Home
Log in / Sign Up
    Private Messages   Advanced Search   Rules   New User Guide   FAQ   Advertise   Contact Us  
Forum -> Judaism
Question! Might be a little intense but here goes...
1  2  3  4  Next



Post new topic   Reply to topic View latest: 24h 48h 72h

PeanutMama




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 12:40 am
It’s me again 🙈
Do you think judaism changes with time?
I truly believe the Torah is eternal and never changing but how can it be that people changed their way of dress and adopted customs throughout the years?
Do those things make us “closer” to hashem or is it just things that are passed down through the generations?
Back to top

amother
Olive


 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 12:53 am
Halacha doesn't change. Other things, such as customs and dress, evolve over time and places.
Back to top

amother
Blonde


 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 12:56 am
These are complex and interesting ideas. And the more you learn about Jewish history and the development of the religion, the more you will see how different it is from what it once was. Just the various movements that took place over time are mind-blowing. And all the centuries of illiterate and impoverished jews. And that is before you start with Jewish communities around the globe that are vastly different from one another. I like to view it this way. The Torah is real and it is true. It is never changing. The Torah in this case is our morals and messages and mitzvot. However, the way we practice these morals and ideas and our serving of Hashem has changed over time. As such, I try my hardest to work on improving those core values and mitzvot for myself and to pass those messages on to my children. Unfortunately, it is largely the trappings of the way we interpret the mitzvot today that are what's stressed in our school systems. I find this to be a big reason why so many adults have unresolved theological questions. It's hard work. Discovering true religion. But its the most rewarding kind of work.
Back to top

amother
Oak


 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 1:00 am
Why should modes of dress have to stay unchanged for thousands of years? If you aren't crossdressing, wearing shaatnez, or exposing private parts, you can wear what you want.

We're reading Sefer Devarim now, as Moshe Rabbenu tries to prepare the people for the ways their lives will change as they move into Israel. As our circumstances change, so do our responses. That's built into the system from the beginning.
Back to top

Rappel




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 1:30 am
amother [ Olive ] wrote:
Halacha doesn't change. Other things, such as customs and dress, evolve over time and places.


I agree with your statement about customs, but even halacha can change. Or what do you think Boaz was doing with a Moabite woman? Smile

On a basic level, halacha doesn't change NOW because we don't have a Sanhedrin. The lack of a Sanhedrin also allows for differences of opinion in halacha, since there's no central body to determine the final law. But our Torah is called "a living Torah" ; it was meant to change over time, under certain parameters.

Beezrat Hashem, may we merit to re-establish the Sanhedrin soon !
Back to top

WitchKitty




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 1:43 am
I love your questions!

The world changes. The Torah doesn't, but it adapts. If that's the right word.
The 5 chumashei torah are a story that lasted about 3,000 years. In that time, things changed. I'm sure that the clothing people were wearing in year 500 wasn't what they wore in year 2398.
When electricity came out there were discussions about halacha for shabbos. No one went and invented a new torah. Instead, people who were knowledgeable, much more than we are, sat and decided that closing an electricity circuit is most similar to makeh b'patish and forbade it.
Nothing has changed, we're just finding out where it's hidden.
Back to top

amother
Puce


 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 4:48 am
Halacha doesn’t change. Chumras do. Over the past 10 years, Brooklyn became so much more right wing because most everyone as a whole adopted more and more chumras.
Back to top

tinyspark




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 5:05 am
[quote="Rappel"]I agree with your statement about customs, but even halacha can change. Or what do you think Boaz was doing with a Moabite woman? Smile

Firstly halacha doesnt change ever there is are situations that allow a temporary overide depending on situations but that is a halacha too. Boaz didnt marry a moabite woman. She was a Jew who converted. Torah allowed moabite women not men to join the Jewish people. Reason being is that when the Jews went through moav they were refused food and drink. In those days for women ,it wasnt commen practice for them to be in the public therefor they were not the ones who didnt offer them anything. The sanhedrin at the time reminded them of this clarification in halacha but no change was made.
Back to top

malki2




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 5:33 am
Judaism doesn’t change. But it does allow for change.
Back to top

shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 5:34 am
Hashem_n_Farfel wrote:
It’s me again 🙈
Do you think judaism changes with time?
I truly believe the Torah is eternal and never changing but how can it be that people changed their way of dress and adopted customs throughout the years?
Do those things make us “closer” to hashem or is it just things that are passed down through the generations?
I have not read any of the comments yet, but I will say that no, the torah never changes but the world does and we do change things to work better for us with the never changing torah.
As for way of dress, every single person in today's society has changed how we dress from when the torah was given. Its just the way the world works. Even Jews, we dress with the times. Otherwise we would be dressing more so like muslim women.
As for adopting customs throughout the years, what do you mean? most families are not taking on new minhagim but rather keeping the customs/minhagim that their families have been keeping for as long as they know.
Back to top

shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 5:39 am
amother [ Puce ] wrote:
Halacha doesn’t change. Chumras do. Over the past 10 years, Brooklyn became so much more right wing because most everyone as a whole adopted more and more chumras.
I totally agree. My mother grew up in boro park. She went to bais yakov. Life was nothing like it is today, thats all Ill say.
Back to top

Success10




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 6:42 am
amother [ Puce ] wrote:
Halacha doesn’t change. Chumras do. Over the past 10 years, Brooklyn became so much more right wing because most everyone as a whole adopted more and more chumras.


The Yeshivish world is defintitely "frummer" than ever before. Those that were born into it might not realize, but those who are older and see the big picture always comment on it.

The new generation of "chumrah" is in fact an example of frumkeit adapting to the times. It was a response to a change in the world around us. The level of exposure, technology, and gashmiyus. The ferfrumt mentality was meant to balance that out.

It's unfortunate that A:People born into it don't know the difference between halacha and chumrah, and B: that people have developed a superiority complex because they are "frummer". But that does not make the development itself a bad thing.
Back to top

essie14




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 6:44 am
Customs and interpretations evolve, yes.
And people nowadays in some circles are taking on more and more chumras, for some reason.
I believe if a chumra brings you closer to God, then go ahead. But following the masses and trying to "out-frum" your neighbors is not what Hashem intended.
Back to top

amother
Magenta


 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 6:48 am
amother [ Puce ] wrote:
Halacha doesn’t change. Chumras do. Over the past 10 years, Brooklyn became so much more right wing because most everyone as a whole adopted more and more chumras.



The torah is very vague and what you call a chumra others might call basic halacha.

To use a basic example, the torah tells us to test on shabbos. Isn't that open to a hundred interpretations of what that means?
Back to top

shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 6:52 am
amother [ Magenta ] wrote:
The torah is very vague and what you call a chumra others might call basic halacha.

To use a basic example, the torah tells us to test on shabbos. Isn't that open to a hundred interpretations of what that means?
What does this mean?
Back to top

amother
Black


 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 6:59 am
shabbatiscoming wrote:
What does this mean?


Think she meant rest.

And anyway it's not true. The Torah says more than simply "you must rest".
Back to top

amother
Khaki


 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 7:55 am
It’s a great question. Here’s my understanding of this topic.
Over the course of history, the people that tried to change the Torah to adapt to their lifestyles ended up losing judaism altogether. It can’t be changed.
However, it’s called “Torat Chaim” because it is in essence adaptable to modern life. Halacha can be applied to modern times, and that is exactly why there are always ongoing conversations about it. For example, using refrigerators on Shabbat, blowing a shofar that is covered with a tallit, or inviting guests to a Shabbat meal who will drive to get there. These are all new questions that are answered with old halachic principles.
I do believe that we become closer to Hashem as we seek to understand implement His laws in our lives.
But chumras. Those are a whole different story. People should definitely know the difference between Halacha and chumra.
Why? For two reasons:
1. Your chumras should be between you and G-d. The minute it becomes a competition of who can keep more chumras, or you insist that others keep your chumras, they lose their value. Of course, parents can teach their children that this is the way our family does things, but not teach it as Halacha.
2. Adam and Eve sinned because they added on to G-d’s command (and said that the tree must not be touched) and then confused the actual command with their own addition, leading to their sin. A similar thing can happen when Halacha and chumra or minhag are confused.
Back to top

amother
Puce


 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 8:00 am
amother [ Magenta ] wrote:
The torah is very vague and what you call a chumra others might call basic halacha.

To use a basic example, the torah tells us to test on shabbos. Isn't that open to a hundred interpretations of what that means?


It doesn’t say to rest. It says Shabbos is a day of rest because Hashem rested. So we don’t do melacha.

But I’m talking about chumras like ways of dressing and cholov yisrael, among other things alike
Back to top

amother
Teal


 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 8:28 am
The Torah doesn’t change but our leaders adapt it to their generation. Before the destruction of the Bais hamikdash we were a sovereign nation, a ‘papal’ state run by the Sanhedrin. Formal prayer 3 times a day was unheard of. Judaism today looks very different on a practical level. But the core values of the Torah remain and will remain for eternity.
Back to top

amother
Teal


 

Post Tue, Sep 01 2020, 8:29 am
Chumras and how Brooklyn has changed in the past 10 years are immaterial if you look at the bigger picture or Judaism.
Back to top
Page 1 of 4 1  2  3  4  Next Recent Topics




Post new topic   Reply to topic    Forum -> Judaism

Related Topics Replies Last Post
Powdered Goat's Milk - might be easier to digest 1 Mon, Mar 04 2024, 10:05 pm View last post
If a poster goes AWOL
by amother
12 Thu, Feb 22 2024, 12:44 pm View last post
GERD comes and goes
by amother
15 Tue, Feb 20 2024, 3:52 pm View last post
What middle girl name goes with this??
by amother
35 Sun, Feb 18 2024, 4:47 pm View last post
by Arep
What name goes well with Shayna?
by amother
40 Thu, Feb 01 2024, 11:34 pm View last post