the monotheistic religion of the Jews.
Questions tagged [judaism]
20 questions
36
votes
2 answers
Did fewer Jews die of the Black Plague because of ritual washing?
I've frequently heard the claim that fewer Jews died of the Bubonic Plague than their Christian neighbors in the Middle Ages because Jews took regular ritual baths (mikva) and ritually washed hands before eating (netilat yadaim), while the…
Malper
- 716
- 5
- 12
33
votes
3 answers
Does the Talmud say, "The Jews are called human beings, but the non-Jews are not humans. They are beasts."?
According to the Radioislam.org (pro-Palestinian site) page Jewish Racism towards Non-Jews as expressed in the Talmud, the Talmud contains the following verse:
"The Jews are called human beings, but the non-Jews are not humans. They are beasts."
…
Sakib Arifin
- 15,705
- 14
- 63
- 137
33
votes
3 answers
Did the Hebrew exodus from Egypt ever happen?
The Book of Exodus describes a movement of the Hebrews from Egypt, through the desert, and into the Palestine/Israel region.
It also describes a number miracles, such as the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, but they are not the subject of…
Himarm
- 4,297
- 5
- 23
- 44
28
votes
3 answers
Does the Torah-encoded age of the universe match science?
Dr. Gerald Schroeder published an article in Aish.com about the age of the Universe and the Jewish bible:
So the only data I use as far as Biblical commentary goes is ancient
commentary. That means the text of the Bible itself (3300 years ago),
…
user4951
24
votes
5 answers
Is the story of a divine miracle at Mt. Sinai, witnessed by a national audience, unique among cultures or religions?
There is a claim, made by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen in his books (such as Permission to Receive) and lectures (such as this "The Veracity of Torah" lecture on TorahCafé), that the story of a divine miracle at Mt. Sinai (the revelation of God) taking…
A L
- 1,004
- 7
- 14
20
votes
1 answer
Do certain religious traditions believe that Eve had sex with the Serpent?
On p.169 of my edition of de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, she includes a footnote remarking
The moon is a source of fertility; it is seen as the "master of women"; it is often believed that the moon, in the form of a man or a snake, couples with…
Jacob Manaker
- 303
- 1
- 7
20
votes
1 answer
Did Hitler support zionism?
According to Ken Livingstone (UK Labour politician, former Mayor of London), Hitler supported Zionism:
Evening Standard:
Mr Livingstone told BBC Radio London he had never heard anyone in the party say anything anti-Semitic. Then he went on: “Let’s…
gerrit
- 17,636
- 17
- 84
- 137
20
votes
3 answers
Did a Jewish rabbi precisely calculate the duration of the full moon cycle 1800 years ago?
Attempting to prove to me that Judaism is the only true religion, a friend of mine read to me from a book titled, The Coming Revolution, that the Zohar (a 2nd/3rd century CE commentary on the Torah allegedly written by Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai) uses…
Johann
- 311
- 2
- 7
18
votes
2 answers
How old is Judaism?
I've recently read this BBC article which makes the claim that Judaism originated some time around 2000 B.C, if not earlier. I've seen a number of sources which make similar claims (1, 2). Perhaps I'm mistaken, but don't all surviving Jewish texts…
nietsnegttiw
- 183
- 1
- 8
15
votes
0 answers
Are Orthodox Jewish women suffering from a Shidduch (Marriage) Crisis due to an "Age Gap"?
There is a popular opinion in the Orthodox Jewish world that there is such a thing nowadays as a "Shidduch (Marriage) Crisis", and that a major contributor to it is something known as the "Age Gap."
This theory has been repeated many times in…
Am Haaretz Gamur Mideoraysa
- 275
- 1
- 3
12
votes
1 answer
Do magicians in Egypt turn sticks into snakes?
Rabbi Lawrence Keleman in his book Permission to Receive states that Egyptian magicians today (or when the study it was based on was published in 1960) do a similar stick-snake trick as in the Book of Exodus. Is this true?
A quote from the book…
Uncle
- 361
- 2
- 8
8
votes
0 answers
Did Columbus have Jewish ancestry?
There are a number of articles and books that claim that Christopher Columbus has Jewish acenstry:
Christopher Columbus: Jewish Virtual Library
The mystery regarding Columbus' origins is largely the outcome of his own mendacity: and as a result it…
Edelstein Eli
- 105
- 5
7
votes
1 answer
Are there more Mormons in the world than Jews?
I notice on Wikipedia that it lists the total number of Jewish adherents at ~14 million, and it lists the number of adherents in the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) at ~15.3 million. Are there really more Mormons in the…
ShemSeger
- 521
- 4
- 12
4
votes
2 answers
Did the ten plagues take place in Ancient Egypt?
Inspired by this question.
Is there any extrabiblical evidence that any or all of the ten plagues occurred as outlined in Exodus 7:14-11:10? Particularly, any evidence in Ancient Egyptian records?
ribs2spare
- 143
- 5
4
votes
1 answer
Did the Israeli paper Ma'ariv run an article titled "The Jews Who Run Clinton's Court" in 1994?
In January 2018, Puerto Rico's central newspaper El Nuevo Dia ran an op-ed accusing Congress of being "controlled by Jews," on the following evidence:
“More than 20 years ago, the Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv (second largest
newspaper in Israel) had…
Avery
- 44,313
- 16
- 183
- 179