Do you think such a question helps? We should instead ask - how do we get more Jewish people to make friends in real life, build #kehillah? I am sometimes a bit concerned about Mastodon's #Jewishcommunity: whenever someone brings up collaboration, it gets a poor response. We can do better than assume the worst - we should instead work for the best! What do you think of these examples of Jewish collaborations? (click link)
About #converting to #Judaism: Judaism is not a religion, it is a #kehillah (tribe/family.) One can't "identify" as a Jew. One must go through #gerut ("conversion) to Judaism by
1. A course of study with a rabbi & Jewish teachers
2. Fulfilling the #mitzvah of #tevilah (immersion in a mikveh)
3. For men, circumcision or hatafat dam brit.
4. Joining a (real world, not social media) #synagogue, #havurah, kehillah
I hope people share this: Here we see Conservative, Reform and Orthodox #Jews studying #Torah and #mussar together in #Brookline, Massachusetts.
We should encourage our local Jewish community leaders to do the same - Torah, #Mishnah, Talmud, #Maimonides, Mussar, are our common inheritance. With good will any community can create opportunities for cooperation, spirituality, Talmud Torah, and communal strength.
Also:
Judaism understands that the self is important, but the self is only part of a much greater whole - all of Klal Yisrael. Rabbi Micha Berger writes -
And this is why Shema has to begin with our joining with others. Judaism is not about having a one-on-one relationship with God, “to people gazing at each other”, but to work within the context of a community under a Melekh toward making the world a better place for everyone.
How can we better greet new people in our synagogues?
"There's no such thing as a Jew living a Jewish life in isolation: the Jew has always lived within a community... we need others around us for prayer, study, keeping kashrut, and all the other aspects of life that define Jewish existence.... it is only in [community] that one can live the life that we believe God demands."
https://archive.jewishagency.org/jewish-community/content/28851/
@judaism
@mazeldon
#Mazeldon #Jewniverse
#Jewish #Judaism #Jews #community #kehillah
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