I'm writing a fanfiction and I (briefly) mention Judaism as one of the characters is raised between two seperated parents, one Jewish and one (kind of) christian. I have family on my father's side that is Jewish but I was raised Catholic, so I'm not entirely sure what I can and can't say. I don't think it's offensive but I'm not Jewish so I don't think I'd catch everything. This is mentioned very briefly in the grand scheme of things, but I still wanted to double check.

Here is the lines:

"Well, uh." Spike spluttered, "With my mom, she doesn't celebrate Christmas, she's Jewish and all. I do Hannukah with her. My dad does Christmas, but we don't eat meat on Christmas, since we do it with my grandparents and all and that's how they did it back where they came from."

Bumblebee nodded as if he understood (but truly he didn't). "That's real interesting. Hey, what's the difference between Christmas and Hannukah?"

"Bumblebee, you can't just ask a man that!" Spike sighed. "Alright, so Hannukah is celebrated over eight nights, and it's because a container of oil burned for way longer than it should have, it was supposed to be one day and then it was eight. Christmas is because some guy was born who was special. I don't know, I don't care about him."

Thank you very much if you read this, I'd much appreciate a second pair of eyes.

Hi, I’m a non-Jew trying to learn Jewish theology from an outsider perspective. I discussed with AI and consulted online sources before; now, I would love to hear how people interpret these texts.

Again, I can’t read Hebrew and AI is full of errors. Please don’t judge me!

Also, it would be very helpful to let me know if you are speaking from Reform/Conservative/Orthodox teachings’ perspective. That would be very helpful!

Bava Metzia 59b: the story and its aftermath

Why do you think a technical dispute over the purity of an oven escalates this far, all the way to miracles and a heavenly voice? Is the oven itself important, or is the real issue something else?

When the sages reject the bat kol, do they doubt it came from God, or do they accept that it did and still refuse to follow it?

How do you understand God smiling and saying "My children have defeated me"? My own reading is that God acts a bit like a democratic leader accepting the result of a vote. Is that reasonable, or does it miss something?

The story doesn't end with the sages' victory. Rabbi Eliezer is placed under a ban, and tragedies follow. How do you read that ending? Is the Talmud criticizing the majority, or at least the way they treated him?

Deuteronomy 30:12 and Exodus 23:2

In Deuteronomy, lo bashamayim hi seems to mean the commandments are within reach. Here it becomes "heaven has no say in halakha." How do you think about that shift?

Exodus 23:2, read plainly, warns against following a majority to do evil, yet the sages derive the principle of following the majority from it. How should we understand that kind of reading?
Where is the line between legitimate midrash and bending a verse to fit a conclusion? Who decides?

Eruvin 13b compared with Bava Metzia 59b

In Eruvin, a bat kol decides between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai and seems to be accepted. Why is a heavenly voice authoritative there but rejected in Bava Metzia?

How are these two passages usually reconciled in the commentaries, and which explanation do you find most convincing?

"These and these are the words of the living God" seems to apply to Rabbi Eliezer too, yet he ends up excommunicated. How do you hold those two ideas together?

The questions are long and I’m grateful for any answer that answers any bit of my questions.

Thank you!

Hey everyone, I’ll start off by saying I don’t want to start any fights here but my wife and I are expecting our first child, a boy, in a few weeks, and I’m struggling with the decision about circumcision.

For context: I grew up fairly Jewish (Reform) and am circumcised myself. My wife isn’t Jewish and has left the decision up to me. (Part of me always hoped we’d have a daughter so I could avoid making this decision, but here we are 😭)

From the research I’ve done and conversations with a friends who are urologists, I’m not convinced the medical benefits of routine circumcision in the US outweigh the considerations around permanently altering my son’s body without his consent. But I also recognize that this isn’t purely a medical decision; it’s a question of Jewish tradition and identity.

We won’t be raising our son in an Orthodox household, and even among my Jewish friends, opinions seem pretty evenly split. We also live in a pretty rural part of the US, where there aren’t many other Jewish families. I wonder whether being uncircumcised might make him feel different from his peers, though I’m not sure how much weight to give that concern.

For Jewish dads who wrestled with this decision, particularly those from Reform or secular backgrounds:
- What ultimately made you decide for or against circumcision?
- How much did tradition and Jewish identity factor into your decision?
- Looking back, do you feel good about your choice?

I’m genuinely undecided and would appreciate hearing from people who have been in the same position. Not looking to start a fight or tell anyone else what to do, just trying to make a thoughtful decision for my son.
Thanks!

As an Orthodox Jew looking at a glance, it feels really easy to lump in all Non-Orthodox denominations together.

I want to understand better on what makes Reform, Reconstructionist, and Renewal distinct, recognizing of course that these movements have tremendous internal variations. I think, as a measure, what would your Syngagogue lose if they became "non-denominational"?

Broadly, my observation has been that communities, synagogues, and institutions that categorize themselves as non-denominational are frequently structured in a way that precludes Orthodox participation. I don't mean "not having a mechitza," I mean more basic things, like providing kosher food, providing spaces for more of shabbos, or scheduling events on Shabbos/Yom tov.

Have you observed this, and do you even think it's a problem? I can see an argument that Orthodox individuals have Orthodox institutions to rely on mostly that fits towards their standards, but I can't help but feel like "non-denominational" implies a level of inclusivity that just doesn't happen

I'm going to New Zealand next year. I'm from Israel, and I was under the impression that while it wasn't very good there, it was better than a lot of Europe, and so on.

I had made a post in their subreddit asking about my name and if it would be okay, because I have a name that would be very weird there. At the beginning, most people thought it was Japanese but as soon I explained it was Hebrew, it all started, and I am not exactly someone they'd love since obviously I want my country to exist, my family are from Iran, where are we supposed to go? Not back there. I've heard enough stories from my family. But I didn't get into that because there's no point, they don't get it

I never even said I was from Israel but just because I'd said it was Hebrew, there were quite a few people trying to find out where I was from and saying if it was Israel, I should just stay home anyway because people there don't like it, and that apparently I was writing ragebait or something because I had a Hebrew name.

Obviously it's the internet and people behave their worst there, but are a lot of them actually like that in real life too? I really don't want to have be dealing with these people and I also have a magen David that I always wear that was my grandmother's, which I assumed would be fine to wear and now I'm not sure about that either. I know the community there is very small but if you are from there or have travelled there too, it would be good to know.

Does anyone know if there are any shuls in Lakewood that follow either Yekkish or Oberlander nuscah/minhagim? Or a Yekkish minyan that might meet in a non Yekke shul?