Ask anything about Jews and Judaism

The idea of Heaven is a Christian one. Jews believe in an afterlife but I don't think it's about clouds and harps and angels and such b/c there's no iconography in Judaism. Even God is represented by a burning bush. You have to do good works and be a good person just like in any other religion, and there is a judgment day waiting for you. But it's never really described exactly what the afterlife looks like.

A Seder plate is the plate of symbolic items we talk about at Passover. Things like a shank bone, a hard boiled eggs, bitter herbs, matzah. Stuff like that. No oranges, until lately.

Do you think the Adam Sandler song about Channakuh [sp?] is fubby or offensive?

Personally, I think they're very clever. The Southpark kid who sings "I'm just a lonely Jew" is also funny.

To be humorless about it is to suck the joy out of life.

This is true about so many things.

is kosher salt better to cook with? - does the texture make it great to pinch, and adhere to food better???

Alton Brown would say YES

I don't think kosher salt is actually kosher in the strict sense. I think it's the kind of salt that Jewish butchers used for a long time. Kosher pickles aren't really, either. It's more the name of something than its halachic* adherence.

*Halachic, meaning from halacha, which is the Hebrew word meaning "the law." Pronounced 'huhLAchic' where the 'ch' is that funky Hebrew h made at the back of the throat that sounds more like you're trying to bring something up.

From the point of view of being the spouse of the cook, yes, as I understand it, Kosher salt is way better to cook with, but I think it's about flavor more than texture.

This is SO interesting!! :)

Tell us about the symbolism in the wedding ceremony, the stepping on the glass and the family all walking under the canopy, I think it is?

Also, if as an adult, like at our age, you want to convert, what do you have to do? I know a lot of churches have adult-style "CCD" classes that you have to take and I guess still go thru Holy Communion, at least I think that's how the Catholics work. Is this similar for you too?

Weddings are interesting. In a traditional Jewish wedding (which I, Go, did not have) the couple signs a ketubah, which is a marriage contract, and gets married under a canopy, called a chuppah (there's that "ch" again). The wedding itself doesn't differ too much from any other, at the end, the groom steps on a glass, usually in a little bag or a napkin or something, which is to symbolize that even at a joyous occasion, we still have to remember the sad times. Before the Holocaust, the glass was to remind us of the Temple being destroyed (twice). Since the Holocaust, it's to remind us of Kristellnacht, which was a night early on in Germany when the shops of Jewish storeowners were looted and there was glass shattered everywhere. Lots of grooms are very nervous about this tradition, and use a lightbulb instead of a glass, as it's easier to crush with one blow. (Mr. Go did do this tradition and practiced with a shot glass and darn near broke his foot doing so, but he did manage to do it at the wedding (we used a champagne flute) on the first stomp. )

Also, some Jewish weddings include the bride and groom walking around each other a number of times. I can't remember what the symbolism is of that. Not many people do that.

After the wedding, there's a big celebration. At Orthodox weddings, men and women party on different sides of the room. At less restrictive weddings, it's a co-ed thing. The celebration is like any other you've been to, except that sometime during the dancing, the bride and groom are lifted onto a chair and carried around for a little while. If they want, they can go up at the same time and connect to each other by each holding the end of a napkin or something. A lot of times, it happens one at a time.

As far as conversion goes, the process differs depending on what type of Jew one is considering being: Orthodox, Conservative/Reconstructionist, or Reformed. You have to learn a lot about the religion, the history of Judaism, modern Judaism, and you have to go to a rabbi three times to tell him/her you want to convert, and they have to try to talk you out of it three times. If after the third time you still want in, you can come in. Women usually have to do a ritual bath, called a mikveh, and men have to be circumcised if they aren't already.

Also, if a couple wants to divorce, they also must go to a rabbi and s/he has to try to talk them out of it three times.

Aha!!! I see a significance in "three" here....what's that about?

Hmmm...that rabbi talking you out of converting thing seems kind of negative. I wonder what they tell you, and why would they do that, to test your faith/sincerity??

So, with the divorce thing, if the rabbi fails to talk you out of it three times, then can you do it? And can you remarry Jewish again or is it like the Catholics, that in order to be recognized you have to do a church annulment of your first marriage? My friend went through that and she said it was so emotionally painful that she was sorry she did it. They really made her feel like dirt but her new hubby wanted to marry Catholic as he had never been married. It doesn't sound like the Jewish faith is as denigrating as some, which is nice.

I admire any guy that's got the guts to do that as an adult. :eek2:

They try to talk you out of it because they want to be sure you really want to do it and know what you're getting into. It isn't easy. Yes, the more religious people who get divorced have to get what's called a 'get' which is kind of like an annulment. Otherwise they can't get married again by a rabbi. Divorce is pretty rare in the Orthodox world.

We had a cousin who married a non-Jew and he went through the whole conversion process (and I do mean the whole ouchy thing). They divorced a year later. As my father is fond of saying, "Too bad he couldn't have FOREseen the outcome."

What's the difference between a religious Jew and an ethnic Jew?

:LOL:
So do you think the rate of adultery is higher because of that fact? It would seem, and not just in the Jewish faith, that if you're unhappy, yet it would be more of a hassle than it's worth to get a divorce, that you'd be more likely to play around? Sad, but I think it's true...I mean if you're at the "it isn't salvagable" point. I unfortunately know quite a few people who are having or who have had affairs in the past and it's not always just about booty on the side. And not everyone who goes to whatever church they go to is always a "model citizen." Just wondering.....

I admire any guy that's got the guts to do that as an adult. :eek2:
yeah - even though i was about 26 hours old at the time, i still have nightmares