I would appreciate any help with the following questions

To provide some info about me: I have not been ‘initiated’ into Judaism - I am new to the religion, and I would like to become a Jew.  I live in England, and, in my town, there is no Synagogue.  I could travel to the Synagogue in my closest city, via train, however.  

1)  If/when I go to a synagogue for the first time, is there any important advice I should be aware of?

2)  Is there an ‘initiation process’ in Judaism?

3)  I would like to make a charitable donation to a Jewish charity where (and I don’t mean to sound like a jerk here) the beneficiaries of the donations are Jews, and where the professionals who work for the charity are also Jews.  Does anyone know of any such charities?

4)  According to Jewish scriptures, are there any tangible items which some Jews carry with them, when they leave their home, which, kind of, protect them, from evil, or something along those lines?  For example, with some pagans of certain lands, some would carry around leaves of a certain plant which were known to protect them from evil spirits.  Is there any such belief of something similar in the realm of Judaism?

I would like to say thank you in advance to anyone who helpfully answers one or more of the above questions.

Sorry for this silly question:The shabbat is still observed by the israelis?

Hello all
I am a pretty old woman (don't feel as old as I am), who recently had a DNA test done which made me close to 50% Ashkenazim.  I knew that my mother was interned by the NAZIs, but survived, and that is the reason I am existing.  We never talked about anything Jewish at home, but she became an orphan with the age of two, and was adopted by a German couple and raised to be catholic.  Which means, I did not learn anything abut Judaism at all.  Considering that my dad was German (according to the DNA he was mostly English and French), my mo must have been close to 100% Jewish, and I found out that her birth name was Levi.
As I said, I don't know anything about half of my heritage, and hope that you folks can help me a bit to find out who I am.
Thank you very much!
Linde

I wonder where you can find the statement the heavens and earth was created for the sake of Abraham's merits.

Is this in Jewish scripture, or is it merely the statement of Ginzberg?

Hi, I'm from the UK and from time to time like to tease out some of Torah's mysteries and ask questions when things don't make sense!

Okay so I've copied and pasted the entire 613 Mitzvot and have been following, portion by portion, the Mitzvot each week and comparing them to the Torah. 
My question is why do they not match up always? Here's one example (of many I'm finding) where Gd says one thing but it's noted differently:-
"89. The court must not inflict punishment on Shabbat". This apparently comes from Exodus 35:3 "You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day". 

So the sixty-four million dollar question is like, why?? Why is number 89 not as straight forward as "Do not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day".

Thank you in advance for your help.

Hello

Please forgive me for picking your forum (it was the first on google), but I am a little troubled, and while I have purposely stopped posting on the internet to give me space to assimilate all that a Jewish Priest has kindly given me over two decades, I need a third viewpoint. And asking those who understand Jewish Priests seems to be the best idea. Apart from a thank you I don’t expect that I will trouble you again.

Background 

I value all religions and if you were to pin me down I would say that I was Gnostic. I am spiritual, feel close to God, but don’t have any personal need for religion, though I appreciate the value of religions to our world, in being there, helping and guiding.

I am a Scotsman, and while professionally qualified I am a career nowadays. Having an incurable cancer myself you will appreciate that I am trying to tidy up loose ends. I am also a bit of a social nitwit, so please bear that in mind if I inadvertently offend.

The Jewish Priest I know (through the internet) [Hi if you are here]

He is a kind, gentle, inspirational, nice man. For two decades he has helped me grow as a person, and I value him greatly. Over recent months he really has ‘brought me along’ with leaps and bounds, to the degree that I am taking a break to enable me to absorb, evaluate, reflect, on it all.


A second Jewish person I know

I discussed this with a lovely Jewish lady (who I probably won’t speak to again) and she echoed my views on reincarnation (which I understand some Jews believe in some don’t) and she seemed very happy at the guidance given to me by said Jewish priest.

That was both relief from the confirmation and also a little worrying.


Why Worrying.

I won’t bore you with the details, as it is likely to lead to disharmony, but in essence this Jewish Priest is of the opinion that I have been, and have, an important part to play in human evolution, with the support from on high (or however you want to phrase it). A few others seem to share this opinion.

The trouble is that while certain events in my life would arguably support this, I just:

1. Don’t consider myself to be a good enough person.
2. Don’t see how I could make any further meaningful impact in our world, in any realistic way.
3. Am not sure that I am responsible enough.

Etc.

So my questions:

1. I googled this, but I think it best to get a more reliable explanation. But what exactly is a Jewish Priest?
2. Do Jewish Priests commonly identify people who they believe, in essence, who are here to do great things? 
3. Not wanting to get into religious difficulties, but surely you would expect Jewish Priest to identify Jews for such great work?

I am just trying to get another perspective on where he is coming from. 

I guess I have trouble believing (remember I am a Gnostic) and feel a direct connection with God after a near death experience when I nearly died in hospital. After going through and passing an ancient Egyptian weighing of the heart ceremony where I questioned the Gods (I could not believe that I had passed), they laughed and sent me round again on a more Christian path, where as I was about to take that last final step, I was informed that God wanted me to return. It was a freewill choice. No job or task was given to me. I really wanted to get out of here and take that final step (which as a family man I know sounds heartless), but I put my faith in God and returned to feeling much better instantly. Though it took a couple of years to fully recover my energy.

I was in hospital with a fever after a cut in my ear got infected. I recognise that I may well have just been hallucinating in a fever spike. 


I just want people to be nicer to each other. Less bullying, less war, less money addiction (which I believe to be the source of a lot of bad stuff).

I am happy to die when my cancer gets me, and simply report back on my view of humanity (we need to evolve past those negative base instincts). But I can’t ignore this Jewish Priest.

Which is why I want to understand a little better what role Jewish Priests have.

Thank you in advance.

Hello, in school we are doing a project regarding Judaism and antisemitism. Because at the end of this, which will be in a year, we have to create something for an exhibition, we would be grateful for some specific or also non-specific authentic documents to give us more and more importantly better information for our project.
Sincerely, Ella

 
The name of the film is Last Flight Home on the App Paramount Plus. 

It is a film about a family's journey to honor their father Eli Timoner's wish to use California's End of Life Option Act.  The film was directed by his daughter Ondi Timoner. 

It is beautifully made while heartbreaking to see this lovely family gather together for the final days in support for their father and grandfather including the wife and dear friends. 

I give financial support monthly what I am able as a Death With Dignity supporter and will lend my support as a voice in contacting my State Representative.

One of my students was interested in three Hebrew words for her personal curiosity. I was wondering if some could help her out. The words are:

forgiven
family/clan/larger family group
bohemian

I would be grateful if someone could give me the Hebrew for these words. 

Many thanks.

Jim Brooks