Sorry to be offensive or biased but I cannot help but notice this trend
I will compare American Protestantism and general Judaism in my neighborhoods (I know there are MANY sects of Jews) not all of course
Lutheranism (in my neighborhood at least)

• Weaknesss is a virtue
  
  
• Being stupid is a virtue (blessed are the meek)
  
  
• Being poor is a virtue “the root of evil is money”
  
  
• Mostly the dregs of society such as criminals and uneducated hicks addicted to opioids
  
  
• No personal responsibility i.e. “Jebus forgives"
  
  
• Obese with dysfunctional families
  

• STRENGTH and overcoming challenges i.e. defeating the Greeks in the Maccabees
  
  
• Education is valuable, use your talents to help your community
  
  
• wealth is valuable to the community and is a tool for GOOD to help others
  
  
• No unrepentant drug addicts (knew a synagogue in my area that banned some screwballs from ever attending service)
  
  
• Doctors, lawyers, chemists and Uni Professors are the main base
  
  
• Swole and trim with successful and large families
  

Hi,
hope you are all doing well. I think I have not been on this forum for 3 years or something, and my old profile has disappeared so I did a new registration. I am doing some research on my own initiative into a passage in Deuteronomy, namely the Deuteronomy 24:1-4 passage, of which it is said in the New Testament: "Moses gave you this precept".

And so for me this raised the question: Is this commandment to be understood as given by G-d (see, I speak hebrew :-) ), or did Moses have some special kind of authority to give commands, which would be as authoritative as if they were spoken from G-d himself?

I have come so far in my investigation, as that one can point to Deuteronomy 4:14 where Moses is commanded to teach the israelites. And as far as I know, that is about it for biblical (i.e. Torah) references.

I have then found this webpage about "Moses seat" which refers to the jewish encyclopedia, quite informative
https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/q...ctual-seat
http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1283-almemar
http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3...nd-loosing
I believe he quotes from those 2 resources extensively.

Now this is very interesting, because in the New Testament, a "seat of Moses" is mentioned, but that seems to refer more to a general name for the preaching seat in the synagogue. I am sort of more interested in, how exactly is the authority of Moses understood? And quite specifically, could Moses give new laws, as it seems that he is doing in the Deuteronomy around chapters 23-24.

And a related question: but this may be a bit more difficult and technical:
In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to have said about the Deuteronomy 24:1-4 passage; "Moses gave you this precept, but from the beginning it was not so". What is the force of such a statement? (and, well, if you consider Jesus to be a rabbi, would it be legal for him to make such a statement?)

Yeah, well, I just hope someone here can maybe help me with some resources or maybe just their own opinion about the question.

And ehm well, as for my hebrew knowledge it is still limited to sort of understanding the alphabet, but I guess that's a start :-)

All the best, Peter

Good Morning all, from Israel!
I have lived in this country for almost 40 yesrs, and I am still baffled by it. Frustrated by it. Angered by it. But I still love it.
But too many things are happening in Israel today that are dangerous, frightening and in the end, also almost irreversible. I have recently been trying to vent my worries and frustration about this in a new blog that I started to write. I post several times a week, blogs about diverse topics, and I would love to hear what others think about these things. I invite you to come visit my site and tell me what you think. If you thik it is appropriate we may also continue such a discussion here on the forum, but I am not sure that all topics will be suitable for that.
I look forward to seeing you and hearing from you! 
theotherside.co.il

See you all on the other side of the fast.

The Bible says God created everything good.

But God gave us free choice.

If God hadn't given us free choice, everyone would be good.

So, what was the purpose of God giving us free will -- to choose good over evil?

... or he could be of one of the other 11 tribes of Israel? Thanks for your answers.

... since its foundation in 1948? What are they waiting for? A signal from Heaven (from Hashem)? Or maybe do they expect the arrival of the Mashiaj?

... the second time I'm registering on these forums after some time of searching the net trying to find some interesting forums related to Judaism and Jewish People. I would like to know where are you from? I want to know because I have some doubts about the history of Hebrew People according to the things explained in the Tanaj and the Jumash (two of the books ihave read to try to understand the Jewish point of view.) According with the Tanaj I have (edition of 2018) God punished Israel nation with a 70 year exile in Babylon because they didn't respect the Shemita mitzvot, in other words, the land of Israel must rest in the seventh year. All the rabbis of Israel know that now. And my question is if all the Jews living in the Modern State of Israel respect the laws of God referring to the Shemita and the Yobel years? Thank you very much for your attention.

Best regards from Spain,

Carlos P.D.

As I continue to seek out American online services, I notice a difference between the programs that the respective synagogues promote on their websites and the programs run by my local synagogues. For example, American synagogues seem to often have adult conversion classes, different activities related to cultural practices (such as courses on how to bake Challah), study groups, dinners, parent's nights, sometimes also cooperations and activism in their local communities.  Is this representative of the average American Jewish community? Or is this maybe just a self-selection bias due to active communities having a stronger online presence?

Do your communities engage in activities outside Shabbat services and Torah study? Do they actively promote community building? If so, do you engange (or did you use to engage pre Covid) with them? What is this like?

I think I am so surprised and curious because this level of engagement is something that I kind of wish for, but haven't yet found. The only community comparably active is the local Chabad, but they emphasize that they seek to reconnect already Jewish people with their roots and have a strong orthodox orientation. Conservative does have some activities, but they cannot be visited by non-Jewish people as they are a bit overrun. The Rabbi in one of the reform synagogues mentioned that he think it's in his view not part of the synagogue to offer activities as "get togethers", but there are (were) communal celebrations and classes.

So, what's the situation like in your area? What is the self-concept of your community?

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well!

While searching for information on today's Day of 17th of Tammuz, I found the following article in the Jerusalem Post, which also recommended not to fast if you are positive for Covid-19 or feel symptoms thereof: https://www.jpost.com/judaism/fast-of-th...oms-634287

I was wondering how fasting during such times is generally handled within your communities, traditionally/philosophically and what you personally think about it. 

My gut feeling would be that at times with a higher risk due to ongoing pandemics or other extraordinary circumstances, being at the best possible state of health would be wise. Fasting would be detrimental to the idea of preserving life at all costs. So this would mean to preemptively not fast, in order to not weaken the immune system in case of a possible infection. 
Or, for example, if you live in an area of ongoing wildfires and have a risk of needing to evacuate, not to fast so that you can take the required actions if needed. And this goes for all situations of a potential threat that is not imminent, but sort of looming on the horizon, with uncertainty if you will be affected or not.

If you would follow this train of thought, where to draw the line? For example, I might not feel unwell, had no risk contacts, but might get coughed on tomorrow at the supermarket. My future me would profit from being well nourished. But you never know which circumstances might happen to you tomorrow, the risk for a very specific situation is just higher during the times of a crisis, be it a pandemic or other situation. Could you ever have the certainty that fasting is safe and not reducing - dramatically spoken - your chances of survival, how ever minuscule the amount might be?

(I'm not seeking advice on whether or not to fast personally, I am more interested in the philosophical (or pragmatical) approaches and point of views to this questions).

Looking forward to hear your thoughts!