"Ask A Jew" Wednesday

[u/AutoModerator]

It's everyone's favorite day of the week, "Ask A (Anti-Zionist) Jew" Wednesday! Ask whatever you want to know, within the sub rules, notably that this is not a debate sub and do not import drama from other subreddits. That aside, have fun! We love to dialogue with our non-Jewish siblings.

Please remember to pick an appropriate user-flair in order to participate! Thanks!

[u/demureape]

for religious jews, has this past year shaken your view of your religion? do you feel more or less religious? have recent events made you want to learn more about torah judaism or even islam?

[u/specialistsets → u/demureape]

Zionism is not about religion, it was founded as a secular political movement. Anecdotally I have seen both Zionists and anti-Zionists embrace Judaism more in the past year. As an aside, "Torah Judaism" isn't a thing, it is a catchphrase used by many different Orthodox groups to refer to their own view of authentic/acceptable Judaism. There is a group that has been active on social media that uses the term to refer to theological anti-Zionism, but there are many other Orthodox groups who use the term in ways that are unrelated to Zionism.

[u/demureape → u/specialistsets]

i thought that torah jews do not treat the written collections of the oral tradition in the Talmud as binding.

[u/[deleted] → u/demureape]

You’re thinking of the Karaite Jews, who are a very small ethno-religious group (less than 40,000 in the world). It has long been debated if they are a separate “Judaic religion” or if they are a sect within Judaism. Generally speaking, most Jews accept the Karaites as members of the Jewish People, and the child of a Karaite mother is regarded as halakhically (lawfully) Jewish by the Orthodox Rabbinate

[u/xGentian_violet → u/[deleted]]

If Karaites arent Jews because they arent rabbinical that would make anything before the Second Temple and anything during the Second Temple that wasn’t the Pharisees not Judaism as well, which is a bold idea.

Seems like karaites have traditions pretty similar to the Saduccee sect.

[u/specialistsets → u/demureape]

Orthodox Jews believe the Oral Tradition is binding and use the phrase "Torah" to include the Talmud and all Rabbinic teachings. Reform Judaism does not view the Talmud as binding.

[u/ezkori → u/demureape]

Nope- the groups you are thinking of are either the Samaritans, a sister religion of Judaism that predates the Talmud, or Karaite Judaism which is an offshoot of Judaism