Reddit mentions: The best books about judaism

I've got some suggestions!

One of my favorite books is The Jew in the Lotus: A Poet's Rediscovery of Jewish Identity in Buddhist India by Rodger Kamenetz. The book chronicles a journey by the first Jewish delegation to meet with the Dalai Lama. The rabbis involved come from different backgrounds. Some are more mystical than others, but each have important things to say. As a bonus, it's a thrilling adventure and you get to learn a little bit about Tibetan Buddhism. Also, Kamenetz is a beautiful writer.

Now, you mentioned "mysticism." So mysticism in Judaism often defaults to Kabbalah. Many Jews and Jewish denominations do not believe in Kabbalah. So keep that in mind. But of course, there are Jews who do believe in it. So certainly it should be discussed. Anyway, there's a lot of misinformation about Kabbalah out there, much of which spread by the Kabbalah Centre. Just as "Yoga" means something different to a Hindu and an American, so too does "Kabbalah" mean something different in Judaism than to an American. New-Age movements are inspired by ancient traditions, but it's best not to confuse them with the ancient traditions.

Anyway, much of Kabbalah derives from the Zohar. Daniel C. Matt is a wonderful scholar, and has a book with selections of the Zohar translated called Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment. He also has a book called The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism which presents translated primary sources to explain many concepts in Kabbalah. It's a pretty book, and a fun read. Also, here is a video of Daniel C. Matt speaking, just to give you a taste of who he is.

Daniel C. Matt's Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment has a forward by Rabbi Arthur Green. Green is a leader in Reconstructionist Judaism and Neo-Hasidism, and a scholar of Jewish mysticism. He has a book called Radical Judaism: Rethinking God and Tradition which outlines a liberal and panentheistic Judaism deriving from Hasidic Kabbalah. Green is a theologian while Matt is a scholar, so Green is presenting a cohesive spiritual view while Matt is simply presenting documents. Green's book is pretty short. I think some of his ideas are nice, but some of them didn't do anything for me. Maybe it's the kind of thing you'd like to check out.

Green's book is based on Hasidism which is a mystical Jewish movement which is derived from Lurianic Kabbalah. I have a few books on my reading list for Hasidism waiting to be read. Of what I've read, I greatly enjoyed Ellie Wiesel's Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of the Hasidic Masters. Wiesel's book is a collection of tales and descriptions of the different Hasidic leaders. Stories and the character of different leaders have been very important in Hasidism, so this is a good book to give you a feel of Hasidism. Many of the tales invoke a sense of ecstasy, love, and awe. There's also Martin Buber's Tales of the Hasidim, but I found it a little drier than Wiesel's book.

The Chabad is a well known Hasidic organization. Their website offers a lot of information on regular Jewish concepts, but they also have articles on a whole range of mysticism. Further, the Chabad also has a digital library with many books relevant to their Hasidic philosophy. Their website has a lot to offer, but I have some qualms about the Chabad and am wary to be overly reliant on them. Still, they're certainly a resource you should be aware of.

As /u/juden-shikker points out, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan is a great resource on meditation, Kabbalah, and mysticism. Further, Gershom Scholem is considered the father of academic study of Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism. Scholem has numerous books on a range of mystical topics in Judaism. Moshe Idel was a student of Scholem and in some ways a successor to him. Idel has published many works. Significantly, he has written on Abraham Abulafia and Prophetic Kabbalah (as opposed to Theosophical Kabbalah which is what most people saying, "Kabbalah," refer to). These authors would all serve as great resources for you.

If you're interested in more earth-based spirituality and feminist themes, Rabbi Jill Hammer has a website called Tel Shemesh devoted to these themes. She's also written a beautifully poetic book called The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons. For each day of the Jewish Year she quotes a verse from the Tanakh and a related quote from Midrash or Talmud. She then writes about the importance of that day in the Jewish Year or discusses a seasonally appropriate Jewish legend. It's interesting and beautifully written, however sometimes you have to take what she writes with a grain of salt. I also disagree with some of her sources. Still, though, she's a beautiful writer with something a little different to offer.

And finally there's Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Jewish Renewal. Gosh, what can one even say about Rabbi Zalman and Jewish Renewal? Some love them, some hate them. For some they're purely a phenomenon of one generation which is on its way out. Who knows? Maybe some of his works and the Jewish Renewal organization will be of some value to you. Also, Rabbi Zalman is one of the rabbis who traveled to meet the Dalai Lama in the first book I mentioned.

For the past few months I've been doing a lot of study on Jewish mysticism. So that's why I'm so ready and willing to throw books at you. I have other books as well, but the ones I've listed here give a wide variety of different views in Jewish mysticism and spirituality. Plus, I found all these ones to be pretty fun reads. Hope this could help!

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!

>I would also like to start 'working' with a higher entity. I'd like to make contact with my HGA, but am not adept enough to perform The Abramelin Operation (seems very scary).

The Abramelin Operation is a bit dated and a lot of people (not all though) use Crowley's Liber Samekh Ritual to establish contact with the HGA. It's supposed to be performed astrally several times a day. Lon Milo Duqette wrote a clearer explanation than Crowley did of how to perform the ritual in his book A Handbook of the Rituals of Thelema. However, that's not usually the first step in contacting the HGA. In Crowley's system, a person must :

1. Gain control over the body of light and rising on the planes. This is often assigned due to the fact that, as I already said, the ritual is not suppose to take place on the physical plane, rather in the astral one after rising on the planes.
   
   
2. Master Asana and Pranayama. Asana is being able to sit completely still in a single position without moving a single muscle for a prolonged period of time and Pranayama is breath control. This is because the HGA is often seen as your subconscious mind and these meditative practices are necessary to be able to quiet your conscious mind so that you may better hear and listen to your subconscious. If you'd like to read more about this, I'd recommend Liber ABA
   
   
3. Master ceremonial magick techniques (i.e. Star Ruby, Star Sapphire, lesser rituals of the pentagram and hexagram, greater rituals of the pentagram and hexagram, etc.) and develop a better understanding of ritual. This is obviously assigned due to the fact that in order to successfully perform a ritual to invoke the HGA, you need to have an understanding of ritual and ability to do it.
   
   
4. Perfect the art of Bhakti. Bhakti is complete devotion to a deity. It includes such things as devoting all acts (i.e. eating, drinking, sleeping, working, breathing, etc.) to the chosen deity, developing a mantra for the deity and reciting it constantly in your head every second of the day without stopping, developing an invocation to the deity, performing ritual service for the deity several times in a 24 hour period including the middle of the night, modeling yourself to behave like the chosen deity, etc. This is necessary as it helps develop the one-pointed focus and devotion needed to successful invoke the HGA. If you'd like, you can read more about this in Liber Astarte
   
   >I would love suggestions from you all regarding anything that would help me practice low-level ritual work!
   
   I'd recommend trying out
   
   The Star Sapphire
   
   The Star Ruby
   
   The Greater Ritual of the Hexagram
   
   The Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram
   
   The Solar Adorations
   
   The Threefold Eucharist
   
   The Mass of the Pheonix
   
   The Form of Hoor-pa-kraat
   
   >Are there any other ways to do this? I feel an affinity toward Angelic forces and have a keen interest in Enochian but am unsure where to begin.
   
   If you're looking to get into Enochian magick, (which I would highly recommend; it's one of my favoritae systems of magick) I'd recommend reading Enochian Magick in Theory and Enochian Magick in Practice by Frater Yechidah.
   
   >I have stayed away from Goetia thus far and would like to focus a little more on white magick (not because I think Goetia is 'wrong'; its just not for me right now). However, I am curious if The Key of Solomon would provide any use for someone wanting to learn about white magic? Am I correct in stating that the astrological pentacles are of use for the magus to use at their will?
   
   I wouldn't classify the Goetia as black magick. Demons in the occult are not the same as demons in Abrahramic religion. In fact, I (as well as others I have talked to) have noticed that the Enochian angels are very similar in character and personality to the Goetic demons. I would also not characterize the Key of Solomon pentacles and sigils as black magick.
   
   But to answer your questions; yes, anyone could use the pentacles (with or without conjuring any of the Goetic demons; the consecration rite for them does not include any evocation, just a blessing) and see results.
   
   As for general books I would recommend to a beginner:
   
   The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford by Lon Milo Duquette
   
   the Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie
   
   The Mystical and Magical System of the A .'. A .'. by James A. Eshelman
   
   777 And Other Qabalistic Writings by Aleister Crowley
   
   Gems From the Equinox by Aleister Crowley and edited by Israel Regardie
   
   
   
   

As a person who converted through the Reform movement, I highly suggest that you take a holistic approach to your initial study of Judaism. Getting a better idea of where other movements are coming from will not only give you a better grounding in Judaism as a whole, but it will foster understanding between movements and also put you in a better position to decide which movement works best for you.

Personally, even though I converted Reform, I don't actually identify strongly as a Reform Jew, because it's a bit too free form for me (in particular, I became very frustrated when the response to any question I had about observance essentially boiled down to 'do whatever makes you feel good'). That said, like you, I don't identify completely with the theology or some of the practices of Orthodoxy (separation of men and women being one of them), so I wouldn't make a good Orthodox Jew even though I'm more observant than, oh, 90% of Reform Jews.

Take the advice of other people in this thread and try out several different synagogues and Jewish events in your area, if possible. And read a lot on Judaism from different perspectives. Even if you strongly identify with the Reform movement (which is totally fine--I am not knocking the movement, it just isn't 100% for me), it will still be helpful to understand other levels of observance.

Some books I suggest you check out:

• Basic Judaism by Milton Steinberg -- This book gives a brief and easy-to-read overview of the basics of both traditional (Orthodox) and liberal Judaism. VERY good place to start your studies.
  
• Choosing a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant is a good overview of the conversion process and some of the issues coverts face. Been a while since I read this, but it's definitely not from an Orthodox perspective--I think it strives to be more neutral as far as denomination goes.
  
• I also highly recommend To Pray as a Jew by Hayim Halevy Donin. This is an introduction to the synagogue service and its prayers. Very informative book. It is written from an Orthodox perspective, and will be easier to follow once you are further along in your studies, I think, but it's a wonderful resource.
  
  Particularly because you mentioned that you are a feminist, I thought you might also be interested in:
  
  
• How to run a Traditional Jewish Household by Blu Greenberg. This book is written from a Modern Orthodox perspective by a well-known Orthodox feminist. It gives a lot of background and information about Orthodox customs that aren't as well-known to more liberal Jews (like the concept of an eruv, for example). Though I don't identify as an Orthodox Jew myself, I found this book fascinating and it really helped me solidify my own practice and feelings about traditional Judaism.
  
• Life on the Fringes: A Feminist Journey Toward Traditional Rabbinic Ordination by Haviva Ner-David is an account of Ner-David's journey to becoming one of the first women granted the equivalent of Orthodox semicha (ordination) in Israel. I found it very eye-opening. It is definitely possible to be a feminist and be traditional. I don't agree with everything she says/does, but this is another great book to give you a perspective on how and why Orthodox Jews do things the way they do.
  
  Welcome to the path of Jewish study. If you ever have any other specific questions about converting Reform or need support in your studies or your journey, please feel free to PM me any time.

I strongly advise that you don't do Daf Yomi. You should at least develop proficiency in gemora first, and before that you should at least become proficient in mishna. You can't really work through a gemora (and remember what you've learned) if you're covering a daf a day. It's definitely not a starting point. (Also, I would advise buying one volume at a time, as needed, rather than the whole set. But if you can afford the whole set, more power to you. It's a good thing to own).

I highly recommend a thorough study of Pirkei Avot as a starting point.

I haven't learned it myself, but Ein Yaakov is a renowned compilation of aggadata with commentary. I love the Maharal's derech in learning Aggadata, but it's not a place to start.

For an easy and thorough grounding in some fundamental concepts, I don't think the Nineteen Letters can be beaten (I several editions on Amazon, but I'm not sure who translated them. The only translations I know of are one from 1899 and this one. This has notes which are not necessary to understand it, but are valuable both to understanding the text and in themselves).

Advice for books is really, first and foremost, to learn something that draws you and speaks to you, and secondly something that you will be able to maintain. If you have ideas about this and want specific suggestions, I would love to help, but I don't believe that there are any essentials that everyone must learn. It has to be suitable for your personal style.

Besides for a chavrusa, I would also highly recommend a shiur and a fixed schedule (it doesn't have to be a big schedule — even 15 minutes once a week or five minutes a day — but obviously the more you can manage, the better (within reason, of course)).

I don't know how to learn Hebrew. What Hebrew I do know, I learned mostly from learning texts with a dictionary and/or chavrusa

Some general advice: I'm certainly not discouraging you, but it's important to pace yourself. For sustainable and lasting spiritual growth, you should focus on one small step at a time, and not focusing too much on the end goal (eg "to become a baal teshuva"). If you want to learn, or if some other mitzvah appeals to you, by all means take that on, and then when it's comfortable, take another... but don't worry about where it will lead you. Similarly in learning, rather commit to a little less than you're sure you can handle and build incrementally on that than risk biting off more than you can chew. I don't mean to discourage you at all, and I wish you the greatest success in your learning :)

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.

Don't drive yourself too crazy about it. I went in full speed and spent many boring shabbos days by myself with nothing to do because I didn't live near a shul or other Jews. No reason to go in 100% at first, especially if you are a convert-to-be so there's no actual prohibition for you now. If you can go to a synagogue, do so! Don't stress about not knowing what is going on, just go and listen and absorb the atmosphere.

My recommendation is to focus on the spirit of Shabbat rather than the nitty-gritty, especially for the first time. Light your Shabbat candles at the right time, crack open a bottle of wine, have some bread, eat some dinner, and read read read. You are starting to observe Shabbat but aren't sure all of the details, so might I suggest a book about Shabbat observance? The Sabbath by Heschel is also a beautiful poetic book about Shabbat that may help you get into the spirit of it. To Be A Jew, To Pray as a Jew, and Becoming a Jew are all great beginner books, the last geared towards converts. They all explain various aspects and details of observance, including Shabbat observance. You say you've read all you can, but these books all include very detailed information on exactly the timeline of events.

Since I became observant with no synagogue nearby, I found my Shabbat mornings to be much more meaningful when I would go outside to pray (in whatever capacity I was able-- either in Hebrew or English or just from the heart). There is something lovely about the Californian sunshine in that regard, I guess! Shabbat days are really long and boring by yourself, and I'd have non-Jewish friends come visit me and we'd take walks or just hang out in the backyard. I wouldn't do anything I'm not allowed, and they would obviously do whatever. We just wouldn't pick our activities as anything electronic-based, money-based, etc.

I wouldn't worry too much about details like blessings unless you want to say them in English. I felt really awkward doing that at first, but maybe you won't. If you know something isn't allowed, try not to do it. If you know something isn't allowed but it's really a burden and taking away from the spirit of Shabbat this weekend (like you left your bedroom light on), deal with it, but acknowledge that when you are 100% shabbat observant you can't do that. No reason to be miserable your very first Shabbat, or maybe you'll get a bad impression :) It gets easier the more comfortable you are with it. Depending on how this week goes, next week, add one or two more observances.

To answer your question about specific dinners, well, my husband and I eat anything on Shabbat. We are not stringent to only eat meat or fish, so sometimes we eat dairy. To me, the food you have on Shabbat should be a delight, something you are excited to eat or something you don't eat often. We make very normal typical dinners, usually, and I never ever make cholent or most of the 'traditional' foods. This week (for just the 2 of us) I am making shredded chicken build-your-own tacos for dinner and a big pasta salad full of lots and lots of veggies and grilled chicken for lunch. When we have company, it would be more traditional a meat-starch-2 or 3 vegetable meal.

If you have any more specific questions, I'd be happy to answer as someone who has kind of been there and done that!

well the one thing that intrigued me about Judaism is how the whole system just points to the realization of god. there's a reason why Jews are so rich, so smart, low divorce and crime rate. the torah is a perfect instruction manual for life and the reason it has so many laws is because humans have so many flaws. the restrictions of being a jew are really opportunity for a better life.

for me i had to overcome the fact if the torah was really divine and is gods knowledge, or was it man made crazy cave man stuff from thousands of years ago..but if you take the time to investigate the authenticity of the torah all fingers point to god. you know unlike the rest of the world we believe humans were actually smarter back in the day and that are great grandparents were not apes. this is easily proven by just learning torah YOU must know that its no easy task to learn and how much knowledge there is. the oral torah is there to explain the written torah , the mishnah is there to explain that , then you have commentator explain that, then rashi explaining what that guy meant and we are here in 2011 breaking our heads trying to understand it from the bottum up. and when we do its a very real and euphoric moment. ......also the torah has things installed in it that in no way possible could be written by a human. think about this psychological argument . imagine we are living three thousand years ago and you're a member for a select committee to write the torah, your goal is convince people that this is a divine document given to you by god. in addition to obvious laws like dont kill or steal would you put kashrut on the list ? if we really wanted to sell this document to the world. not only that, the torah explains what signs a animal needs to be kosher then goes out of its why to name 4 animals that have 1 sign and not the other. How would the authors know such a thing? was Moshe a zoologist exploring the world. its a lot of credibility to put on the line ..to this day we have 5,000 known species of animals and constantly finding new ones ,and not once has there been a find that went against the torahs explicit claim ..no human trying to pass off a forged torah as divine would deliberately include statements which are bound to be proven false ,and risk exposing himself of fraud..only a supreme being can know for certain the characteristics of every animal in the world, because he created them!

this is just one small example like a drop in the bucket .
2 books that really helped me out was
http://www.amazon.com/Permission-Believe-Rational-Approaches-Existence/dp/0944070558
a book explain god through science , logic , history , etc
next one is http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Reasonable-Doubt-Shmuel-Waldman/dp/1583308067 this book just proves in every way why judaism is real, amazing books and there is free audio classes for both..

and know even if you went off the derech every jew is still a diamond and even if a diamond falls in the mud ,all you have to do is polish it off to reveal its value again.

> In case some don't know, Religious-traditional Jew or not a Jew is still a Jew forever, that's what the covenant is about,

I recognize this point of view, though I do not necessarily subscribe to it myself. I say "necessarily", because I'm not intrinsically opposed to the idea either, but I suspect I use these terms quite differently from you.

>but I understand you got the impression i a speaking from a religious point of view because many Christians see Christianity as a faith in Jesus and religion, these seals mix some gospel stuff too which does not work with Judaism, nit even messianic texts.

Again, it's a lot more helpful to describe my outlook on faith as pragmatheism than anything else. I believe in what works. From this point of view, there's no difficulty in syncretizing various traditions even though their original adherents wouldn't be able to make it work like that for themselves. To each his own.


> It may upset some rabbis and provoke curiosity if they see anyone sharing what iam with other nations who may be seeking to use the light from the Jewish nation to bond, communicate and pack with unseen beings hashem banished during creation billions of years ago,

I'm very happy that you're willing to have this conversation, and I hope the downvotes won't put you off. Our perspectives may vary, but we've got plenty to learn from each other, and I wish I could be more helpful in answering your questions.

> Th g-d of Israel is one and everyone's g-d and creator, those who use hashems names to conjure or invoke unseen beings who where banished are using the names in vain, especially if they are Christian and no way around during solomons time, it would mean a pagan is trying to trick hashem or the spirit into a service., and it was the Arabs who wrote stories about Solomon and his ring blending it all with Arabian nights, the gienie in the bottle etc, Arabs believe these spirits get burned for coming near a living person (especially ones thousand of years old) and so they will only do so as long as that person proves them they lower the grace of hashem, his angels and names to their level, some times even mocking, sacrificing something or sharing their own blood to pack or connect with them.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm taking the Holy Names in vain through my practices, but I'm not worried about it. My approach to these names and the Hebrew alphabet is quite Hermetic (or Chicken-ish, if you will), and they work just fine without the dogmatic framework of Judaism. This video gives a good intro to the perspectives I'm describing, please forgive the blatant heresy.

> But since they are banished it's called praying using hashems name in vain.
> But if your a Jew you talk to hashem and ask permission which is how it should be done, that's the point of the names of hashem, but I guess depending on what someone is asking it's gonna be hard to go that route,
>
> Anyway, so the Latin text and other esoteric writing on Solomon's seals was contributed by who?

I wish I could answer your final question. I believe the texts are traced back to the 1500s, but I'm in no way sure. There are people frequenting this subreddit that are way better versed in the Solomonic tradition than I am, Here's hoping some of them will chime in.

^^Paging ^^dr. ^^/u/Lucifereus!

Do you have access to the goat necessary for entering the covenant? A sheep can work but the goat would be best.

Seriously though, the fact you have family that is practicing already puts you at an advantage. I'd get into contact with them and visit them on holidays and ask them for advice. They can be really supportive in this.

In terms of basics, there are some solid books that are great for breaking down the topic.

Essential Judaism is a great book for basics. It explains historical, cultural, and common practices in a way which anyone can understand. It's a solid book for filling gaps.

I don't know if you live near a synagogue but if you have access to one I would suggest possibly speaking with the Rabbi there. A Rabbi can be a great resources if you ever need some direction or guidance. Family is great but the Rabbis can sometimes direct you to useful resources. (study programs and so on)

I understand some of your situation pretty well. I came from a background of no religion at all and a negative feeling of what I thought organized religion was about before becoming a Jew. Also my wife came from a very traditional Buddhist background before becoming a Jew and she also shared concerns about this "getting in the way of a normal life".

The rabbi we first met with insisted that if I was interested in the conversion process that even before starting I had to bring her to meet with him because so much of being a Jew is family oriented so if I wanted to do this, his condition was that we both had to learn. He happens to be Conservative but of the old school variety, closer to what we would now call Modern Orthodox. The thing was that I was very fortunate that my wife was at least willing to learn with me for the sake of learning what this thing I was interested in was about. Even more fortunately she came to her own conclusion that this was for her as well. I cant say if this will be the same for you and your partner or not, but if you two communicate well then perhaps they may be willing as my wife was to see what is what just because it is important to you. As it turns out we ended up affiliating with the local Orthodox community as time went on but thats another story.

The books LazarA mentioned are all great. All I might add would be:

• God, Jews & History by Max Dimont. This is not a religious text per se but gives a decent overview of our history as a people in context of where we have been. Being a Jew isnt just about religious practice, its about being part of a people with a complex history and that history has very much shaped our practice.
  
  
• To Be a Jew by Hayim H. Donin was a decent overview as I recall. It covered about the events of the Jewish calendar and lifecycle among other topics.
  
  If you live in an area with several types of Jewish communities, I'd say meet with several rabbis if possible. Even you think now that you might look at Conservative Judaism, there's a range within that as well as within Orthodoxy and I assume but dont know for myself about the other flavors as well.
  
  Feel free to ask us here any and I do mean any questions you may have as well. I'm also available to answer questions by PM as I'm sure are several other of the regulars here in case you feel you dont want to ask in public. You may get conflicting answers but that is perfectly normal. We have a saying to the effect of if you ask two Jews you will get three opinions.

A little extra reading. This is all from "Permission To Receive – Four Rational Approaches To The Torah's Divine Origin by Lawrence Kelemen" which is the sequel to "Permission To Believe - Four Rational Approaches to God's Existence"

> Finally, one might ask: maybe Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Nanak and Bab all fulfilled God's will? Maybe God wanted to provide five separate assignments: one for Jews, one for Christians, one for Muslims, one for Sikhs, and one for the Bahais. Why must we assume that only one of these religions is the word of God? Maybe all five are completely true?

> The problem with this approach is that each subsequent religion absolutely denies the current validity of its predecessor(s).

> Despite the Torah's twenty-four statements that it's laws are forever binding, the New Testament states: "In Christ it [the Old Testament] is being anulled;" "We [Jews] are released from the law;" and "Christ has redeemed us [Jews] from the curse of the law."

> The Koran states: "if they [Jews and Christians] accept your faith [Islam], they shall be rightly guided; if they reject it, they shall surely be in disaster;" "He that chooses a religion other than Islam, it will not be excepted from him, and in the world to come he will be one of the lost;" and "the only true faith in Gods sight is Islam."

> Sikh tradition teaches, "In the court of the True God [they adherents of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam] are suffering severe punishment."

> Bahai writings speak about "a new revelation, the Bayan, which abrogated the Koran, as the Koran had abrogated the Gospels." They point out that "the manifestation [of Bab's successor] Baha'u'llah is the most recent instance of revelation" and declare that "the only salvation in any age is to turn again towards God, to accept his manifestation for that day."

> If the Torah is true then, Judaism will be valid forever; if Christianity is true, then Judaism was an old; if Islam is true, then both Judaism and Christianity were repealed; if Sikhism is true, then Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are obsolete; and if Bahai Faith is true, then Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism are all outdated.

> All five religions' perspectives cannot be simultaneously valid, since all modern expressions of monotheism claim that God did reveal the Torah, and since the Torah itself affirms over and over that it is an eternally valid revelation, Moses' prophesy appears to be the only candidate.


Yes, this is all assuming that there is a God and if you have trouble with that, I strongly suggest buying and reading the book which covers all topic and shows you how believing in God is rational.

(Actually, your quote is not from Romans, but from Titus 1:9.)


I don’t understand why you chose to ignore what I write then chose to lecture me, but I will write here plainly:


1.) I do trust scripture – with my life. I believe and confess it is the inerrant word of God.


2.) I do not trust, or put my salvation, in your interpretation of it.


It’s naïve to think that we clearly understand every beautiful nuance and detail that is held within the Torah. I explained that the entire six days in Genesis is described in 31 sentences and a few hundred words. All I’m asking, is not to project a total understanding of those few sentences in a simple reading of an English translation viewed through 21st century eyes. Even Solomon alluded to looking deeper into the Torah: “A word well spoken is like apples of gold in a silver dish.” (Proverbs 25:11) Maimonides in The Guide for the Perplexed interprets this proverb: The silver dish is the literal text of the Torah, as seen from a distance. The apples of gold are the secrets held within the silver dish of the Torah Text. Thousands of years ago we learned that there are subtleties in the text that expand the meaning way beyond its simple reading.



Examples for you:


The origin of the Biblical calendar. The Jewish year is figured by adding up the generations since Adam. Additionally, there are six days leading up to the creation to Adam. So where did Jewish scholars make the zero point? On Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of the Neshama (the soul of human life). So we start counting our 5700-plus years from the creation of the soul of Adam. We have a clock that begins with Adam, and the six days of creation are separate from this clock. The Bible has two clocks. In an expansion of the Talmud (Midrash Vayikra Rabba 29:1) all the Sages agree that Rosh Hashana commemorates the soul of Adam and that the six days of Genesis are separate.


Why were the six days taken out of the calendar? Perhaps because time is described differently in those six days of Genesis (e.g. see my references to days/generations.) The world sees 15 billion years – the Torah says six days. They both may be correct. The Bible tells us what happened on each of those six days and you can take cosmology, paleontology, archaeology, and see whether or not they match up day-by-day. They match up close enough to send chills up your spine.


If you are in the least interested, you may wish to read Genesis and the Big Bang and The Science of God both by Gerald Schroeder.


Please note: I asked politely that you not to put words in my mouth. I did not write or imply “yea, that’s what it says, but I refuse to believe that’s what it says". If you continue with this posturing, this ceases to be a civil discussion and unfortunately I will be forced to end the discussion. I’m asking you again to please be respectful.

So you're legally Jewish. Welcome to the tribe.


Shabbos is still on so you're going to get more answers in a short while. Don't feel weird, a few of us roam the chats on Shabbos.


>I am familiar with the Tanakh, since I read the Old Testament as a Christian.

So the Old Testament of the Christian bible is an entirely different beast from the Tanakh.

Some of the translations are corrupted in the Christian version and they are only using half of the actual document.

The Torah is comprised of two documents. The first half is the Written Torah which are the stories that most people are familiar with. The second half is the Oral Torah. This encompasses all of the Rabbinical commentaries and interpretations and guidelines which establish Jewish philosophy and practice.

The Christians are using half of a document so you actually have a lot of stuff you look into. You'll be fine though, it's reading and study and discussion with Jewish leaders. Nothing you can't handle.

Sefaria.org is a great online resource
-

It contains a vast amount of Jewish religious texts which you can access online. It's great if you can't get your hands on a physical book to study.

I'm going to suggest a shortlist of books and some online materials which I think will really help you out in establishing a foundation of Jewish knowledge. I used this myself when I got into Judaism in college. They are really helpful.

1. Essential Judaism: Updated Edition: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs & Rituals - This is a great book for establishing basic knowledge of Jews ideas and concepts and creating a foundation to build off of.
   
   
2. Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition, and Practice - This book is within the same theme as the first with a few different bits of information for study. Both are great options to read and build yourself up with. I own both, myself.
   
   
3. Hidabroot TV (YouTube Channel) is a Jewish online video resource for studying Jewish concepts and philosophies. These are great if you have 10 or 15 minutes to kill and want to use it to study a Jewish idea. They have great topics from respected and knowledgable Rabbis and leaders.
   
   This is a great way to just "wet your feet in the Mikvah" so to speak. It's all easily digestible and accessible information which you can access on your own at your own schedule.
   
   I would do the basic research yourself and allow this to buildup and digest for a month or so before you finally decide to visit the synagogue. The Rabbis can help you in correctly executing Jewish practice and taking on more advanced levels of knowledge.
   
   You shouldn't do that until you feel comfortable though. There's no need to rush it unless you feel totally ready and prepared. They're cool people and they'll be extremely pleased to see someone took an interest in their history.
   
   Also remember something
   -
   
   There are going to be a lot of people who try and drag you down their specific path of Judaism. Some of these will be Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, or something in-between.
   
   You're part of this regardless of your observance level. Observance is important but it doesn't dictate your Jewish status. Once you're born of a Jewish mother, you're 100% Jewish regardless. No one can argue otherwise.
   
   I don't want you to allow someone else to dictate your Jewish experience. There are a lot of different Jews and they all have their own ideas and philosophies about proper observance. Do not allow anyone to drag you down a path you are uncomfortable with.
   
   I run Orthodox/Conservadox, myself, but you may not be Orthodox. You define your Jewish experience. No one else gets to do that beyond sharing their opinion with you.
   
   Blessings and enjoy the ride. It's a cool thing to be a part of.

Find a rabbi you are comfortable with, and don't be shy to meet with a few before moving forward.

I had met with two rabbis before choosing the one who made me feel the most comfortable with my decision. The first two I met with were orthodox, quite conservative and I didn't click with either and the process seemed a bit too intense for what my fiance and I were looking for. Then we came across a reform synagogue and we fell in love with the rabbi there and we're completing our first round of classes in a couple of weeks.

It's been a beautiful process so far and it's exciting! There are several books I too found good, some of them were provided with our classes as well:

• What is a Jew? by Morris Kertzer
  
• Living a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant
  
• Jewish Literacy by Joseph Telushkin
  
• Jewish Book of Why by Alfred Kolatch
  
  Best of luck in your research!

As other commenters have already pointed out, if your mother is a Jew than you are a Jew as well (and, as you are a woman, so will be your children), regardless of your religious affiliation.

If you wish to embrace Judaism, your first priority has to be to educate yourself as much as possible about Judaism. Unfortunately, this is not all that easy to do. The bulk of the popular material available - both in print and online - is unreliable, superficial, or not really geared towards genuine newcomers.

There are a few good books available for beginners. (Most of the popular books that will come up on Amazon or that you will find on the Judaica shelf at your local Barnes & Noble are not reliable.) One popular book that I know to be reliable is Gateway to Judaism: The What, How, and Why of Jewish Life by Rabbi Mordechai Becher. I would also recommend a few of the books by the later Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, specifically the two volumes of the Aryeh Kaplan Anthology and the Aryeh Kaplan Reader. The Anthology is a collection of short works written specifically for beginning students, and the Reader contains a number of similar pamphlet type essays written for such an audience.

However, the most important part of educating yourself about Judaism is to get a knowledgeable personal mentor. You might want to check out these two organizations:

Torah Mates: www.torahmates.org

Partners in Torah: www.partnersintorah.org

Both of these organizations provide a free mentoring service. They will match you up with a knowledgeable personal teacher who will study with you over the phone at your convenience (usually people study for about half an hour each week). They will also provide you with whatever book you chose to study with your partner.

I currently volunteer for Torah Mates and I used to volunteer for Partners in Torah as well (several years ago) and I can vouch for the quality work these organizations do. If you would like any specific assistance in this area, please feel free to PM me.

Well, if you are interested, we have an excellent community here on Reddit. /r/judaism would be glad to answer any questions you have. Just remember that Judaism encompasses a wide range of opinions on many issues, so there is very rarely any one answer to any one question. For example, a lot of the more mystically-minded Jews believe that the souls of the departed "rest" in heaven for a while before being reincarnated and sent back down to Earth. Our Talmud is the record of the ancient debates and discussions that rabbis of the past had on a multitude of biblical topics. There is a saying that when you ask two Jews a question, they'll give you three opinions!

We have a nice little FAQ about Judaism you can read if you're interested.

Here is an article they wrote on why we don't believe in Jesus, and another on the differences between Christianity and Judaism. I really recommend reading that one.

If you want a book to read, Jewish Literacy by Joseph Telushkin is one that is frequently recommended on our sub.

Magick is for all, I would recommend working on the kabbalah for a start, or reading the liber 4, not necessarily in that order, maybe try liber 4 and then A Garden of Pomegranates by Israel Rgardie and Mystical Kabbalah by Dion Fortune. The Hardcover edition of Liber 4 is a great edition. I have it and it is amazing, and not as complex as most of his writings. This book has a lot of appendixes too, that helps. Having the Thoth Tarot deck and the Book of Thoth and studying its correspondencies with the tree of life is very helpful too.

Fascinating readings anyway.

About what he is in relation to mankind, better judge yourself from his writings.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Thoth-Egyptians-Equinox/dp/0877282684/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z

http://www.amazon.com/Thoth-Tarot-Deck-Aleister-Crowley/dp/1572815108/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422560601&sr=1-1&keywords=thoth+tarot+deck


http://www.amazon.com/Magick-Liber-ABA-Book-4/dp/0877289190/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422560336&sr=1-2&keywords=magick

http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Pomegranates-Skrying-Tree-Life/dp/1567181414

http://www.amazon.com/Mystical-Qabalah-Dion-Fortune/dp/1578631505/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TNF7RPG3Y67DX4G00QH

The Mystical Kaballah by Dion Fortune is probably the best book on the subject, if you are looking to learn directly about the tree of life.

From there I recommend looking further into kaballah through the tarot (literally the tree of life sorted into cards), Liber 777 and Liber ABA (and really most of the thelemic works) by Crowley, and maybe some less "religious" sources, like The Chicken Kaballah..

Above all, I recommend trying to work with the model and apply it to yourself and your meditation. That is the most important thing; the tree can be applied to pretty much anything, and Liber 777 is a great starting point for correspondences for home-made sigils, seals, and rituals :)

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll answer those that I can, and Deuteronomy will answer the one's I can't. If you really want to get a really good grasp of Jewish ethics and thought, I would recommend Aryeh Kaplan's Handbook of Jewish Thought. For an intro into Jewish practice, I recommend Gateway to Judaism. Both are very accessible and are very good primers. The handbook in particular is a very good source for sources. It is very well cited and provides a very good jumping off point for deeper research.

> Why are customs the way they are?

It would depend on which specific custom you had in mind. Many practices are quite a bit more than "custom" actually, and are required as a matter of Halakha. The two major classes of Halakha are biblical (d'oraisa) and rabbinic (d'rabanan).

> How come people who leave Judaism do not talk about it?

There are people who unfortunately leave Judaism and are rather vocal about it... however if I wanted to generalize about those who refrain and/or evade discussion of Judaism, I'd say most likely they were stigmatized in some way and that the same reasons they sought to abandon Judaism in the first place is the same reasons they seek to avoid discussing it in the present. It probably brings up memories and emotions that they find too painful to confront within themselves.

> I want to know the deeper meaning behind everything... Just anything and everything.

A proselyte once asked Rabbi Hillel (c.110 BCE) to teach him the entire Torah whilst standing on one foot... God-willing with patience and time you will come to understand quite a bit in greater depth :)

> Why do some families keep kosher and some do not.

With the advent of the Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment) in the 18th/19th c. many Jews for the first time had the doors of Western society open to their integration. Many Jews seeking acceptance simply abandoned Judaism altogether, others sought to reform Judaism in order to facilitate greater acceptance within modern society without given up everything (this is where the origins of most of the liberal denominations can be traced back to). Accordingly during this period many Jews stepped away from Judaism's traditional practices, including the dietary laws. This in addition to the eventual deep and profound trauma of the Holocaust which has contributed to the face of modern Jewry largely not reflect the practices of their ancestors.

> Wikipedia has not been helpful at all.

Unless you have a very specific topic in mind, wikipedia can indeed be too daunting a source to get any kind of real comprehensive view. A general introductions to Judaism can be found in Hayim Halevi Donin's book "To Be A Jew: A Guide To Jewish Observance In Contemporary Life." I've heard that it is very good and very accessible (an easy read). I see that you can find used copies on Amazon for as little as a penny! A work like this or something of a similar nature would probably be the best place for you to start. If you read something you don't understand there, or would like to understand in greater depth, feel free to let us know :)

• Jews, God, and History would actually be a good pairing for your book now - while Johnson is more Zionist and philosemitic, Dimont takes a stance similar to Spinoza, which - while still of course being 'pro-Jew,' is more cultural in the context of the world than religious as the 'Chosen People.'
  
• Jewish Literacy is what you are guaranteed to find on every single rabbi's shelf on Earth. Telushkin is an excellent writer, and is concise in his explanations of why we are the way we are and why we do what we do. It's less about a strict history than explaining all those things, but it's still valuable if you want to really get to your roots.
  
• History of the Jewish People - I read this in college. More of a text for students, but valuable all the same.
  
• Josephus is a historical text by one of the greatest historians from the turn of the first millennium. If you choose to get this, I highly recommend having Wikipedia open as you read it.

What stream of Judaism interests you? Or do you not know? Either way, a good starting point is Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's book Jewish Literacy.

Assuming you're interested in Orthodoxy, you will need to know (at least) about day-to-day ritual activities such as prayer and blessings, the basics of keeping the Sabbath, and the various festivals and how they are observed. You will need to show commitment to Judaism and to developing ties with the Jewish community.

You will also frequently be asked why you want to be Jewish, so that's another thing to "know" (although you need your own answer for this). Some (very) basic conception of Jewish dogma is generally required, but it is important to note that we're an action-packed religion to a large extent.

You will also need to make a commitment to Torah study; especially if you are a male.

This can take as little as a year or it may take several years, depending on your pace and the rabbi and conversion court (בית דין) that you go through.

For further questions and support along the way, you may be interested in /r/Giyur .

> I've only been a handful of times but if I could go ever Shabbat I would!


That’s an awesome attitude. You absolutely should contact him then , I can’t imagine the Rabbi would say no.

Thank G-d for Artscroll! There is a book you might be interested in https://www.amazon.com/Pray-As-Jew-Synagogue-Service/dp/0465086330 which explains what’s going on during a service. I read it early on in BTing and it certainly made me more comfortable in the synagogue.

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:

1. free translation
   
2. Artscroll Bava Kama
   
3. Rabbi Dov Linzer
   
   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 :)

It sounds like you are wanting some usable ritual work. Some books that do a good job of easing you into ceremonial magic are:

• Modern Magick - A good primer, from beginner to more advanced work.
  
• By Names and Images - Covers the basics, but get more advanced more quickly. Gets into Skrying more quickly.
  
  And to lesser extents
  
  
• Middle Pillar - Covers the basics of Qabalistic philosophy
  
• Garden of Pomegranates - Gets a little more advanced into Qabalistic Philosophy with some good Skrying "how to" as well, such as testing entities, visuals, etc.
  

>How is that possible?

Israeli beer. Kashrus info etc.

>go to synagogue coz you haven't been there for year" or what?

I'll tell you that.

>What to do?

Go to shul. Daven, do mitzvos, learn torah. Drink a peach snapple. I love Peach.

>Is it possible for Hashem to give us signs in modern times? Or only Prophets were able to see them? Like Salomon for example.

It all happened so you could post this on reddit, and become closer to Hashem.


Recommended Reading:

To Be A Jew: A Guide To Jewish Observance In Contemporary Life

On Judaism: Conversations on Being Jewish

Judaism for the Rite Reasons

Becoming a Jew

This Is My God

There are two amazing resources available to help you.

TorahMates and Partners in Torah.

Do not hesitate to make use of them.

And stick around this awesome sub!

was this on your mother's side or your father's side? Given that most cultures give you a last name based on your father's side I'm going to assume father's..in which case most jews would not consider you jewish since judaism is 'passed down' through women, but not men. There are some groups that consider judaism as "passed down' from both women and men but only if you yourself were raised jewish (which clearly you weren't). Anyway this doesn't mean that you might not want to learn more about judaism given you still have jewish ancestry but you should be aware....

Also ashkenazi's aren't a tribe per se, more of an ethnic group that means your anscensters were european (mostly central/eastern european) jews. There is another group called sephardis that are descended from jews in spain/the iberian peninsula (and many from north africans who moved there after the spanish expulsion of jews), and then there are mizrachis which are descended from middle easterners. But all 3 groups are supposedly descended from the original group of jews who lived in Israel and were expelled by the romans (and moved to different areas afterwards and developed somewhat different traditions and foods and stuff, but were still pretty similar).

If you are interested in learning more about judaism and how it is currently practiced, I would recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Literacy-Revised-Ed-Important/dp/0061374989 although it's kinda like an encyclopedia so might be boring AF at times.

You may be better served posting this in r/judaism , this page is more for people who grew up as religious jews and no longer keep the religion.

>I'm half-Jewish

No such thing. Either Jewish or not.

> my mother being secular but ethnically Jewish.

Jewishness is passed strictly along the maternal line. Was her mother Jewish also? If so you are 100% Jewish.

> I'm eager to find more of a connection with Judaism and Jewish history


Recommended Reading:

To Be A Jew: A Guide To Jewish Observance In Contemporary Life

On Judaism: Conversations on Being Jewish

Judaism for the Rite Reasons

Becoming a Jew

This Is My God
>Would people raised with more of a connection to the community and the faith find it unusual or inappropriate that someone like me might take interest or identify with the Jewish community?

Nope, happens all the time.

Check out Torah Mates, and Partners in Torah.

Hello /u/Moonpo1n7, thanks for stepping by in /r/kabbalah . First we need to know what you are really looking for. There is Kabbalah with K., and then there is Cabala, Qaballah, Christian Qabbalah etc.

Kabbalah with K is the Jewish thing, a series of writings and commentaries and writings written by Jewish Rabbis through the ages.

And there is the other Kabbalah, called Qabbalah, Cabala, etc. which is a doctrine that took Kabbalistic notions (Jewish ones), and integrated them in a newer philosophy called Gnosticism. Now, about Gnosticism (I will use wikipedia):

> Modern research (Cohen 1988) identifies Judaism, rather than Persia, as a major origin of Gnosticism. Many of the Nag Hammadi texts make reference to Judaism, in some cases with a violent rejection of the Jewish God. Gershom Scholem once described Gnosticism as "the Greatest case of metaphysical anti-Semitism". Professor Steven Bayme said gnosticism would be better characterized as anti-Judaism. Recent research into the origins of Gnosticism shows a strong Jewish influence, particularly from Hekhalot literature.

The relationship between Gnosticism and Jewish Kabbalah:

> Gnostic ideas found a Jewish variation in the mystical study of Kabbalah. Many core Gnostic ideas reappear in Kabbalah, where they are used to dramatically reinterpret earlier Jewish sources according to this new system.

In our times, there are some Gnostic schools that are claiming to teach Kabbalah (take for example this guy: Samael Aun Weor, who started to teach Kabbalah togheter with other things Tarot, Sexual Magic. He had lots of followers... Of course, he wasn't teaching (Jewish) Kabbalah, but some New Age stuff).

I can understand that is pretty confusion what I am saying, but /u/ActualShipDate and /u/0_- are speaking from the point of view of Gnosticism, and not Jewish Kabbalah.

Now, about Jewish Kabbalah. Finding good reads is pretty difficult, as the Jewish people tend to become pretty insular. Some consider that there's no need for Kabbalah in our times for the masses, and some consider that Kabbalah shouldn't be teached to non-Jews. Only a little minority are translating Kabbalistic books.

Things I should recommend to a beginner:

• http://www.truekabbalah.com/
  
  
• Tomer Devorah, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero - AMAZON LINK
  
  
  
  
  
  

No problem, if you want some starter books here are some that I enjoyed reading.

Tefillin by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

Judaism and Christianity: A contrast by Rabbi Stuart Federow

Kashrut, Tefillin, Tzitzit by Stephen Bailey

Basic Judaism by Rabbi Milton Steinberg

These are some pretty good books to read giving you a little bit of an insight to some basic Jewish practices.

Aish.com is a good website for info and you can ask the Rabbi a question too.

Chabad.org is similar to Aish and you can, again, ask the Rabbi a question.

You should still go to a Rabbi and talk to him about your reasons for your desire to convert as well as the process.

The Artscroll Chumash (first 5 books of the Tanakh, a.k.a. the written Torah) /u/PM_ME_YOUR_TZITZIS mentioned is the gold standard of the Orthodox world. If you want a translation, and more importantly, a commentary with a traditional perspective get Artscroll.

On the other hand if you're looking for a more liberal / academic view check out Richard Elliot Friedman's Chumash. There might be better liberal / academic chumashim out there though, I'm really not sure.. maybe wait and see what others recommend in the way of liberal commentaries if that's what you're looking for.

Just want to emphasize that to understand Judaism you'll be infinitely better off with a Chumash (first 5 books with a commentary) than a Tanakh (first 5 + 19 additional books for a total of 24) without commentary.

I thought that orthodox accept conservative conversions, but not reform. I'm familiar with the conversion process. Two book that I would recommend, which might be helpful in your journey, are To Life! and To Be A Jew. Hope this helps!

While it is not reform, one book I really enjoyed was Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach by Rebecca T. Alpert. I think it might be good to take a broad look at different approaches to Judaism to find one of best fit before conversion process. Rabbi Kaplan's teachings were a radical departure from Orthodox in his day, while often conflated with Reform its lineage is actually quite different.

see Gateway to Judaism by Rabbi Mordechai Becher. specifically made for people like you https://www.amazon.com/Gateway-Judaism-What-Jewish-Life/dp/1422600300 a good foundation book is also "Duties of the Heart" by Rabeinu Bachya. there's an online translation for free.

I was in a very similar situation as you! I found this book to be super helpful for filling in the gaps in my knowledge.

Simpletoremember.com is also amazing. Highly recommended speakers: Rabbi Dr. Dovid Gottlieb & Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen.

There are also retreats and such that help a lot with this stuff, but it can depend on where you're located. I can give you suggestions if you let me know where in the world you are. (Feel free to PM.)

>However, several people have told me that I would never "truly" be accepted as a jew due to my not having been raised in the culture.

This is not true.


> Also where are good places to get further information on conversion

The side bar FAQ


This reading list is pretty good but overwhelming


>but would like more practical info

To be a Jew is a good place to start and you can get a copy for four dollars after shipping from Amazon (not to mention it's probably in your local library)

I don't like the conflation of "religion" with "faith," because most conceptions of faith imply that it isn't rational, whereas I think that religion definitely can be.

Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen has written and lectured extensively on the subject.

Permission to Believe: Four Rational Approaches to God's Existence

Permission to Receive: Four Rational Approaches to the Torah's Divine Origin

Lecture on the veracity of the Torah

Lecture on the rational approach to the divinity of the Oral Tradition

I just mentioned it in my big check-in post in the Lesson 2 topic, but thought I should give you a personal recommendation for Lon Milo duQuette's Chicken Qabalah. He's got a nicely tongue-in-cheek humor about the whole thing which really helped me feel more comfortable with it all.

It helps to have more specific questions, but of course, having specific questions usually requires some basic level of knowledge.

jewfaq.org is pretty good. we have some decentish resources in our wiki. there's a judaism stackexchange, but like stackexchange as a whole it tends a bit towards elitist, high-level, and unfriendly to beginners.

The standard book recommendations when this situation comes up is To Be a Jew and Jewish Literacy.

Also possibly relevant, depending on your tastes, This is My God by Herman Wouk. Was reminded of this book by this Ask the Rabbi, which also recommends Partners in Torah -- possibly relevant, depending on your level of investment in learning more (sets you up with a weekly study partner)

---

did a quick google, this looks relevant: https://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/found-out-jewish-ancestry-in-20s

So does the book Suddenly Jewish, which I found via this article

oh and there's this post from a day ago: judaism for beginners

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also, for your perusal, the search results for "found out jewish" on this sub

Hi there, one of the books I had to read before enrolling in the conversion process was one called "Becoming a Jew" from a rabbi called Maurice Lamm. It's available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Jew-Maurice-Lamm/dp/0824603508

Other than that there are many videos on YouTube that may clarify some of the points in your journey. The Rabbi John Carrier who happens to have a YouTube channel is a great resource of knowledge plus he has live streams during the week where one can ask him questions and look for guidance. Best wishes!

I'm not sure about essential to every occult library (and I realize some of these aren't necessarily considered primarily 'occult' texts), but here are a few I've found useful:

• The Golden Dawn - Israel Regardie
  
• Morals and Dogma - Alfred Pike
  
• Modern Magick - Donald Michael Kraig
  
• The Secret Teachings of All Ages - Manly P. Hall
  
• Initiation into Hermetics - Franz Bardon
  
• Sefer Yetzirah - Aryeh Kaplan
  
• The Secret Doctrine - Madame Blavatsky
  
• Liber Null & Psychonaut - Peter J. Carroll
  
• The Book of Thoth - Aleister Crowley
  
• Undoing Yourself with Energized Meditation and Other Devices - Christopher S. Hyatt
  
• Prometheus Rising - Robert Anton Wilson
  
• Enochian Vision Magick - Lon Milo DuQuette
  
• The Chicken Qabalah - Lon Milo DuQuette
  
• Brain Magick - Philip Farber
  
• Info-Psychology - Timothy Leary
  
• Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson - George Gurdjieff
  
• Initiation, Human and Solar - Alice Bailey
  
• The Red Book - Carl Jung
  
• Principia Discordia - Malaclypse the Younger

Personally I'd just recommend picking up a copy of Jewish Literacy. It's very large but very readable. Covers many different areas. Great place to start. You might be able to find it in a library as well depending on your location.

http://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Literacy-Revised-Ed-Important/dp/0061374989/

This book by Israel Regardie (a disciple of Crowley) is the best introduction to the Hermetic Qabalah which includes astrology and other correspondences. The stuff by the Ciceros is very good as well.

Qabalah is great. But I recommend you read some work by Alan Watts first. He takes the greatest lessons the Qabalah has to offer and distills them into ideas so simple and self-evident, you'll be amazed that you never realized it before. His best works are "The Book" and "This Is It."

Then, if you still want to study Qabalah (you should), start here: http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Qabalah-Rabbi-Lamed-Clifford/dp/1578632153

"...for if ye take but one step in this Path, ye must arrive inevitably at the end thereof."

>? 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.

Crowley's book is not an easy starting point, more of a reference work. As usual, Lon Milo Duquette offers a much easier starting point.

But it is also worth keeping in mind that "the occult" isn't really a thing. There are plenty of hidden things out there, and there are plenty of techniques for making sense and nonsense of the clues that may or may not point there. But there isn't a grand hidden conspiracy of great knowledgable masters who communicate via arcane symbols and snatch aircraft out of the sky.

Or is there?

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.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

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.

Chicken Qabalah by Lon Milo DuQuette is supposed to be pretty good, never read it though: http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Qabalah-Rabbi-Lamed-Clifford/dp/1578632153

Anyone have an ebook to share?

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.

To Pray as a Jew, by Hayim Donin. Concentrates on synagogue prayer/ritual, but very rich with information. I continually return to it.

It seems very boring to a lot of mystic newbs but I've been evangelizing the shit out of Qabalah lately. If you want to see the connections between all things and the machinery that runs the universe, this is the place to start.

Begin with something breezy that'll let you ease into the concepts: Lon Milo DuQuette's Chicken Qabalah. It's like an exegesis of Douglas Adams's Life, The Universe, and Everything.

Then dive in deep.

Dion Fortune's Mystical Qabalah

Aleister Crowley's Book of Thoth

This shit will blow your mind wide open. You can see how the 10 Sephiroth directly correspond to the 10 dimensions of the universe, how the first 4 correspond to actual space and the 5th to time as we understand it.

It'll show you the operating schematic for literally everything and how we are all connected and sprang forth from the same no-thing. Every new page I read blows my mind.

Might I recommend https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Literacy-Revised-Ed-Important/dp/0061374989.

It's an encyclopedia with short blurbs on the Jewish religion, people, and history. Reading through it will give you a great breadth of knowledge related to Judaism.

I've really enjoyed the clarity and depth of Essential Judaism by George Robinson.

Yes, depending on what you want to learn (though picking up an older used copy is fine and cheaper https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0465086322/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=).

Jews will, however read texts over and over. So you will certainly get something out of reading Tanakh, particularly with commentary.

I was just offering another option since they really are very similar.

But there's a tons of things to read in Judaism.

There is a greatly great book, Genesis and the Big Bang, that discusses 15 billion years in seven days as a possible product of Relativity, and points out that the order of events after the Big Bang is more or less the same as in the first story of Creation in Genesis.

'To pray as a Jew' teaches one how to pray, same author as 'to be a Jew,' which I also highly recommend for anyone toying with (or intent upon) becoming Jewish.

It's also required reading for many Beit dins.

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

Essential Judaism is pretty good.

Chicken Qabala is a pretty entertaining and informative intro.

I'll recommend the following book To be a Jew by Hayim Donin It's really fantastic for explaining everything that Jews do year round and in life cycle events.

As for why some do and some don't keep a given thing like Kosher, that's going more into the sociology behind people's religiosity (most Jews in America just aren't brought up to be especially observant and some denominations reject those observances as mandatory). I would say it's similar to how there are many Catholics that don't consider themselves particularly religious either while there are others that strongly affiliate themselves.

And no, you wouldn't need any conversion as you can't convert out of Judaism. Once a Jew always a Jew, and your mother is also Jewish as far as we're concerned.

Gerald Schroeder has two great books on it. The Science of God and Genesis and the Big Bang.

He provides one possible framework showing that Creationism and Evolution are not at odds. He also has audio version available at Aishaudio.com.

I think converts should read works from all across the Jewish perspective. Especially the "very different sort."

How else is anyone supposed to know what they believe if they don't know or understand what they don't? It's not an informed decision if you're not informed.

On that note...

Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Persepctive.

Choosing a Jewish Life (liberal, leaning Reform)

To Pray as a Jew (Orthodox)

OP: Go wild. Read across the spectrum. Read things you agree with and things you don't. Read stuff you don't understand yet. Ask questions about what you read. Read, read, read!

I really like James Micheners "The Source", which tries to tell the story of the origins of religions in the form of a novel.

For Islam you absolutely must read "Islam: The Religion and the People" by Bernard Lewis.

For Judaism I would suggest "The Jewish Book of Why" for traditions and "Our People" for history.

And for Atheism you can read "The Rubayat" by Omar Kayyan.

The Chicken Qalabah by Lon Milo Duquette. His humorous voice helps me understand fundamental concepts of ceremonial magick. After I read this, I started looking at the world differently, connecting things.

By far the best place to start is with Lon Milo DuQuette's book.

^ This so much. Also, another great introductory book is Joseph Telushkin's Jewish Literacy.

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.

This is a decent intro. I also suggest Judaism as a Civilization. It lays out Kaplan's understanding of Judaism pretty thoroughly, and what he thinks the other denominations get wrong.

As for their services, I've heard everything from indistinguishable from Conservative to hippies completely disconnected from tradition. From what I read in the book I just suggested, a large amount of their membership is observant, just not in an Orthodox way. (For example, something like 30% say they keep kosher, but their understanding of kosher may be more lenient (don't need two sets of dishes), disregard certain Rabbinic restrictions (like poultry and dairy mixtures), or include environmental or animal rights provisions that would make Orthodox kosher food treif to them.) I think if you wanted to be traditional in your observance in a Recon setting, you'd be able to, assuming you found a congregation on the more traditional side liturgically.

Just depends on your interpretation of the bible. Fundamentalist doctrine says everything in the bible is literal, so genesis is literal. Honestly that position seems more intellectually honest than saying stupid shit like genesis is an account of the big bang.

"The Jewish Book of Why" explains the reason/s behind various Jewish traditions. As a fellow secular Russian Jew, I found it to be the perfect combo of informative and not preachy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0142196193/

Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune was an excellent introduction for me.

One of the most comprehensive and well written books is "Jewish Literacy" by Joseph Telushkin.

This was my first book on the subject and was extremely enlightening. I still reference it often.
http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Pomegranates-Skrying-Tree-Life/dp/1567181414

Here's another that just came out, and is free right now on Kindle:

Stoicism - Maya Bennet

I haven't read this one yet, so can't comment on the content.

Also free on the AU store (for a change hah): https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B079WVYPNH/ref=pe_1007802_166382312_TEM1DP

Jewish Literacy by Joseph Telushkin covers pretty much all the basic stuff you should know regarding Jewish traditions and their roots

If you want another book to better learn about the Jewish people and our history, read Joseph Telushkin's Jewish Literacy

For a scholarly translation: The JPS Study Bible

For a more "traditional" translation, The Artscroll Tanach

However, I need to note that you won't learn about Judaism or Jewish practice from reading the Tanach. I hear Jewish Literacy by Rabbi Telushkin is a very good starting place.

These are popular:

Jewish Literacy

Jewish Meditation

Also, many books by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.

The Science of God and Genesis and the Big Bang might be of interest to you.

If you're interested in this issue, but can't stomach the idea that God would command you to do something for reasons that you can't comprehend, I recommend that you study some of the other approaches listed (but heretofore ignored by you) in this thread. Read To Be a Jew, Horeb, or R' Hirsch's commentary on Leviticus.

If you can't stomach the idea that God could come up with something that you can't comprehend, then I think your quarrel with Judaism is much larger than just the purpose of dietary laws.

To be a Jew and maybe Chabad.org are good starting points besides jewfaq.org as SF2K01 said.

Then again there are many different kinds of minhogim etc.

I like Essential Judaism personally.

This is from a Reform/maybe Conservative viewpoint.

Also, to echo /u/sabata00, you should be talking to Rabbis and going to services. Catholic to Judaism is a paradigm shift (I was born and raised Catholic). PM me if you have any questions!

You would probably like Jewish Literacy by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. I personally found it even more thorough than Essential Judaism.

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

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

I would recommend Gateway to Judaism by Mordechai Becher.

Kabbalah is basically Jewish mysticism, there's all sorts of source books and modern writings on it. I can recommend The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford: Dilettante's Guide to What You Do and Do Not Need to Know to Become a Qabalist.

I apologize if anyone is coming off as rude. The mention of kabbalah just touches a lot of nerves around here. Here are a few books that I think most of us here would agree are good places to start:

• http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Our-Heritage-Eliyahu/dp/0873067630
  
• http://www.amazon.com/To-Be-Jew-Observance-Contemporary/dp/0465086322/ref=pd_sim_b_2
  
• http://www.amazon.com/This-Is-God-Herman-Wouk/dp/0316955140/ref=pd_sim_b_3
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Literacy-Revised-Ed-Important/dp/0061374989/ref=pd_sim_b_6

For a very thorough (and Orthodox) perspective on everything to do with prayer try Donin, To Pray as a Jew. It helped me out back in the day and I think it will answer your questions.

https://www.amazon.com/Everything-God-Radical-Nondual-Judaism/dp/1590306716 is a great book purely about Judaism practiced with a non-dual understanding of G!d

https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Judaism-Reconstructionist-Rebecca-Alpert/dp/093545750X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499893449&sr=1-1&keywords=a+reconstructionist+approach
is about reconstructionism in general but goes over the reconstructionist view on G!d which is largely non-dual, and a lot more exploratory on how G!d exists than the more rigid sects.

My Rabbi recommended me this version of the Torah if you want written explanations.