LOL I KNOW.

YDI for bein jewish

hahahahaha. thats great

lo0l....soo many lives are '******' because of kids telling something. That's why this site has kept a category specially for 'Kids'!!

teehee

Does anyone even know what kosher is?! I am a conservative jew, and the jews started kosher to keep healthy. Because before we had refrigerators, if you ate meat and dairy in the same meal, you would most likely get sick. if you ate pork which is considered a dirty animal, you would also usually get sick. Kosher also prevented you from drinking from certain wells, and other safety hazards. Today, the only reason that jews keep kosher is to keep the tradition. Just because the family is breaking the laws of kosher, it does not mean that they are not jewish, it only means that they are not orthodox.

Baloney. The kosher laws are not health regulations. They are arbitrary laws to let Jews show their faith in God, like wearing yarmulkes and tzitzit. They are different from the set of laws that govern civil society, like prohibitions on murder, adultery, theft, etc. The thing about being a Jew is that you cannot quit. Even if you are totally non-observant or convert to another religion, you are still considered a Jew, albeit a very sinful one.

No, kosher came about because of sicknesses that resulted from eating certain animals.

Noooo. Kosher came directly from the Torah. "Do not cook a kid in it's goat mother's milk" sound familiar to anyone? [Source is a Senior year yeshiva student]

deja54, that is simply not true. You can get plenty sick from eating kosher animals, depending on how they are stored and cooked. Also, how do you explain the parts of kosher animals that are forbidden in recognition of Jacob's dislocated hip from wrestling with the angel? Certain choice cuts of beef are not kosher, but tongue is OK?

im sorry, but im a orthodox jew and that is bullshit plexico is right, its to show our faith in god

Yeah, by that logic, Christians should keep Kosher too... Their Bible might be an extended version, but it's still starts off as the SAME book. Everybody picks and chooses which laws they want to follow and which laws don't fit with contemporary lifestyle... and YES, the pork and shellfish ban is because of health reasons back in those times. You weren't supposed to eat shrimp because they're bottomfeeders or pigs because they walk around in thier own filth... Nowadays, though, we have technology to cook and disinfect the meat we eat, so there is no real reason to follow Kosher law. Conservative Jews only do to be "traditional". - A Reform Jew who loves bacon cheeseburgers

Actually, Jew is both a race and a religion. Judaism is the religion, Jew is the race. Hitler tried to exterminate the race of jews, not the religion, but that kind of got thrown in to boot. If you haven't noticed already, there are Jewish names, like last names with Stein, Burgh, or Lowski/Lovski. Einstein was of the Jewish race, but he was a pantheist. Hitler was of the Jewish race (he burned down the record building revealing his Jewish ancestry), but he was an atheist. The race of Jews believe to be descendants of Moses. Is that enough information for you to stop making that mistake?

Judaism is both a faith and a culture, but it's hard to have one without the other.

No, just no. White, black, chinese, that's races. Jewish? Religion. Not a race. Jewish last names? Comes from shared heritage. Otherwise, there'd be 'white' last names or 'black' last names. So, bullshit, dude.

Based on the fact that his kid is in a Jewish overnight camp, there's little chance that the OP is not a practicing Jew. At worst, sending his kid to a camp like that is a sign that he wants to give him a strong Jewish education, which allows him to decide for himself whether or not he will "Be Jewish" or not. Oh - And since the beginning, the Jews have been considered a race. Just like Arabs, and Persians, and others.

There ARE white and black surnames, they just get muddled as we procreate together and intertwine our heritage. Jewish is a race.

Actually, Ehlyah, there are white and black last names, because they are relevant to their culture and language. I'm not going to go into many details because I don't want to get flamed for being racist (which clearly I'm not, just some people can't help it).

Race, language and culture aren't necessarily related. Not these days with all the intermingling we do. So, maybe 500 years ago this was valid, but nowadays, not so much.

even if they don't follow many jewish traditions, how is that any different from the millions of christians who celebrate the commercialized holidays, but don't follow the original traditions? and you can identify with the jewish history without practicing traditions that hold no meaning for you.

"Being Jewish is not a race because Jews do not share one common ancestry or biological distinction. People of many different races have become Jewish people over the years." http://judaism.about.com/od/abcsofjudaism/a/beingjewish.htm

actually, keeping kosher is not a vey important part of jewdeism. a majortiy of jews, including me, either dont keep kosher at all or keep a limited form of kosher. the real meaning behind jewdeism is the community and the togetherness, not following every single law in the bible. many parts of keeping kosher are not even in the bible, they were elaborated on by rabbi's throughout the years. for instance, the bible says, do not cook a calf in its mother milk. to make sure this law was kept, it was changed by rabbis to do not mix milk and meat in any meal.

I think I read somewhere that hundreds of years ago last names were not that common among the Jewish population (especially in Germany). But at some point some law required them to have one so they got to choose a last name. Of course, people gave themselves last names of "pretty" things like "Rosenbaum" (tree of roses) or "Morgenstern" (morning star) or even just plain "Gold". That's why today if you meet someone with the last name "Rosenbaum" there is a big chance of them being either Jewish or at least having Jewish ancestry. (Plus, just because you don't follow one aspect of your religion does not mean that you're BAD or a hypocrite. How many people consider themselves good Christians and don't take the lying and cheating part of the 10 Commandments all that serious?)

This will probably get me flamed.... but.... there's a verse in the new testament that says "Not all who cry, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven." I'm too lazy to find the verse and exact context, but it basically condemns those who claim in front of everyone that they are a Christian, but do not strive to *be* a Christian. So.... if your religion commands you to follow a certain rule or belief.... and you blatently disregard it to fulfill your own wants and desires.... are you really a follower of that religion? There is a caveat in Judaism that says if following God's commands will be detrimental to your health or life, that it's OK to disregard it until a time when it is "safe" to follow again. So.... if there is nothing within thousands of miles to eat except pork, eat the damn pig, but if there is a kosher alternative, eat that instead. Also, a lot of people will say that kosher laws were to protect the health of the Israelites and that they are no longer "necessary." In fact, kosher laws were designed to set apart God's chosen people from everyone else. Disregarding them today is no different than disregarding them thousands of years ago and doing so is admitting that one does not find their god worthy of obedience. p.s. I'm a Christian, which I'm sure many people are wondering. I'm not perfect, nor do I strive to be, but I take seriously what is written in the Bible in hopes that I may live as Christ-like a life as possible. Also, I find pork chops to be very, very delicious!

BS. If you're a Christian, then you should technically be keeping Kosher as well. The first half of YOUR Bible is exactly the same as the Jewish bible. Jews are under no more obligation to keep Kosher than you are.