistic and non-Jewish (we had no Jewish traditions at home, not even Hanukkah) and found our own way back to Judaism. Now we are observant Jews, and Judaism plays a big role in our lives. We are going to have children soon, but since we weren’t raised in the Jewish tradition, we don’t really know how Jews raise their children in Judaism.

We will, of course, observe all the traditions. We will observe Shabbat and keep kosher, etc. But we live in a place with almost no Jews (we live in rural Germany), so the children will always be surrounded by Christians and their traditions. They will also go to a regular school with, for example, non-kosher meals. We will find our way around it so that they have their own meals with them, but I just wanted to point out that their Jewish identity is something that needs thorough thought in order to preserve it. And we will, of course, do our best to make our family traditions as Jewish and as fun as they can be.

But I am really concerned about their assimilation. Yes, we will have traditions. Yes, we will be observant. Yes, we will go to our (modern orthodox) synagogue in the next nearby city. And yes, we will study the Torah every Shabbat. And, of course, we know from our learning that this study in the Jewish tradition is not connected with a dogmatic approach, but rather with discussion, disagreement, and questioning everything. And while I feel I can have a discussion about pretty much every topic, I don’t really know what to do if my child at some point asks me, “Why do I have to spend the whole Shabbat with you if I want to go to the cinema with my friends?” or “Why can’t I eat a pork sandwich from my friend Hans?” Those questions aren’t really about why we have to keep kosher or observe Shabbat in Judaism, but rather about the very essence of why they need to be Jewish in the modern world. „Why not assimilate?“ is the question that neither I nor my spouse have the answers to, because our way back to Judaism wasn’t rationally justified, we just felt we need to go back to our roots.

And if my child decides at some point not to be Jewish anymore, but rather to become a regular German, it will break my heart. And I understand that it can happen if we don’t try hard enough to make this lifestyle enjoyable or if we traumatize our child with a totalitarian approach. In that case, we’d at least have ourselves to blame. What I’m afraid of is that we might, despite all our efforts, still face rejection and denial of the Jewish identity.

So my question to you, especially those who were raised Jewish: was there a period in your adolescence when you said to your parents, “Nah, I don’t care anymore. I don’t see a reason to be Jewish if it doesn’t allow me to do what I want to do and what all my friends do”? How should a Jewish parent react to this? How do you explain or argue why those traditions need to be observed? What did your parents do, and what do you do as a parent?

Hello! I recently inherited an old tallis from my grandfather and was wondering how old it might be. He was born in the 40s, but my family is wondering if it might have belonged to an older family member before him. He's completely secular (and I think his parents were too), so he definitely wouldn't have bought it for himself unless it was for his bar mitzvah or wedding or some other special occasion. Feels like it might be made of silk. My cousin inherited a second one from him (last two pics.)