I am Jewish AMA

[Bells3032]

Following answering some Q&As on a thread about the programme Unorthodox thought i'd do an AMA here. I have looked and don't think there's been one since like 2018.

I am a traditional/modern orthodox Jew so not Hasidic like the show but I actually do talks on Judaism as part of my job and I so my knowledge is fairly good and I am rarely embarrassed or offended by questions.

So go ahead AMA

I would also like to say that this has been one of the most interesting threads ever. Thank you to everyone for sharing their culture so willingly. I have been googling so much and learning as I go.

@Bells3032
I'm Christian Orthodox (well I'm not following my family is)and just googled to see about the bread what significance it has and apparently (that's what Google says) it's called mata מצה in Hebrew and it says that's what Jewish people eat at Easter is Passover like Easter for us?and apparently Jewish people call it the poor people bread לחם עוני because poor Jewish people continued to eat the bread even after Easter..must be poor cuz I could eat that every day:))
Also seems that we follow the tradition to eat Lamb with that bread at Easter like Jewish people is it true?do you eat Lamb made with herbs that taste very bitter?
I'm sorry for the silly questions but want this thread to keep going it's very interesting.

@BelfastEast ...fgs Stamford Hill is a normal London area with a large Jewish community not a ghetto.

Tbh if you want a really good bagel go yo Golders Green

@mutzul animal owning isn't forbidden-there are even specific laws about having animals /pets, one of which is you feed your pet before you feed yourself.

It's becoming more common where I live to have dogs, although not so much among the ultra orthodox,although that is because (and I'm generalising but I've seen it time and time again) a lot of very frum Jews are scared of dogs.

@mutzul

OK a lot to unpick here. Passover is the festival that marks the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt when they were slaves. They had to leave quickly so had no time to let bread rise and therefore to mark it we don't eat products that rise including bread during the 8 day festival. The "official" food of the festival is a cracker like bread called "Matzah", it is called Poor bread because it was eaten by the now ex-slaves. I don't think people ate it after passover because they couldn't eat bread. i imagine bread was actually cheaper.

In relation to how it was related to Easter was that the last supper was actually Seder night which is the first night of passover when jews gather to tell the story of Exodus from Egypt. The reason you eat lamb at Easter is also linked to passover.

During the Seder we tell the story of going out from Egypt around a "seder plate" which includes items representing aspects of the story including bitter herbs to remember the bitter time the jews had in slavery, salt water to remember the tears they cried, and a lamb shank bone to remember the sacrificial lamb (as set out below).

In order to make the Egyptian Pharaoh let the Jews go from their slavery G-d sent 10 plagues upon Egypt - the last being sending the angel of death to kill all the first born sons. In order for the angel of death to know not to smite the Jewish first born sons they killed a lamb and marked the doors of their houses with its blood so the angel would "Pass over" their houses. Therefore with Jesus he is called the lamb of G-d as he was sacrificed the same as the lamb in the exodus story.

@Elladisenchanted once asked my MIL why religious Jews don't have dogs. Used to walk down this road in hendon called wykeham road which had lots of huge million pound houses (mostly owned by Jews) and also most of those houses had many young kids. I don't recall any of those households had dogs that I could see; this is very different from the rest of north london where big house + young kids usually mean a dog. I mean, once my DH was in a cafe in highgate (very affluent part of north london) and there were so many dogs barking and having their tidbits there that it was literally a pow-wow.

my MIL said that it is not anything religious,its just that religious jewish families are so time poor that they can't accommodate pets in their schedules. They might even be resource poor because from what I observed, jewish families tend to help out adult DC quite a bit more than secular families. And Jewish children tend to play with other jewish children cos of school. If you go your whole life without playing with dogs, you are more likely to be scared of them/detest them. My DH detests dogs, I have never met anyone who hates dogs more than him.

However his sister in Tel Aviv loves dogs, and Tel Aviv is doggy heaven with the dog parks, beach and the fact you can take your dog to work.

@Bells3032 you explain it so clearly! I'm a waffler lol

@Desiringonlychild yeah makes sense. I always wonder if some of the reason is a passed down trauma from the Holocaust too with the guard dogs etc. There's definitely been an upsurge in dog ownership recently though.

@Desiringonlychild I had a quick google about this as i wasn't entirely sure. I found this article: www.myjewishlearning.com/article/animals-in-judaism/

It says dogs are actually subject to lots of derogatory terms in the Torah. You learn something new every day! But it also has issues with caring for them over shabbat although these aren't insurmountable

@Bells3032
Thank you for your answers!
Google was only half right then.
The lamb thing signifies Jesus as he sacrificed himself so we sacrifice a lamb and we also drink wine that signifies his blood.
@Elladisenchanted
Thank you!
It was said in Shtisel when the little boy was kicked out of school because he took in a stray dog and when he went to his grandfather he shouted at him saying it's forbidden to have a dog because they are impure.but like Bells said might be because they are Hasidic.
Also can I ask anyone really what is your opinion on Christian Orthodoxy
And another one if I may
Speaking of Easter they bring light (on a candle) from Jerusalem from Jesus's tomb,do you know about that,does it have any significance to you?

@Bells3032 thanks for the article, its very interesting! Yes this does explain it. I do know quite a few observant pet owners. Its not just shabbat but also passover (buying kosher for passover pet food). Also if the pet got very sick on shabbat, its not clear whether you can break shabbat to call the vet since it is an animal's life, not a human life. So its definitely more difficult for an orthodox jew to have a pet.

Does anyone have a recipe for challah bread please? I'd like to give it a go!

How are gay people seen in the community? I'm presuming that because they can't have children naturally it is quite difficult for them?

What is the end goal for G-d, I could be mistaken but thought that in Judaism a certain amount get to heaven, like 70000 or something. I've googled it but can't seem to find it now, so may be hugely mistaken.

Thank you for the cook book recomendations I've ordered the Evelyn Rose one.

The bais yaakov was £45 so I'll give Evelyn a try first.

On the easter/passover subject, I went to an RC school run by nuns, we did learn a bit about the passover meal, I remember the bitter herbs and being told horeseradish was one. And I believe (sory 40 years ago) the youngest child asked about the exodus, it was suggested we could do something similar on easter sunday.

What is the end goal for G-d, I could be mistaken but thought that in Judaism a certain amount get to heaven, like 70000 or something. I've googled it but can't seem to find it now, so may be hugely mistaken.

Jehova's Witnesses believe 144 000 will get to heaven after 'the great tribulation' but everyone else sho is faithful will live on earth but it will be a paradise earth, all animls will be vegetarian.

Desiringonlychild

You have just given me an idea for a business or voluntary service, lots of people would like a dog but don't have time, maybe looking after a dog / pets on the Sabath and on Jewsih holidays would allow more people to have a pet. Would there be restrictions on feeding a dog?

@ShoppingBasket here is a recipe www.thejc.com/lifestyle/recipes/how-to-make-the-perfect-challah-1.438628

In religious terms being homosexual is an "abomination" and many very orthodox communities still don't accept them. However, other than haradi communities there is a general acceptance of the gay community and becoming more so. There is still some tension about the new sexual education in schools though regarding "encouraging children to learn about homosexuality". But for the large part most of us live in the real world and I know many LGBT individuals who still very much belong in the Jewish world and are treated with respect and friendship. The Chief Rabbi actually released guidance on LGBT students in Jewish schools last year encouraging parents and teachers to accept them and stating that all individuals should be treated with respect. The guidance can be found here: chiefrabbi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/The-Wellbeing-of-LGBT-Pupils-A-Guide-for-Orthodox-Jewish-Schools.pdf

In relation to your final question I think the one with the limited number go to heaven is Mormon (I may be wrong here) but it's deff not Jewish. The concept of heaven isn't so structured in Judaism and is more about being close to G-d and feeling his presence in the spiritual form than sitting on fluffy white clouds - but there is the belief that everyone Jewish or not - can access whatever form heaven takes. This is why we don't encourage conversion - there's no point. In Jewish concepts it's actually harder for Jews to get close to G-d in the afterlife than anyone else - non-Jews have 7 laws to keep, Jews have 613.

There is a belief that when the Messiah comes, the temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt and the righteous will be resurrected but no real explanation of an "end goal"

I did see some challah bread on the table in 'Friday night dinner' and attempted to recreate it...it wasn't great so thanks for the recipe x

Destroyedpeople I didn't say it was a ghetto I asked because in the documentaries showing Hasidc people there were requests not to wear immodest clothes and other restrictions, so I wouldn't want to offend anyone.

@sashh there is no issue with feeding a pet on shabbat ( in fact, there is a commandment to feed dependent pets before yourself). Walking a dog is not problematic as long as the length of the leash is taut and its clear you are walking a dog, not carrying a leash. However animals are mutzah (object with no practical use) so its forbidden to pet an animal except when pet is in discomfort.

I think its bigger than the shabbat rules. Being outside Israel means that orthodox jews to work later on other days and a big family means that they have to do more childcare/work longer hours to provide. Having a pet is therefore not the top priority and orthodox jews in uk typically live in urban areas where space is a premium as it is. Of course plenty of Londoners in flats have dogs, but those londoners don't tend to have loads of kids either.

One source in the Talmud (Bava Kamma 80a) states the permissibility of raising certain types of dogs and cats because they keep the house free of vermin — implying that animals may be kept if they perform a useful function

So Larry would be out on his paws.

I love the idea of Bark (Bar) and Cat (Bat) Mitzvahs.

Regarding pets, not having them is definitely more associated with being more observant. We had pets growing up, as did many of our practicing friends. My dad had pets in his youth, whereas my mum did not. Dm's family were more observant than ddad's. All my grandparents had pets, but that was partly because having a cat was seen as a necessity to keep mice down, but some had dogs, too. Many of my less religious family have pets, but AFAIK none of my Orthodox relatives have pets.

There's certainly no ban on pets, but the question is are they essential?

Is it just Edgware Sainsburys that make Challah? 😄 i guess Im it has a good deli section. I suppose when you dont live in Jewish areas it difficult to find the food.

When this is all over and if you ever go to New York I thoroughly recommend the Lower East Side free walking food tour. Oh its incredible the Knish I can still taste now. The history is so interesting as well. Its a shame its getting so gentrified now and all the communities have scattered.

I still dont know what they are really www.knishery.com/about/

My dm's knishes were the Jewish equivalent of a chip butty Seasoned mashed potato wrapped in a pastry made with oil. Sometimes she'd fry them, but often, in a vague attempt at making them somehow healthier, she'd bake them. Either way, the most deliciously satisfying, crunchy-soft, savoury mouthful.

Real knishes are round, not square and never fried.

Either my dm's a shocking rebel, or we're back to "Two Jews, three opinions".

@PikesPeaked do they sell knishes here in London. I had them in new york before but never seen them in London.

my knishes (bought) are always rectangles. We call them bourekas. Mashed potato in golden flaky pastry... Yummm!

@Desiringonlychild yes you can buy them frozen in kosher shops. They are called bourekas. You just egg glaze them and bake in the oven. Super simple and yum. They do mushroom or mashed potato in Manchester