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Bleeding Red · 01-08-2009, 09:13 PM

A few things that have me scratching my head:

1 - All main denominations of Judaism- Ultra-orthodox, orthodox, conservative, reform, and deconstructionist - involve an afterlife. The "World to Come" or the "Kingdom of Heaven" do factor in all those theologies. "Mitzvahs", or good deeds, lead to a good portion, at G-d's side, in the World to Come.
An exception is Humanistic Judaism, which does not believe in the after life.

2- Israel is the Jewish State governed as a secular parliamentary democracy.
What this means is that Synagogue and state are mostly separate (Rabbis of small religious parties do dictate policies, member/follower voting). the Judicial system is independent and there is due process and the adherence to the rule of civil law. Every CITIZEN (Jew, Muslim, Christian, man, woman, black, white, Asian, gay, straight, etc.) can vote and can hold political office and has civil rights.

3 - Israel is the Jewish State with Jewish laws & customs. What this means is that their weekend is Friday and Saturday, they use the Hebrew calendar, that their Statutory holidays are Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana (all those days that I am forced to use as vacation or unpaid time here in North America). Dec 25 is not a stat day in Israel. In Israel, schools teach about Jewish holidays & Customs - Hanukah songs instead of carols. (There are schools for Arab citizens, just as there are catholic schools in Canada)

Through politics the observant religious community has been able to sway votes to gain control of some aspects of law - religious conversion in Israel, official weddings and Bris' can only be done by authorized Orthodox rabbis.
Most restaurants serve kosher food (only recently has pork been available in Israel, mainly due to pressure from immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and the religious parties could not keep it out, the courts ruled against them.)

3- You cannot have it both ways - the population is mainly religious or the religous population is a small extreme one - Israel is neither. Of the 6 million Jews there, maybe half are observant, with maybe 1 million or so ultra-orthodox Jews. Israelis leave for many reasons, just as non-religious Jews go for many reasons - there are good opportunities in Israel - for example Warren Buffet has invested in Israeli companies.

Peace would bring prosperity all around.

01-08-2009, 09:13 PM	#220
Bleeding Red Powerplay Quarterback Join Date: Oct 2001 Exp:	A few things that have me scratching my head: 1 - All main denominations of Judaism- Ultra-orthodox, orthodox, conservative, reform, and deconstructionist - involve an afterlife. The "World to Come" or the "Kingdom of Heaven" do factor in all those theologies. "Mitzvahs", or good deeds, lead to a good portion, at G-d's side, in the World to Come. An exception is Humanistic Judaism, which does not believe in the after life. 2- Israel is the Jewish State governed as a secular parliamentary democracy. What this means is that Synagogue and state are mostly separate (Rabbis of small religious parties do dictate policies, member/follower voting). the Judicial system is independent and there is due process and the adherence to the rule of civil law. Every CITIZEN (Jew, Muslim, Christian, man, woman, black, white, Asian, gay, straight, etc.) can vote and can hold political office and has civil rights. 3 - Israel is the Jewish State with Jewish laws & customs. What this means is that their weekend is Friday and Saturday, they use the Hebrew calendar, that their Statutory holidays are Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana (all those days that I am forced to use as vacation or unpaid time here in North America). Dec 25 is not a stat day in Israel. In Israel, schools teach about Jewish holidays & Customs - Hanukah songs instead of carols. (There are schools for Arab citizens, just as there are catholic schools in Canada) Through politics the observant religious community has been able to sway votes to gain control of some aspects of law - religious conversion in Israel, official weddings and Bris' can only be done by authorized Orthodox rabbis. Most restaurants serve kosher food (only recently has pork been available in Israel, mainly due to pressure from immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and the religious parties could not keep it out, the courts ruled against them.) 3- You cannot have it both ways - the population is mainly religious or the religous population is a small extreme one - Israel is neither. Of the 6 million Jews there, maybe half are observant, with maybe 1 million or so ultra-orthodox Jews. Israelis leave for many reasons, just as non-religious Jews go for many reasons - there are good opportunities in Israel - for example Warren Buffet has invested in Israeli companies. Peace would bring prosperity all around.