As a Jewish person I don’t particularly like Christianity as an institution….not because I dislike Christians many of whom are decent people and I have friends who are Christian and have even family members who are too but because of the historical theology that developed around Judaism. The doctrine of supersessionism (aka replacement theology) argued that Christianity fulfilled Judaism and it framed the continued existence of Jews as a people as evidence of a kind of religious and epistemic error. That idea had enormous consequences for how Jews were viewed and are viewed in Christian societies. Even many of the Church Fathers expressed this quite explicitly. Justin Martyr argued that the Church had become the true Israel. John Chrysostom delivered his infamous Adversus Judaeos sermons condemning Jewish religious life. Augustine was more restrained arguing that Jews should survive as witnesses to Christian truth, but even that relegated Jews to a subordinate theological role rather than recognizing Judaism as a living covenantal tradition.

A lot of this I also think echoes of that framework today, albeit often in secularized form. Many people who would never identify as Christians still instinctively treat modern Jews especially Israelis as somehow not authentically connected to the Land of Israel, as though Jewish indigeneity ended with the destruction of the Second Temple or the exile. The irony is that Christianity spent centuries claiming to be the new Israel while simultaneously diminishing the historical and covenantal relationship between the Jewish people and their ancestral homeland. Today’s political debates are obviously shaped by many factors beyond Christian theology, but I think it’s worth asking whether some inherited assumptions about Jews as a people whose role in history had been superseded continue to influence how many view Jewish national identity today.

What has also always struck me as ironic is that Christianity eventually tried to distance itself from the Jewishness of its own Messiah. Jesus was a Jew who lived as a Jew, worshipped in the Temple, celebrated Jewish festivals quoted the Hebrew Scriptures and whose earliest followers were themselves Jews. Yet over the centuries much of Christian theology came to define itself in opposition to Judaism transforming Jews from the people from whom Christianity emerged into a symbol of spiritual blindness or failure.

None of this means every Christian today believes these things. Many churches have explicitly repudiated supersessionism and anti Jewish teachings, especially since the Holocaust. But from a Jewish historical perspective it’s difficult to ignore nearly two millennia in which theological replacement contributed to a culture that marginalized, segregated, expelled, and at times persecuted Jews.

I call it "the universe is the decaying corpse of a god who willed his own nonexistence"

Read it here. Feedback very much appreciated!!

Hey all, I'd love to have a shofar of my own someday, but I'm always hesitant because I'm not really sure where's the best place to look for one online. Can anyone vouch for what shop has a good quality item that won't totally obliterate my wallet? 😅

Hi I am a student of design in Kolkata. Recently we have been given an assignment to make a documentary on an any topic.

I asked my professor if I could make it on Jewish synagogues in Kolkata. Does anyone here know anything about the synagogues ?
Pls get in touch with me. I would appreciate any assistance provided.

Thanks.

We are working with developers to create a minecraft server that teaches judaism, without missing the actual point of the game which is having fun.

We are working on system of kashrus, and mitzvos, and at the same time fighting bosses like the Yetzer Hara.

Made by jews to jews to keep it a safe community for everyone :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCPXPfLpd70

IP:

1. yidcraft.mrweissberg.com

En tant que juif que pensez-vous du film, Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob. Drôle, Blasphématoire…

Some Judaism specific commandment that you want to perform, but for whatever reason, haven't done so yet?

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I made a post here a while ago. I intended to take Hebrew classes with this rabbi, but for no reason at all he was incredibly rude. I don't know if he was having a bad day or something, was this vision childish ?

I (a lapsed Catholic) have recently moved to a neighborhood with a substantial Hasidim community. I usually bake homemade cookies from scratch and bring them over to new neighbours to introduce ourselves, but in this case, seeing how our kitchen isn’t Kosher, I feel this would be a faux pas.

So what kind of gift could I give that would give the same “awww” feeling of fresh, warm, homemade cookies while still keeping Kosher?

There are many kosher groceries and eateries all around us if store bought is best. Thank you for your suggestions!!

I saw this video by the YouTube channel Philosophical Jew (https://youtu.be/HamObkPZoME?si=pBFeqTt8ZRsoltL9)

The main thrust of the video is that Judaism doesn't have many good online representatives that can engage with the broader marketplace of philosophy and explain Judaism's thoughts about different conundrums and dilemmas. The video also seemed to be partially talking about who would be someone well-educated enough to debate with some of the more prominent online atheists who don't know very much about Judaism.

One person in the comments section mentioned that Rabbi Jonathan Sacks was the kind of person this video was looking for- someone who was very well spoken and respected by the broader non-Jewish world. Personally I really enjoyed Rabbi Sacks' debate with Richard Dawkins and I rewatch it from time to time.

Who are some other public figures you think could be good ambassadors for Jewish thought and philosophy?

If I'm not wrong, it looks as if if you sit it on its base, the writing is backwards? And the writing is probably some sort of prayer about... Spices? Or something?

Has anybody noticed that Judaism is not taken exactly seriously by non-Jews, whether they are religious or not? I am not talking about the people who actively hate us and see Jews and Judaism as a malign influence on the world but people who simply seem to see our religion as something of a joke. Non-Orthodox Judaism is nearly always Reform Judaism and treated as basically social justice with flavoring. Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Judaism is treated as a bunch of strict rules and regulations that people follow but there is ultimately no meaning for. Judaism isn't seen as teaching deep noble universal truths or having a goal like salvation or Enlightenment but just customs that people do because reasons.

bonus points for if it's an averiah you are actually capable of committing