Best jewish sacred texts books according to redditors
We found 99 Reddit comments discussing the best jewish sacred texts books. We ranked the 49 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 99 Reddit comments discussing the best jewish sacred texts books. We ranked the 49 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Yes. Even as far back as Maimonides, we have statements like this: "the account of creation is not all to be taken literally,"
Edit: Also vaccines, GMOs, global warming and a whole host of other science. Also, it should be noted that a lot of times when science was rejected in favor of religion it was more about politics, ex: Galileo
http://www.rationalistjudaism.com/2016/10/ten-questions-on-evolution-and-judaism.html
http://rabbisacks.org/great-partnership/
Also see the book, which is also my flair: Torah u'Maddah (Torah & Secular Knowledge)
There were probably theological reasons it was excluded in later canon lists, even though Jude and 1 Peter make reference to it. Enochic writings developed a worldview in which fallen angels were the cause of the fallen state of man, whereas Christian apocryphal writings in the first century and later focused on the Adam and Eve story as the cause instead.
That said, it's a fascinating book and has some affinities with Daniel (having been written around the same time) as well as other deuterocanonical books like Jubilees and 2 Baruch.
It's easy to find copies online, but there's actually a new translation out I want to buy that includes 2 and 3 Enoch. Most free copies online will probably be translations of the Ethiopic version, whereas the new print translations are done from the Hebrew Dead Sea Scrolls.
Trivia: There's a related book called the Book of Giants, preserved by the Manichaeans and the Qumran sect, which tells the Enoch story from the point of view of the giants. One of them is named Gilgamesh!
Just to start off, its shabbos in much of the world so you won't get so many responses for a bit.
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Lots and lots of people grew up with some Jewish identity, didn't do much, and later became religious. Seriously, its a whole movement. Of course everyone's situation is unique, but you aren't the first to struggle with this kinda thing. Thankfully, that has meant a ton of books and resources for people in your shoes, who want to learn more and do more but didn't grow up with it. Some of the biggest resources online are Aish and Chabad, I just found NJOP but it doesn't have as much on the site.
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Now, as you know, the first step is to find a synagogue. I'd recommend looking for a Chabad or a young adults organization like a Young Jewish Professionals type of thing. They will have lots of classes for people from all sorts of backgrounds and will be super happy to help you find good resources, to teach you, etc. Chabad especially is everywhere, the joke is that only Coca-Cola and Chabad are worldwide. Next weekend is actually The Shabbos Project, which brings together people from all sorts of background to do a shabbos in a community. Actually one of these helped me really finalize my decision to become religious. And there are people here from all over who can recommend places.
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So there are lots of basic books out there. One thing I would definitely recommend is to get a Chumash, I'd recommend the Stone Edition since its the most common but the Steinsaltz one also came out recently. A Chumash has the whole Torah and the Haftorot (the section from the Prophets read in synagogues every shabbos) with commentaries. Both the ones I linked have stuff from all sorts of commentators that help explain the text. One section of Torah is read every week on shabbos, so it makes for a great reading guide.
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A good beginner book is To Be a Jew by Rabbi Hayim HeLevy Dovin. That one is absolutely classic. He also has another one, To Pray as a Jew, that's also excellent. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin also has a great one, Jewish Literacy, that goes through everything from Bible stories and characters to Jewish historical figures and writings. R' Teluskhin has tons of good stuff, I also have his A Code of Jewish Ethics, Jewish Wisdom, and a daily study book The Book of Jewish Values, they are all great learning resources. I'd also recommend Exploring Jewish Tradition, it really gets to the basics of Jewish practices. The 'Jewish Book of Why' set is also good, there are two volumes. There's no need to dive full on into halacha (Jewish law) and like books on Talmud right away, take the basics and then explore what is interesting to you. People sometimes burn out if they try too much too quick, but others love to just jump in full on and learn a bunch really quick (I'm the second but know people in the first category, both are totally ok ways to be).
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If there is any specific thing you would like to read more about, I can recommend more stuff after shabbos. Its only been a year since I decided to become religious so I know the position you are in. And if you have any questions, there are lots of great resources online and lots of knowledgeable people here. Of course, as I'm sure your mother can attest, there are unhealthy Jewish communities. But I firmly believe for every bad one there are far more great ones. I'm pretty new to it but the couple places I have been are both very welcoming and I have made friends from most of the major areas. It does not have to be suffocating, and there's nothing wrong with learning and doing more at your own pace. If its ever too much, slow down and reassess before jumping in further. If you listen to what your neshama (soul) is saying it'll guide you right!
You probably saw the Pritzker edition of the Zohar. It’s a multi-volume text translated by Daniel C. Matt. Matt is a well respected scholar of Jewish mysticism. The text isn’t really for beginners. It’s a critical edition of the Zohar for more academic study.
However, Matt has published some small collections of passages from the Zohar which he thinks can be understood by beginners and are of interest. Here is Matt’s book The Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment. Matt has also published some selections from the Zohar along with some annotation, which can be found here. For a general introduction to Kabbalah, I’d recommend Matt’s text The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism which can be found here. The Essential Kabbalah is a collection of different passages from a variety of Kabbalistic texts which Matt has selected in order to explain some different concepts in Kabbalah. Thus by reading The Essential Kabbalah you are able to learn about Kabbalah from the primary sources themselves. All of these books are, of course, beautifully and engagingly translated by Matt himself. Feel free to start with those books.
I'm sure it's not the most expensive document in history. But a full set iss expensive because it's large. For example this set that costs $2,400 comes in 73 volumes. That's only $33 per volume, so actually kinda cheap. You could buy individual volumes but seeing as you don't actually know what you're looking for that wouldn't make sense either.
You should read the link I sent you, or the recommended books on the other link I sent you.
Temurah 16a:
שלשת אלפים הלכות נשתכחו בימי אבלו של משה אמרו לו ליהושע שאל א"ל (דברים ל) לא בשמים היא אמרו לו לשמואל שאל אמר להם אלה המצות שאין הנביא רשאי לחדש דבר מעתה
Three thousand halakhoth were forgotten during the period of mourning for Moses’. They said to Joshua: ‘Ask’; he replied: It is not in heaven. They [the Israelites] said to Samuel: ‘Ask’; he replied: [Scripture says:] These are the commandments, implying [that since the promulgation of these commandments] no prophet has now the right to introduce anything new.
Whether we are to take this aggadata literally or not, the message is that while the Oral Torah does definitely communicate content, it more importantly communicates a system. Yes, the Talmud records debates over unsettled issues and eventually the law is decided in accordance with one side. This is all in accordance with the system of Oral Torah transmitted at Sinai. We don't look directly to heaven for a halakhic decision, we don't look to a Prophet who may not issue new law - rather we look to the system of Oral Torah. If you would like to have a firmer grasp of the different elements of the Oral Law, I suggest studying Maimonides introduction to his commentary on the Mishnah. You can find it available in Hebrew here, or purchase a translation.
To Be a Jew is always a good intro to general practice.
I also think an Artscroll Chumash does a pretty good job of explaining our inception, while getting your feet wet in the Torah.
>Did you mean for posterity's sake??
I made it clear I wasn't trying to insult you. In fact this mistake came out only because I was doing that.
As far as why OP or anyone else in their position shouldn't "get an English Talmud" is unrelated to how intelligent they may or may not be, or more specifically their "command of English."
Non-Jews studying the Talmud is a rather serious prohibition. Furthermore there are problems with studying a nuanced work in a translated version. Lastly the Talmud isn't the sort of work that the uninitiated should study on their own. Especially not to "lookup the rules." The Shulchan Aruch would have been a much better suggestion for a source to "lookup the rules." Or even better, something along the lines of Shaarei Halachah.
>>>Also if you can get an English Talmud
What do you mean by a "Talmud?" You seem to imply an entire set of Shas. The Complete Artscroll English Talmud is currently selling on Amazon for $2,503.84. Assuming the sheer cost isn't a barrier to entry, it is a 73 set volume, so space might be. Kind of a silly suggestion for someone who just wants to determine their status, no? Or maybe you could guide them to the specific tractates that contain discussion of status. Do you which ones they are?
>If her command of English is like yours, you're probably right.
How do you know OP is female? There's nothing to indicate their gender. When gender is unknown there's a third person possessive pronoun we use, and it's not "her." "Did you mean" their??
Furthermore it's a bit rich to lash out at me for a spelling mistake when nearly everything you've submitted to this thread has been wrong. See all of the downvotes. Also see that the majority of comments in this thread are telling you why you're wrong.
To quote Pergamon111:
>Everything you are posting is wrong.... why?
I recommend the ArtScroll Stone Chumash. It's just the Five Books of Moses, but they are the most important ones. It has a really good English commentary anthologized from traditional sources.
The Zohar dates to about 13th century Spain, so it's not "authentic" in the sense of being contemporaneous with the Hebrew Bible. To understand it you'll need a decent background in the Hebrew Bible. A basic understanding of Neo-Platonism is helpful , but not necessary. If you decide to read it, be prepared, it can be tough.
Here's link a good resource https://www.amazon.com/Zohar-Enlightenment-Classics-Spirituality-Paperback/dp/0809123878/ref=sr\_1\_fkmr0\_1?keywords=zohar+classic+if+western+spirituality&qid=1562598202&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmr0
https://www.artscroll.com/Categories/PBK.html
https://www.artscroll.com/Categories/BL1.html
You should know that we have an extensive Oral Torah that will not be covered by those two books. A good start might be "Jewish Literacy" and "Maimonides' introduction to the Talmud"
Elaine Pagels is a great contemporary scholar of Christian religion, and particularly textual and historical explication. Her The Origin of Satan is fascinating, and The Gnostic Gospels is a solid survey of some of the lost branches of early Christian tradition.
Gershom Scholem is one of the last century's great explicators of Judaism and mysticism, particularly the Kabbalah. I doubt there's a book he's written that isn't worth reading, but the best place to start may be his book On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, particularly the chapter on the relation of mystical experience to community norms.
Speaking of Kabbalah, it's recent popularity speaks poorly of what is an otherwise venerable and serious tradition of symbolism and ethical concern. If you're interested in spiritual literature, it's probably not a bad idea to take a stab at the Zohar. There's an abridged translation by Scholem out in paperback, but you're probably better off with this edition.
That comes, incidentally, from a series of books issued by a Catholic publisher, Paulist Press, under the name Classics of Western Spirituality, which is generally excellent. So far as I know, it's the only press currently printing some truly classic historical texts, so their catalog is worth browsing. They're particularly good, as you might suspect, on early Christian texts -- I don't know where else you'd go for something like Carthusian Spirituality -- but they also have Sufist, Judaic and non-mainline texts. In particular, I'd say pick up the Pseudo Dionysus.
While we're on the subject of early Christian writers, there's The Desert Fathers, The Cloud of Unknowing, Revelations of Divine Love -- the last of which is a notable early example of feminine Christian spirituality.
On the more modern end, there's Simone Weil, the tragic Marxist-cum-Catholic. I'd recommend either Waiting for God or Letters to a Priest]. While we're talking about modern Christian theology, we should note three of the most important names of the 20th century: Paul Tillich, Rudolf Otto, and Tielhard de Chardin. The books to start with, respectively, are Dynamics of Faith, The Idea of the Holy, and The Divine Milieu.
Shifting away from Christianity, another major name in 20th century theology is Martin Buber, the Jewish German mystic. His I and Thou is the most generally applicable and was widely influential in existential circles, but he also wrote widely on issues of Jewish identity.
More in the mainstream of Jewish tradition, there's the Talmud, although the sheer size of the writings that full under that name are the sort of thing that scholars give their lives over to. For our purposes, something like Abraham Cohen's Everyman's Talmud will generally suffice.
And finally, I just recently bought The Three Pillars of Zen, which is widely held to be the best practical introduction to the topic available in English. There are a bewildering amount of books on the subject, but without some sort of framework for understanding their relation to the historical traditions, it can be nearly impossible to sort out which are worth while.
EDIT: Forgot linking by reference isn't working; fixed with inline links.
Hmm... It’s almost as though...
Raziel is probably most famous for the book he gave to Adam. There are many versions of the story, including one where angels steal the book back from Adam out of jealousy. It supposedly passed through the hands of Enoch, Noah, and Solomon, inspiring the Book of Enoch, teaching Noah how to build the Ark, and granting Solomon great knowledge and power in magic respectively. Source
The origin of this story is pretty interesting: "The myth of the Book of Raziel grows out of a midrash attempting to explain the verse, This is the book of the generations of Adam (Gen. 5:1)." Source, also a good read
Raziel is mentioned in Targum Ecclesiastes 10:20 - "Do not speak evil of the king in thy conscience, nor in the secret of thy heart, nor in the most hidden place in thy house, curse not a wise man; for Raziel calls daily from heaven upon Mount Horeb, and his voice goes through the whole world; and Elijah, the great priest, goes, flying through the air like a winged eagle, and publishes the words which are spoken in secret by all the inhabitants of the earth." The Targumim are pretty old - they date back to the 1st to 7th centuries. This page offers an interesting theory about Raziel's early role in Jewish mysticism - not as the keeper of secrets but rather the revealer.
According to Maimonides (1135-1204) in his Mishneh Torah, Raziel is the chief of the order of Erelim, also the herald of God and preceptor of Adam.
Now, there is a 13th century medieval grimoire known as "Sefer Raziel HaMalakh". The true author is unknown, but it's commonly attributed to Eleazer of Worms or Isaac the Blind, medieval writers of the time. It draws heavily on Sefer Yetzirah and Sefer Ha-Razim, the former being the oldest and probably the most important Qabalistic text.
As for the Sefer Raziel itself, you can read it online here. Steve Savedow's translation is unfortunately not great, the amazon reviews sort of speak for themselves, but it's better than nothing. You may find something interesting there.
tl;dr Raziel is a very old and important angel, considering he derives from Genesis 5:1. If you are trying to connect to angels in a Qabalistic context, I'd highly recommend starting with the books they originated from, like Sefer Raziel and its predecessors. Hope this helps.
https://www.amazon.com/Hamafteach-Complete-Talmud-Daniel-Retter/dp/9653013602
>Modern Orthodoxy deliberately defined itself as a breakaway movement.
Modern Orthodoxy is a continuance of the ancient tradition of balancing Judaism with outside factors which is extant throughout Jewish history. See R' Lamm's Torah UMadda, but until you actually read it, the Rambam's own recommendations about the obligation to learn secular studies should suffice and in fact holds that learning secular studies even qualifies for Talmud Torah.
>Our sages forbid studying secular "Greek wisdom" in the Gemara.
Then it's a good thing no one learns Greek wisdom anymore. Except those who learn the multitude of instances where Chazal repeats all the Greek wisdom they were learning and all the praise they had for it.
>Our sages enacted countless laws specifically to encourage insularity
They made laws to prevent intermarriage, not to sever contact with the nations.
>Gender falls in to this category
The Torah has gender distinctions, but significantly fewer glass ceilings than modern Orthodoxy.
Many Orthodox synagogues use the Stone Edition Chumash which is nice since it has lots of commentary. There is also a Stone edition Tanakh but with less commentary.
I would also suggest Rabbi Steinsaltz's "Talmudic Images". Much like his "Biblical Images" he gives biographical sketches of the sages from the Mishnah. Here is the description from Amazon's page about the book:
>The Talmud is a unique repository of debate among generations of Jewish sages. While we may be familiar with the names Hillel, Shammai, Ben Zakkai and other Talmudic sages, and we may understand the schools of thought they represent, we are less likely to know much about their individual personalities, their inner lives, the historical contexts in which they lived. Talmudic Images presents intimate portraits of thirteen, key Talmudic sages. It offers glimpses into their very human lives, enabling us to better understand and more fully appreciate their remarkable contributions to the body of Jewish wisdom. Includes a glossary, annotated bibliography and timeline.
If you're trying to read the Torah / other Jewish texts, you might get a 'Chumash.' On each page, there's about half a page [or less] of biblical text, and below that is half a page [or more] of rabbinical interpretation of [almost] every line.
It is! I'd also really suggest reading Heschel as well. He is magnificent. Especially God in Search of Man. He really is a phenomenal thinker.
And you're right. The throwing around of theological terms has often resulted in their conflation. I agree with the definition of holy you gave, and I think a lot of Christians do as well.
The place where you will likely find distinction is in the theology of Law, which is typically a place where Jews and Christians diverge. Paul talks about Christ inaugurating a new covenant whereby our living in holiness is guided by the Spirit of God rather than the letter of the law. Both Galatians and Romans are especially laden with this idea. I think you will find that most Christian theologians follow that line of thinking, that by living according to the Spirit of God they fulfill the Law of Moses and are therefore holy.
https://www.amazon.com/Judaism-Discovered-Anti-Biblical-Self-Worship-Superstition/dp/0970378459
If you want to learn about Judaism from now backround go with ARtscrollhttps://www.amazon.com/Chumash-ArtScroll-Haftaros-Commentary-Anthologized/dp/0899060145/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 or Gutnick https://www.amazon.com/Chumash-Gutnick-All-one-Synagogue/dp/1934152013
Do I look like a Rabbi to you?
https://www.amazon.com/Chumash-ArtScroll-Haftaros-Commentary-Anthologized/dp/0899060145
https://www.amazon.com/Be-Jew-Jewish-Observance-Contemporary/dp/0465086322
https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Book-Second-volumes-slipcase/dp/0824603141
Second on Telushkin's Jewish Literacy. For theology: God in Search of Man by R. Heschel. Also, Basic Judaism by R. Milton Steinberg
I'm not sure. I guess the first step would be basic Jewish thought (theology, ethics, and basic principles), so I would recommend the same basic books I would recommend most Jewish adult beginning students:
I would also recommend a good basic, one volume translation and commentary on the Torah (i.e. the five books of Moses). My personal recommendation for you would be the the Hertz Pentateuch. However the the Artscroll Stone Chumash, and the Hirsch Pentateuch are also very good.
These ought to get you off to a solid start.
Try this for information: https://smile.amazon.com/Complete-Books-Enoch-Secrets-Hebrew/dp/1453890297/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1518535711&sr=8-8&keywords=books+of+enoch
I have not. It appears that "The Lonely Man of Faith" is available for Kindle.
>It was you who split open the sea [Yam] by your power
A body of water is called a "yam." For instance, the Sea of Reeds, often mistranslated as the Red Sea, the body of water that split, is called the "yam soof". The Mediterranean sea is called "יָם הַתִיכוֹן" "yam hatikcon." To say point to the Canaanite God Yam as some sort of proof is just abusing language.
>There is the seven headed dragon referenced multiple times ......; The Book of Isaiah
First off, why are you giving me a line of tehillim if you Isaiah is your source?
However, Rashi clarifies this.
the heads of Leviathan: Pharaoh is called [by] this [name], as it is said (Isa. 27:1): “the Lord will visit with His hard… sword on leviathan, etc.”
You give it as food to the people in companies: You gave his money to the people of Israel to consume.
Additionally, without violating copyright too intensely, because I'd have to take pictures of a few pages of this book to show you everything it says, Sacred Monsters by Natan Slifkin sums up the Leviathan as such: "there is one school of thought which interprets the accounts of leviathan literally to refer to a fish of gigantic dimensions that is unknown to science. But according to the medieval rationalist school of thought, the leviathan of the Aggadah (stories from the Talmud) is a metaphor for a concept, which scriptural accounts of leviathan may sometimes be a reference to creatures such as whales, crocodiles, and possibly sea serpents, and at other times also serve as metaphors..."
I love the Jewish Study Bible too! To my knowledge, the only similar translation- and really the only modern translation whatsoever- of the Talmud is Artscroll. This is the go-to translation for Talmud scholars in yeshivas everywhere. Luckily it's a very good translation, crowdsourced from many Talmudic scholars all across the world.
I did manage to find a free translation online which uses the standardized page format.
Regarding Artscroll: only Orthodox scholars were involved, and no secular scholarship whatsoever. It's a thoroughly Orthodox translation instead of a "consensus". They're also a bit pricy for the full set.
But luckily you don't need the full set, because it's going to take you your whole life to read it!
Traditionally, the Talmud is not learned in order (probably because the beginning is extremely dull imo). A good starting point is Bava Kama "The First Gate", the beginning of which deals with the different types of animal damages. It's one of my favorite pieces of gemara, honestly. (It's also the page I linked to for the online translation.)
Last thing: you don't want to just read the Talmud, it's not that kind of book. Rabbi Dov Linzer gives a daily class on a single page, and he's been doing it for years. Read the page first, then listen to the class and follow along, then go back and read the page again.
TLDR:
EDIT: Forgot to mention, arrays start at 2. Page 2 is the first page of every book, because reasons. So that is the first video of the series :)
Modern orthodoxy is mostly based on Tum
Torah U'madda- founded by R' Nochum Lamm read his book describing it.
You might also like Torah Im Derech Eretz- founded Rav Shampson Rafael Hirsch, I recommend his Nineteen letters.
No problem! Glad to help.
I should mention that I feel a bit awkward because while I’m trying to provide sources to you, I’m not religious and personally don’t believe there are any valid theodicies (Kant agrees and so does the Rebbe).
That being said, if you’re looking into the issue I would strongly recommend against confining yourself to Jewish sources. Christians have been churning out theodicies for centuries. John Hick identified three major traditions in Christian theodicies: the Augustinian, Irenaean, and Plotinian. (Examples of theodicies in the Muslim world include those of the Mutazila school, Avicenna, and Al Ghazali, but they’re not very original so probably not worth your time.) Alvin Plantinga is a very prominent contemporary Christian analytic philosopher whose theodicy (technically it’s a defense rather than a theodicy) is fashionable these days.
On the Jewish side of things Eliezer Berkowitz wrote a well-regarded book entitled Faith After the Holocaust (there’s a shorter essay version of it in this). And I remember someone once recommended this book to me. Also, obviously the most authoritative Jewish work addressing theodicy is the Book of Job (איוב)!
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry is probably the best way to get acquainted with the various theodicies/defenses/refutations. It’s long but I recommend at least skimming the entire thing and focusing on the bits you find most interesting.
When I read this the most obvious thing was that it was just a Chumash, an Artscroll one or something. Clearly his mom didn't buy him a legitimate Torah scroll. This sounds like exactly the kind of thing a relative would gift to someone getting into Judaism.
>the jewish god's correct name is not "god"
Correct, but irrelevant to the issue under discussion. See also HERE
Sorry for the very late response to this. I don't have a definite source, it's more of an idea strung together from various other sources (the jumping off point is the midrash/aggada of Avraham destroying his father's idols as a little boy). It might be touched upon in Frameworks, but I haven't had a chance to verify.
Seems like many have been recommending this
The Chumash: The Stone Edition, Full Size (ArtScroll) (English and Hebrew Edition) The Torah: Haftaros and Five Megillos with a Commentary Anthologized from the Rabbinic Writings https://www.amazon.com/dp/0899060145/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.9KxzbP1NBRHJ
Maimonides and the Book That Changed Judaism: Secrets of "The Guide for the Perplexed"
Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed
Bewilderments: Reflections on the Book of Numbers
The Malbim on Iyov; The Search for Faith and Meaning
The Beast That Crouches At The Door (Rabbi Fohrman's Aleph Beta Academy is beyond praise.)
Epistle to Yemen
Kahane on the Parsha
Thank you for getting the joke.
I would not really advise to solely look at Enochian Text for this, you might want to start looking at
A Dictionary of Angels for some good baseline info
and the Sepher Rezial Hemelach
Fifth World Books - 419 E. 2100 South, SLC, UT. Ph.(801)486-6437 Will often know where to point you as well. Rosenblum's World of Judaica on Devon St. In Chicago can direct you as well as get you some very hard to find reference books.
Hope those can give you some more diverse and accurate sources of information.
EDIT: Also of course the Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation and The Magician's Companion
Thanks. I just found this:
https://www.amazon.com/BABYLONIAN-TALMUD-ALL-VOLUMES-ILLUSTRATED-ebook/dp/B01GY0FCGQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480292460&sr=1-2&keywords=the+talmud
I went to hear a Christian convert out of Islam who is a scholar of both the Bible and the Q'uran, that the Q'uran is not accurately translated into English in order to make it more palatable to the Westerner. I wonder if this same problem exists in the Talmud?
Do you have a particular Talmud that you recommend?
>? What happens?
Marriage, in my opinion, requires one testosterone-dominant individual (to protect the family) and one estrogen-dominant individual (to nurture the children).
I am a heterosexual male. By that I mean, if I were given a random choice to have sexual intercourse with an individual with a vagina, or an individual with a penis, then I will choose the individual with a vagina 100% of the time.
I am willing to be tested on this. That was a joke. Never mind.
Anyway, testosterone-dominant individuals tend to be more aggressive than estrogen-dominant ones. That is why the vast majority of psychopaths are male.
If I were a male heterosexual psychopath and no one suspected that, then I would "come out" as gay, and find myself a male partner in crime to marry. I could also find a weak-minded female, as Jerry Sandusky did, but I think that that would be far more difficult. Females, at least in my experience, tend to be smarter about this stuff than males. That is because evolution has made females the experts at caring for children.
After the honeymoon I'd start adopting attractive female children. Can you guess why?
Gay marriage is a slippery slope. Homosexuality does not imply pedophilia but homosexuality gives the pedophiles a wonderful tool to sexually abuse orphans. I do not wish to give them that tool.
\> I do find it disgusting to be against homosexuality though.
Fair enough. I find it disgusting to give pedophiles tools to abuse orphans. I guess I care more about child welfare than those who are A-OK with gay marriage.
\> You are missing the point.
No, I want to do Thunderdome with Judaism and then with Islam. I am betting that Christianity will win. It obviously wins over Islam. I believe that it will win over Judaism, because this:
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Schottenstein-Talmud-English-Volumes/dp/1578190673
Judaism is too damn hard to understand. I believe that that is probably because all of the rules are concrete.
Christianity boils down to a single word! It's an abstract word, and some humans appear to be unable to understand abstractions. Oh well.
My Rabbi recommended me this version of the Torah if you want written explanations.
Maimonides' Introduction to the Talmud
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1880582287/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_1-kMAbSZ4RGZJ
This book outlines the rambam's legal method and definitions. It's basically why I consider myself a rambamist.
In no particular order, I'd recommend: The Early Kabbalah, The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis, Meditation and Kabbalah, Lessons in Tanya, 138 Openings of Wisdom, Anatomy of the Soul, Sefer Yetzirah, and A Tapestry for the Soul.
Yes and no, in my own way - I took a little break from Kabbalah after reading a number of different books about it, and and went on to a few other subjects. I sort of have this project in mind that is becoming massive and I'm trying to figure out how to tie everything together and deal with all the notes I have. I mean, I pretty much know how I'm going to do things, I just need to sit down and kick myself in the butt and get the writing done. But I want to tie in Kabbalah, as well as other Jewish ideas, with Christian mysticism, as well as historical Jesus scholarship and scientific ideas (a number of scientists have written books tying in Quantum Theory with mystical spirituality). And somehow despite my desire to focus on Judaism's connection to Christianity, as I've written the first couple sections of the series, some Buddhist ideas crept in.
But in any case, I have a copy of The Talmud (the one with Joseph Barclay listed as the editor, linked) and Tales and Maxims From the Midrash sitting on my kindle waiting to be read, and I also found a slightly used, very cheap copy of Everyman's Talmud: The Major Teachings of the Rabbinic Sages at the local McKay's (it's a place where people trade in media of their own and so you can buy other people's used stuff for really cheap).
God in Search of Man
Judaism is far worse. It is a racial religion of self-worship and deceit. May I suggest either of these:
It turns out there is a reason why Jews have been expelled from more than 100 countries. Jews are far from blameless. Lets hope they can begin to change and become better neighbors.
Trying to force political correctness down your boyfriend's throat will not work. There are plenty of soothsayers who say positive things about all sorts of alien cultures and beliefs, but your boyfriend is unlikely to accept what he reads at face value.
A far more productive thing is to awaken your boyfriend to the true role of Jewish power and Jewish influence in the Western world. This helps lend some perspective on the question of how important (or unimportant) Islam is by comparison.
If your boyfriend can begin to grasp this, he will thank you for opening his eyes and probably come to realise that Muslims are a minor threat to Western civilisation - especially if your boyfriend lives in America.
Here are some good videos, books, and essays about Jewish influence in America:
Download the preface to Culture of Critique here or here(pdf).
Is your boyfriend opposed to the war in Iraq? If so you might want to show him these:
Is your boyfriend religious? If so I would recommend the following books:
Free E Michael Jones Podcasts here, here, and here.
If your boyfriend is NOT religious, I recommend any of the following:
Listen to what the Jews get from Yahweh if they keep their side of the bargain.”
>"And it shall be, when the Lord thy god shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not....”
There are various things the Jews are required to do in order to get possession of all this loot from the Gentiles. Just compare what the Jews wanted from their god with what our own pagan ancestors might have wanted in a similar situation. We might have asked for courage on the battlefield, perhaps even for victory over our enemies or for a plentiful harvest — but can you imagine us begging specifically to be given the fruit of other peoples’ labor, without having to work for it ourselves?”
Islam does not pose a military threat to America or the West. If Americans and NATO get out of Muslim lands and stop supporting Israel, this threat will disappear.
Islam does pose somewhat of a demographic threat to the Western world. Western peoples are being displaced by third worlders in all of the nations they founded. But this is primarily the result of Jewish political activism in the 1960's to reform the immigration laws in America and the rest of the Western world.
Here are few good sources to research the Jewish role on immigration policy:
TL/DR: The Islamic threat is hyped up Jewish propaganda. Jews pose a far greater threat.