Jewish

A Jewish perspective on Socal Action

Debbie Young-Somers — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:22:30 +0000

The Rambam identified EIGHT Levels of Charity, or doing justice. They are:

1. A person gives but is not happy when he/she digs into the pocket in order to give.

2. A person gives cheerfully, but gives less than he/she should.

3. A person gives, but only when asked by a poor person.

A Jewish perspective on Church

Debbie Young-Somers — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:08:03 +0000

I am always amused when people ask me about Jewish churches, partly because we have synagogues, and Christians have churches, but also because the synagogue I grew up in used to be a church and we worked very hard to make it more like a synagogue (even though the building was cross-shaped!)

Together or alone?

A Jewish perspective on Gender

Debbie Young-Somers — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:58:36 +0000

Huge amounts have been written about this subject so there is obviously much to say. I will have to be brief however and try and limit myself.

A Jewish perspective on GOD

Debbie Young-Somers — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:39:26 +0000

I often feel that trying to express things about God firstly makes me sound like a nutter (and I think this says a lot about society today itself!). Secondly, it is quite a core part of my personal engagement with God that anything we attempt to say about God will most likely limit God, because we are limited by human language and understanding. So, for example, it is quite common to refer to God as ‘He'.

A Jewish perspective on Love

Debbie Young-Somers — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:16:22 +0000

Love your neighbour as yourself. I am God. (Leviticus 19: 17-18)

In the Mishnah, one of the earliest legal texts, in the section known as the ‘Ethics of the Fathers' which is studied every year between Passover and Shavuot, we are taught that the world stands on three things: On Torah, on service (or worship), and on acts of loving kindness (Pirkei Avot 1:2).

My Jewish World View

Debbie Young-Somers — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:08:06 +0000

My Jewish World View

Judaism is a religion which traces its’ roots to the ancient Middle East, and which has developed and grown for millennia. Judaism as we know it today doesn’t necessarily look like the Judaism of 2000 years ago, let alone 3000 years ago, but it has its’ roots in all that has come before it.

Not all Jews subscribe to the religious views of Judaism, but would still call themselves Jews, because being Jewish is also about being part of a community and a sense of people with a common history. There are also different communities within Judaism and I’m going to generally outline some of their defining points, but don’t forget, there are also Humanist Jews and even Bu-Jews (Buddhist Jews!)

This is an over simplification, but I am going to talk about Progressive Judaism and Orthodox Judaism, though neither of these contains just one group with one way of thinking. Before the enlightenment there would have also been different groups of Jews, but they were differentiated by where they lived. The enlightenment and emancipation of the Jews in Europe led to Reform movements developing, and then you can begin to talk about ‘orthodox’ and ‘progressive’ Jews. Orthodox Jews believe that the Torah was given to Moses at Mount Sinai and that the Torah is therefore God’s words. They also believe the ‘oral’ law (later texts) to be God’s words, although there is a difference in authority between the two. Progressive Jews generally believe that while the Torah contains great truths and perhaps divine inspiration, it is a human document created by our ancestors and therefore has human error. The way that these groups understand law is central to their worldview, and affects how they interact and engage with the modern world and the challenges it poses.

However, generally Judaism places great emphasis, whatever movement one is in, on social justice, ethical living, and creating the best world possible for all. Community is incredibly important to many, and culture is a big part of this, but Jews will all feel differently about these issues.

The best way I can sum up Judaism is an old saying: if you have 3 Jews, you’ll have 5 opinions!

A Jewish Perspective on Care of the Earth

Debbie Young-Somers — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:47:05 +0000

In Genesis we read the traditional Jewish understanding of how the world came into being. Now whether or not we believe it all actually happened as it says, or if it is a metaphor, it does express the incredible achievement that our world is, and the awe and wonder which people have held towards it through the ages.

A Jewish Perspective on Ritual

Debbie Young-Somers — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:47:04 +0000

For many Jews, if asked about their strongest Jewish childhood memory, it would be the Passover seder – a meal with ritualised retelling of the story of the exodus. For some, this will be their only interaction with their Judaism all year round, but they wouldn't miss it, even if they don't keep the seven days of leaven-free Passover after it.

A Jewish Perspective on Revelation and the Word

Debbie Young-Somers — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:47:03 +0000

Revelation lies at the crux of Judaism

Movements have defined themselves by how they interpret the experience or idea of revelation, and its result has formed the focus of Jewish life for millennia.

A Jewish Perspective on Sexuality

Debbie Young-Somers — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:47:01 +0000

In Jewish history there have only rarely been groups who rejected sex as a normal part of life. Jewish teachings tend to encourage us to enjoy sex as an important element of a happy, mutually consensual marriage. Having babies is seen as the first commandment given to humanity, and so sex is a very important and even holy thing to engage in. But this means that it also has to be respected, and couples are often encouraged to ensure that they can provide adequately for a child before they get in too deep!

A Jewish Perspective on Body, Health and Diet

Debbie Young-Somers — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:47:00 +0000

Health

My grandmother fits what many might consider to be the stereotype of a Jewish bubba (grandma). She is Polish, round and always trying to feed her grandchildren! She (along with many, many grandmothers, Jewish and not) obviously didn't know about the teachings of Moses Maimonides, an important Jewish teacher from the twelfth century, who was very concerned about the effects of food on our health. For example, he interpreted Deuteronomy 21:20 to be forbidding overeating, or gluttony:

A Jewish Perspective on Violence

Debbie Young-Somers — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:46:53 +0000

Does religion cause wars?

A Jewish Perspective on Freedom

Debbie Young-Somers — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:46:52 +0000

There is a very famous story told in the Talmud (Baba Metzia 59a) about a discussion over an oven. The oven in question was a new invention, by a man called Achnai. Achnai brought his new oven to the rabbinical court so that they could declare it appropriate for Jewish use (a bit like getting a CE stamp on a toy so people know it's safe to use!). With the exception of Rabbi Eliezer, every Rabbi in the court declared that the oven was un-kosher (not permissible).

A Jewish Perspective on Death

Debbie Young-Somers — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:46:51 +0000

A Jewish perspective

Dead Sea Scrolls on Line

Alan Murray — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:03:56 +0000

Dead Sea Scrolls on Line

Dead Sea Scrolls on Line

Alan Murray — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:23:06 +0000

Dead Sea Scrolls on Line

The golden rule rules London faiths

Debbie Young-Somers — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:08:23 +0000

The golden rule is held at the centre of many faiths. This powerful video shows the diversity of London's faiths and how they express this rule

How do we know about God?

Alan Murray — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:24:35 +0000

How do we know about God?

New Government Data on Religious Affiliation (82% of population)

Alan Murray — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:02:14 +0000

New Government Data on Religious Affiliation (82% of population)

Jewish rapper on peace and dialogue

Debbie Young-Somers — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 18:47:45 +0000

http://podcastmachine.com/podcasts/7945

This podcast from David Yehudah Stern is an interview with Jewish rapper Danny Raphael who is one half of a Muslim-Jewish Rap Duo - Lines of Faith.

Here he discusses dialogue, it's impact on his identity, and media representation of conflict (especially Israel-Palestine).

20 minutes long - great as a whole or sections could be used as discussion triggers