Judaism

Judaism is a way of life that challenges it's adherents to use their freewill to carry out Abraham's mission of bettering the world. Judaism insists that a person live very much in this world, and the Torah texts and the mass of rabbinic literature reflects this. So much of what they talk about is how to simply be a mentsch, take responsibility for yourself, and be kind and compassionate to others.

God gave Abraham trials that asked him to shake himself free of the world around him and take radical action that would set him apart as the ivri - the revolutionary - and at the same time make real, lasting change to the corrupt world around him. Picking up and leaving his childhood home and family estate, rejecting the pagan approaches to understanding and using nature, Abraham was building himself up to become a true leader of people, and the founder of Judaism.

Millions of words have been written about the application of the ancient wisdom of the Torah and the Talmud to modern challenges. The dynamism of Jewish scholarship and the proverbial stubbornness of the Jewish people have made Judaism remain as relevant today as it ever was.

by Simon Synett Are you a writer, passionate about this or any other topic? Join Blogcritics!

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “Judaism”

• Swiss Jews support Muslims on minaret ban

  
  Tiffany B. Brown — Authority: 432
  From yesterday’s Jerusalem Post , Jews back Muslims on minaret ban : Citing religious discrimination, a diverse coalition of Jewish organizations is objecting to Switzerland’s ban of minarets on local mosques. Swiss voters this week approved by a strong majority a referendum outlawing the construction of ...
  2 hours ago

• We will build and you can’t stop us, says Zionist on Israel’s tit

  
  Antony Loewenstein — Authority: 145
  Pro-settler group Women in Green and their leader Nadia Matar issue a clarion call to resist the Israeli state on its pathetic efforts to “halt” settlement growth. The organisation of the far-right is impressive and Israel has for decades bowed down to these hardliners. Arabs be damned. Here’s Matar: Dear ...
  5 hours ago

• Greetings From The Parliament of the Worlds Religions, Part 1

  
  Windows & Doors — Authority: 522
  It has been an amazing day at the Parliament of the Worlds Religions, but nothing has been more moving to me than the six Sikh junior high students from an Indian religious academy who interviewed me about what it means to be Jewish. It got really interesting when their teachers joined in and what followed was an ...
  5 hours ago

• Living with the Tension

  
  Cross-Currents — Authority: 414
  Yaakov Avinu represents the highest level of perfection among the Avos. Avraham Avinu produced a Yishmael; Yitzchak Avinu produced an Esav. But Yaakov’s progeny became the Twelve Tribes; each one of them entered into Klal Yisrael. Avraham’s defining middah (characteristic) was chesed (loving-kindness); ...
  6 hours ago

• Israel gets tough on women draft-avoiders

  
  Interfaith — Authority: 128
  The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is set to crackdown on women who falsely claim to be religious to escape compulsory army service. It is compulsory for all non-Arab Israeli men to serve three years in the IDF at age 18, and for women to serve two years. A growing number of secular girls and women in Israel are ...
  9 hours ago

• The Big Religion Chart

  
  What The Christ? — Authority: 155
  If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about world religions, then Religion Facts has you covered with their Big Religion Chart . It’s a surprisingly thorough, accurate summary of just about every major religion currently practiced. Definitely worth a look if you’ve ever been curious about what different people ...
  11 hours ago

• Jew Wishes on: Desert Skies and Shabbat

  
  Jew Wishes — Authority: 414
  Once more it is time for Sky Watch Friday . I have chosen some photographs that I took of sky scenes on the interstate (freeway), in the desert and in the mountains. Visit here to see more sky photography from around the world. I conclude this post with a poem by the Israeli poet, Zelda ...
  11 hours ago

• Letter: Anti-Semitism in Postwar England and America

  
  NYT > Theater — Authority: 901
  To the Editor:.
  13 hours ago

• Cool Jewish Events: Goy Launch Party

  
  Memoirs of a Jewminicana: Aliza Hausman — Authority: 477
  Celebrate the publishing of Ranjit Chatterjee s spellbinding spiritual autobiography "Goy" with us on Sunday, December 13, at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Author to speak, followed by a "question and answer" session and book signings. Refreshments will be served throughout. ...
  14 hours ago

• Is Australia serious about holding (Israelis) to account?

  
  Antony Loewenstein — Authority: 145
  With a bunch of Israelis currently in Australia , many of whom should face war crimes trials, Australians for Palestine sent a letter to the Attorney General demanding action: 3 December 2009 The Hon Robert McClelland MP Attorney General PO Box 6022 Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Mr McClelland, ...
  15 hours ago

• Rudd helps the Middle East story remain one sided

  
  Antony Loewenstein — Authority: 145
  My following story appears in today’s Crikey : Last weekend the Australian’s foreign editor Greg Sheridan interviewed former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and provided a platform for him to defend the 2006 Lebanon war, 2008/09 Gaza war and reveal the “most extensive concessions any Israeli leader ...
  15 hours ago

• The state of the peace process in 2009

  
  Antony Loewenstein — Authority: 145
  Overland is one of Australia’s finest literary journals. Punchy, provocative, topical, relevant and interesting, the magazine re-launched its website this week and is currently running a Subscriberthon . Do it for yourself and the country. Get into it! I was asked to write an original piece for the ...
  18 hours ago

• The calm logic of the BDS movement

  
  Antony Loewenstein — Authority: 145
  This website regularly discusses the importance of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. A recent debate took place at Columbia University between George Fletcher, Cardozo Professor of Jurisprudence at Columbia Law School and author of Rethinking Criminal Law, and Omar Barghouti , Palestinian human ...
  18 hours ago

• Hamas and Israel move along their merry way of further crimes

  
  Antony Loewenstein — Authority: 145
  Sometimes a necessary comparison must be done. First, Hamas in Gaza tightens its rule and undoubtedly increases the chances of human rights abuses: Hamas rulers in the Gaza Strip plan to introduce the death penalty for gangs getting rich off smuggled narcotics. Security officials of the Hamas movement and ...
  20 hours ago

• Robert Wright - The Evolution of God (My Review)

  
  Integral Options Cafe — Authority: 439
  Many months ago now, I had posted some reviews of Wrights new opus, The Evolution of God , here on IOC, most of them from major newspapers. Robert Wright emailed me and asked if I would like a review copy of the book and, of course, I said yes. Its taken a very long time for me to get through the book (what with ...
  22 hours ago

• Pogo Was Right

  
  Shalom Rav — Authority: 116
  From today’s JTA : The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating whether Israeli organized crime is connected to an attack at a local synagogue. The department initially listed the Oct. 30 shooting at the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic Synagogue in North Hollywood, Calif., as a hate crime, but in recent ...
  22 hours ago

• What People Want Their God to See in Them?

  
  Original Wavelength — Authority: 388
  Photo source : People from different religions have their own concepts of divinity and the ‘afterlife’. The stricter their faith, the stronger their belief in a special and exclusive arrangement with this divinity. Many strongly religious people believe that upon dying there is ...
  1 day ago

• Swiss Politician Calls For Ban On Separate Religious Cemeteries

  
  A Blog For All — Authority: 483
  On the heels of the Swiss referendum pushed by right wing groups to ban the construction of new minarets, a Swiss politician is now proposing a ban on the construction of new Jewish and Muslim cemeteries. A mainstream Swiss political leader is calling for a ban on separate Muslim and Jewish cemeteries.Christophe ...
  1 day ago

• PODCAST: Yeshua in Context – Yeshua as Teacher

  
  Messianic Jewish Musings — Authority: 490
  One of the most helpful things we can do in getting back to the context of Yeshua’s life is to try and see him in the categories of the day. Yeshua was not a rabbi in the modern sense, someone who went to seminary and who led a synagogue and met with the board and [...]
  1 day ago

• Faith and People with Disabilities

  
  Windows & Doors — Authority: 522
  According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1 out of 5 Americans lives with at least one disability. Whether that is the proper word or not, the bottom line remains that physical, medical, emotional challenges are a part of life. The only real question, until cures for all of them are available to all people, is ...
  1 day ago

Comments about Judaism