I'm not Jewish but...

[Tryinghardtobefair]

I was wondering if anybody would be willing to guide me to somewhere I could learn more about Judaism please?

I'd really like to learn more about Judaism because as an ethnic minority myself, I'm well aware that the way to become an ally is to educate myself. I'm ashamed to say, I didn't realise until recently how badly the Jewish community experiences anti semitism.

I just don't know where to start with finding reliable sources online or in print.

Also, would it be appropriate to contact a synagogue and explain I'd like to educate myself? I know anti semitism is a real concern, especially due to the conflict in the middle east, and I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable or overstep.
Thank you for reading.

It's great that you're trying to educate yourself about Judaism 🙂

What part of Judaism would you like to learn more about? Is it the actual religion and various religious practices or more the history of the people?

I don't personally think it would be inappropriate to contact a Synagogue to ask if they can point you in the right direction but I'm not sure it's necessarily the most efficient way of getting answers! I have a relative who works as security at a Synagogue and Jewish community centre (but in a different country) and they have to screen everyone who makes such a request to make sure they don't have nefarious intent. When I was younger my local Jewish community would regularly welcome school groups, various Christian groups etc for them to have a guided tour but that doesn't happen anymore due to security concerns. It's really quite sad!

Look at the British Campaign Against Antisemitism, there are various ways to get involved and learn as you go. https://antisemitism.org

Read The Jewish Chronicle https://www.thejc.com

https://www.yadvashem.org focuses on the Holocaust but used to run courses on the history of antisemitism and is a good starting point

I don’t know if this is any good: www.myjewishlearning.com

Support the CST cst.org.uk

I find myjewishlearning pretty good actually. The Jewish Virtual Library also has a wide range of information.

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/

I'm not a fan of the Jewish Chronicle and don't tend to recommend it, but it does have some interesting articles and good writers (but also some godawful ones).

Myjewishlearning is an excellent resource.

There were also several long running AMA threads on here. One was Judaism generally (not specific denominations - www.mumsnet.com/talk/AMA/3900350-I-am-Jewish-AMA?page=1)

and there were several Orthodox Judaism AMA threads, 2 in classics: www.mumsnet.com/talk/mumsnetclassics/4793436-jewish-orthodox-mum-ama,
www.mumsnet.com/talk/mumsnetclassics/4794247-jewish-orthodox-mum-part-ii-ama,

and one more recently www.mumsnet.com/talk/AMA/4974877-im-an-orthodox-jewish-woman-ask-me-anything?page=1

Oh I forgot about those threads, they really are excellent and probably a good starting point. Even as someone Jewish I learned so much from them.

The one thing I would say to bear in mind with them is that I think some non-Jewish posters were confused between orthodox and non-orthodox Judaism and seemed to forget there's less strict adherence to practice in less orthodox families. And then there's the 'just ethnic' Jews who might follow some customs or none at all.

There's another AMA by an Israeli left wing Jewish woman, which I can't find at the moment but think it's still running. The OP is very interesting and eloquent too, although it's definitely less of a Jewish focus per se than the other AMA's. It also had quite a few antisemitic interlopers unlike the others, which if I recall were generally good natured.

Chabad.org has loads of articles on basic Judaism. Its an Orthodox Jewish site so obviously everything will be from an Orthodox perspective with a Chabad slant.

the other sites mentioned above are also great.

If you want to read Jewish texts, Sefaria is very good.

I think at the moment I'd like to learn specifically about Jewish religious practices and culture, and learn about the historical aspects of those as I go along.

Once the summer holidays are over, I'll contact my local synagogue and see if they'd be willing to give a tour etc. I've never been inside a synagogue, so I'd be very interested in just seeing everything in person if it's possible. If they say no I completely understand why, and while it is sad, I completely respect the need to minimise risk. I do wish it didn't have to be this way though. Everyone deserves to feel safe. Everyone deserves to be safe.

Thank you for all these links. I really appreciate it. I've saved them all so that I can look at them properly once I'm on the computer tomorrow 😊

Thank you - I've had a quick look and this looks like it will be really helpful on educating me more about antisemitism. I've saved it so I can have a deeper look once I'm on the computer😊

At the risk of opening a can of worms - why would you not recommend the Jewish Chronicle? Is it a site that's worth avoiding until I have some basic knowledge about judaism? It probably sounds silly but I don't know if I'd be able to tell the difference between a good article and an awful one, and I feel like I should be focussing on facts rather than potentially muddying my understanding up with opinions.
I hope you know what I mean, I've made an absolute hash of clarifying!

Thank you for these ❤️

Thank you for this.
If you don't mind me asking, what is Chabad? Is it a denomination of Judaism?

I like John Rayner and his "Understanding of Judaism".

I also agree about My Jewish Learning online. Really good for as a starter block to build upon.

It's a long-standing newspaper, which was once very respected, It's always been on the right but the recent editorial have turned it into a very right wing, hawkish propaganda rag (IMO). The current and last editor are VERY online, often quite hysterical and take it upon themselves to speak for the entire British Jewish community in interviews. I personally believe they've done more harm than good since the blasted Corbyn years and have made it more difficult for the Jewish community to fight left wing antisemitism.

Like I said, there's some good articles and writers (and great recipes!) but it's generally being run into the ground and the editorial keep getting into trouble for slander. So I wouldn't suggest avoiding it entirely but keep an open mind when reading some of the opinion pieces.

Obviously my opinion, but I know many others who would agree.

It is a Hasidic group, also known as Lubavitch. They are famous (rightly so!) for outreach, and are more well known internationally than some of the other Hasidic sects as a result.

Where are you based @Tryinghardtobefair

I'm in the West midlands - I'm about an hour away from Birmingham

I think this was already answered.

Its one Chasidic group, there are many. I am Chabad.

We do a lot of outreach. Hence a huge website with lots and lots of information on it. Chabad.org was one of the first Jewish websites. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chabad.org#:~:text=7%20Sources-,History,by%20geographic%20and%20other%20constraints.