I still do not understand their actual beliefs after death. It seemed as if the three different types of Jews had vastly different views on the way certain things were to be handled which became a bit confusing. To my understanding, they do not question what happens because the body is not "ours" and that this is up for God to decide. I'm sure it's probably not a clear cut answer, but the beliefs on what happens after death is muddy in my mind.
I agree with Ryan she did a great job of explaining what happend after death for those still here but that are the beliefs about what happens to the soul after death. She mentioned a walk of some kind but what is that and is it just the idea of the soul getting a new body like in Buddhism?
I think the reason it is so hard for us to grasp the concept of Judaism is because so many of us come from religions with a focus on the afterlife. As a Christian, my life is very focused on the afterlife and getting back to my home with Christ, therefore, I live in a way that will allow me to do that. Good deeds spring from my desire to reach heaven and spend eternity with my Lord and to bring others to do so, as well. It is very hard for me to grasp the views of Judaism, which are much more focused on the here and now than on the afterlife. Though it is difficult for me to understand and relate to, I think she communicated very clearly that the afterlife is really not a concern for many Jews. I really enjoyed our time with the Rabbi and appreciated her kindness and zest for life.
I agree with the above posts it was a very confusing lecture because it was so vastly different from what we are exposed to in our lifes. I understand that jews dont really talk about what happens when we die but we could have used a little more explanation. Is the reason they dont talk about it just because they dont know? I was fairly confused on some of the rituals and what not. One thing i would like to know is how do the orthodox jews feel about the reformed jews. Is it similar to the way the reformed jews feel about mesiaonic jews (Jews for jesus)? And Purim sounds like a great time.
After hearing the Jewish rabbi speak on Tuesday, I undoubtedly have a clearer on their traditions, faith, and such. I think that the rabbi's outlining of the three sects of Judaism shows how large of an influence that secular times have on any religion. Several years have caused the waning strictness of faith, in order to allow believers to successfully abide by the "laws of the land" and actively celebrate religion.
In class, while I do not remember the prompting question, the rabbi stated that Jews do not at all recognize the Christian belief that Christ was not only God's son, but was indeed God. The rabbi seemed as if the primary difference between Christianity and Judaism is the upheld significance of Jesus Christ. To expound, the rabbi was noticeably defensive when one student in our class asked about the Jews that uphold Jesus in a high esteem. I don't understand why Jews have such a stance on Jesus, but that is probably just my Christian bias.
Specific to the class, a big astonishment surrounded the rituals surrounding death. Christians like myself, from what I've experienced, neglect to mourn death publicly for longer than a couple of weeks; therefore, the fact that Jews take a year to mourn death was interesting.
The biggest remaining question I have, as Tony discussed above, is why Jews neglect to think about or wonder about what may happen after death. While Christians do not take such extreme measures as the Muslims do--per the student's visit to class today--it seemed to me like Jews should be a little more concerned or informed on their own beliefs.
Overall, I think the Rabbi did a phenomenal job of remaining informative while putting her biases aside. She explained Jewish tradition and educated our class on their faith--knowledge I did not know at all beforehand. The visits from the Rabbi, the Muslim student, and Fr. Twaddell make me interested in world religions.
I like the idea that all people get to go heaven. I think alot of times other religions are exclusive about who makes the cut for heaven. If their is a God and he is as understanding and forgiving as we have learned that he is, then I think he would let everyone into heaven. I also like how they they don't worry about sin or death. Thinking about sin and death doesn't change that the two are inevitable and I think the less you think about death the less you worry about if there is an afterlife and it takes alot of stress out of lives.
I found the Rabbi very interesting. I have never really studied Judiasm before so all of the information was knew and a lot to take in. I think that they don't focus on the afterlife becasue it is not certain. They focus on the here and now because it is certain and tangible. I think she expressed that they do believe in an afterlife, but it won't be for a very long time.
I was confused by many of her explanations. As I understood it, those who died after living a good life would be able to make the walk at the end of the world and regain their bodies, but anybody who died after living a bad life was annihilated and were done. Nothing good or bad would happen to them at the end of the world. They were just ended. But then, when somebody asked a question about sin (I think it was on the subject of premarital sex, but I'm not 100% sure) she laughed and said that they don't really have a concept of sin. So that struck me as a contradiction between being able to make the walk, after having lived a good life, and then saying that there is no concept of sin in their religion. It also seems like that would influence people to do a reverse, or inverted Pascal's wager. Since they know that there is no concept of sin, and they can't know for certain that there is a walk, and because they believe that there is no afterlife consequence for bad things done while on Earth, why not just live life by doing whatever is easiest and most productive for yourself, rather than trying to do what is right? Also, her explanation of the reformed Jews struck me as odd. she basically said that everybody is allowed to believe whatever they want, and that the Rabbi's don't have any real authority. I don't understand how there can be a group of people under one religion, but the religion doesn't really hold any authority on what they believe. I was also surprised on her attitude towards converts. If you do not believe that your religion is the correct one, then what is the point of following it?
I was confused by many of her explanations. As I understood it, those who died after living a good life would be able to make the walk at the end of the world and regain their bodies, but anybody who died after living a bad life was annihilated and were done. Nothing good or bad would happen to them at the end of the world. They were just ended. But then, when somebody asked a question about sin (I think it was on the subject of premarital sex, but I'm not 100% sure) she laughed and said that they don't really have a concept of sin. So that struck me as a contradiction between being able to make the walk, after having lived a good life, and then saying that there is no concept of sin in their religion. It also seems like that would influence people to do a reverse, or inverted Pascal's wager. Since they know that there is no concept of sin, and they can't know for certain that there is a walk, and because they believe that there is no afterlife consequence for bad things done while on Earth, why not just live life by doing whatever is easiest and most productive for yourself, rather than trying to do what is right? Also, her explanation of the reformed Jews struck me as odd. she basically said that everybody is allowed to believe whatever they want, and that the Rabbi's don't have any real authority. I don't understand how there can be a group of people under one religion, but the religion doesn't really hold any authority on what they believe. I was also surprised on her attitude towards converts. If you do not believe that your religion is the correct one, then what is the point of following it?
I had an issue with the fact that she believes the the Torah, which is the first five books of the Bible, to be inspired by God and written by human authors, yet she does not believe in original sin in Genesis 1. I don't understand how a person can pick and choose what parts they are going to believe and what parts they are going to twist the meaning of. It clearly says in Genesis 1 that God said, "Do not eat of the tree of the knowlege of good and evil," and Eve and Adam did, therefore disobeying God. But the Rabbi said that was not an issue because there is no problem with humans seeking knowlege, but that isnt the point. The point is God said you can do anything except this one thing, and Adam and Eve did it anyways. It was an interesting time listening to another person give details about their beliefs, as I was previously uneducated about Judaism
I definitely found Tuesday interesting. I have not studied Judaism so it was interesting to learn about. I think that the processes that they encounter after the death of an individual are extreme and I could never help bury a loved one, so I give them credit on that. The religion itself seems to go outside the box and some things are neat, but I could never follow their teachings. I still do not understand kosher and how that plays into a part of religion, so that would be the only question I would ask, is why kosher? But I thank your rabi for answering our questions and I appreciate learning about their death process, their thoughts of their eternal life of only heaven and their interesting celebratory days they have.
I was pleasantly surprised by Rabbi Terlinchamp's visit. I have to admit when I think of a Jewish person the first thoughts that come to me are of a man with a long white beard and black hat. Rabbi Terlinchamp was certainly nothing of the sort. I suppose my misconception about the "Jewish culture" is that it is very specific to a certain time and place and not an exactly correct representation of some of today's modern branches like Reform Judaism. Rabbi Terlinchamp was very well spoken and full of information. My overall impression was that Judaism is a very rich and beautiful culture. Though the reform branch is a much more modern application of the culture it still has deep roots in things that do not change, like the Torah, prayer, and study. Though some of the fundamental beliefs of Judaism are quite differ from my own, there are many similarities to Christianity and I definitely found an appreciation for the rich culture.
From the moment the rabbi entered the room (a woman), I knew that class would be highly informational. Prior to class I thought that I had a descent understanding of Jewish beliefs and practices, however Rabbi Terlinchamp's discussion proved me wrong. I found numerous of their beliefs to be very interesting. However, one belief that especially stuck out to me was their belief that the body is a temple of God. I had previously heard that people of the Jewish faith do not tattoo their body, but never really understood why. The rabbi shared with us the belief that one's body is not theirs. Rather it is given to them by God and thus is a temple of the Lord. While many beliefs of Judaism I do not find applicable to my life as a Christian, this practice of preserving one's body because it is on "lend" really meant something to me.
I was impressed by Rabbi Terlinchamp's visit. Not only did she give a great description about the Jewish faith, she knew so much about the world in general. The schooling you have to go through to become a rabbi is so intense. It's years of your life you have to commit. I found many of the Jewish practices very interesting. Like during a death of a loved one. You have a whole year to mourn over your loved one. After that year is up you then finally get to place the stone on the grave. I found it very respectful to the family that they get a certain amount of time to mourn. Not feeling rushed to get back to work really gives the family time to think about their loved one they lost and really set alone time for themselves. All in all the visit from rabbi Terlinchamp was a great way to look at another religion's faith. Not having her come in a would have been clueless about Jewish faith. Now that she came in I have a better understanding of their faith and respect towards their religion.
I agree with what Ryan said earlier on the page; I really still do not understand their afterlife or thinking of death. So do they or do they not think there is an afterlife. All of that was rather confusing to me, but what I got from the lecture from the rabbi was that the body stays in the earth and goes back to where it came from. But I still did not hear if they believed in a soul or some other spiritual form that lives on after death. I really did learn a lot from the rabbi though. I took several theology and history classes in high school and learned about Judaism in the past, but she definitely went into way more depth then what I knew. She also answered many questions that I did not know and shed some light onto what Judaism really is all about.
I still do not understand their actual beliefs after death. It seemed as if the three different types of Jews had vastly different views on the way certain things were to be handled which became a bit confusing.
ReplyDeleteTo my understanding, they do not question what happens because the body is not "ours" and that this is up for God to decide. I'm sure it's probably not a clear cut answer, but the beliefs on what happens after death is muddy in my mind.
I agree with Ryan she did a great job of explaining what happend after death for those still here but that are the beliefs about what happens to the soul after death. She mentioned a walk of some kind but what is that and is it just the idea of the soul getting a new body like in Buddhism?
ReplyDeleteI think the reason it is so hard for us to grasp the concept of Judaism is because so many of us come from religions with a focus on the afterlife. As a Christian, my life is very focused on the afterlife and getting back to my home with Christ, therefore, I live in a way that will allow me to do that. Good deeds spring from my desire to reach heaven and spend eternity with my Lord and to bring others to do so, as well. It is very hard for me to grasp the views of Judaism, which are much more focused on the here and now than on the afterlife. Though it is difficult for me to understand and relate to, I think she communicated very clearly that the afterlife is really not a concern for many Jews. I really enjoyed our time with the Rabbi and appreciated her kindness and zest for life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above posts it was a very confusing lecture because it was so vastly different from what we are exposed to in our lifes. I understand that jews dont really talk about what happens when we die but we could have used a little more explanation. Is the reason they dont talk about it just because they dont know? I was fairly confused on some of the rituals and what not. One thing i would like to know is how do the orthodox jews feel about the reformed jews. Is it similar to the way the reformed jews feel about mesiaonic jews (Jews for jesus)? And Purim sounds like a great time.
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing the Jewish rabbi speak on Tuesday, I undoubtedly have a clearer on their traditions, faith, and such. I think that the rabbi's outlining of the three sects of Judaism shows how large of an influence that secular times have on any religion. Several years have caused the waning strictness of faith, in order to allow believers to successfully abide by the "laws of the land" and actively celebrate religion.
ReplyDeleteIn class, while I do not remember the prompting question, the rabbi stated that Jews do not at all recognize the Christian belief that Christ was not only God's son, but was indeed God. The rabbi seemed as if the primary difference between Christianity and Judaism is the upheld significance of Jesus Christ. To expound, the rabbi was noticeably defensive when one student in our class asked about the Jews that uphold Jesus in a high esteem. I don't understand why Jews have such a stance on Jesus, but that is probably just my Christian bias.
Specific to the class, a big astonishment surrounded the rituals surrounding death. Christians like myself, from what I've experienced, neglect to mourn death publicly for longer than a couple of weeks; therefore, the fact that Jews take a year to mourn death was interesting.
The biggest remaining question I have, as Tony discussed above, is why Jews neglect to think about or wonder about what may happen after death. While Christians do not take such extreme measures as the Muslims do--per the student's visit to class today--it seemed to me like Jews should be a little more concerned or informed on their own beliefs.
Overall, I think the Rabbi did a phenomenal job of remaining informative while putting her biases aside. She explained Jewish tradition and educated our class on their faith--knowledge I did not know at all beforehand. The visits from the Rabbi, the Muslim student, and Fr. Twaddell make me interested in world religions.
I like the idea that all people get to go heaven. I think alot of times other religions are exclusive about who makes the cut for heaven. If their is a God and he is as understanding and forgiving as we have learned that he is, then I think he would let everyone into heaven. I also like how they they don't worry about sin or death. Thinking about sin and death doesn't change that the two are inevitable and I think the less you think about death the less you worry about if there is an afterlife and it takes alot of stress out of lives.
ReplyDeleteI found the Rabbi very interesting. I have never really studied Judiasm before so all of the information was knew and a lot to take in. I think that they don't focus on the afterlife becasue it is not certain. They focus on the here and now because it is certain and tangible. I think she expressed that they do believe in an afterlife, but it won't be for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteI was confused by many of her explanations. As I understood it, those who died after living a good life would be able to make the walk at the end of the world and regain their bodies, but anybody who died after living a bad life was annihilated and were done. Nothing good or bad would happen to them at the end of the world. They were just ended. But then, when somebody asked a question about sin (I think it was on the subject of premarital sex, but I'm not 100% sure) she laughed and said that they don't really have a concept of sin. So that struck me as a contradiction between being able to make the walk, after having lived a good life, and then saying that there is no concept of sin in their religion. It also seems like that would influence people to do a reverse, or inverted Pascal's wager. Since they know that there is no concept of sin, and they can't know for certain that there is a walk, and because they believe that there is no afterlife consequence for bad things done while on Earth, why not just live life by doing whatever is easiest and most productive for yourself, rather than trying to do what is right?
ReplyDeleteAlso, her explanation of the reformed Jews struck me as odd. she basically said that everybody is allowed to believe whatever they want, and that the Rabbi's don't have any real authority. I don't understand how there can be a group of people under one religion, but the religion doesn't really hold any authority on what they believe.
I was also surprised on her attitude towards converts. If you do not believe that your religion is the correct one, then what is the point of following it?
I was confused by many of her explanations. As I understood it, those who died after living a good life would be able to make the walk at the end of the world and regain their bodies, but anybody who died after living a bad life was annihilated and were done. Nothing good or bad would happen to them at the end of the world. They were just ended. But then, when somebody asked a question about sin (I think it was on the subject of premarital sex, but I'm not 100% sure) she laughed and said that they don't really have a concept of sin. So that struck me as a contradiction between being able to make the walk, after having lived a good life, and then saying that there is no concept of sin in their religion. It also seems like that would influence people to do a reverse, or inverted Pascal's wager. Since they know that there is no concept of sin, and they can't know for certain that there is a walk, and because they believe that there is no afterlife consequence for bad things done while on Earth, why not just live life by doing whatever is easiest and most productive for yourself, rather than trying to do what is right?
ReplyDeleteAlso, her explanation of the reformed Jews struck me as odd. she basically said that everybody is allowed to believe whatever they want, and that the Rabbi's don't have any real authority. I don't understand how there can be a group of people under one religion, but the religion doesn't really hold any authority on what they believe.
I was also surprised on her attitude towards converts. If you do not believe that your religion is the correct one, then what is the point of following it?
I had an issue with the fact that she believes the the Torah, which is the first five books of the Bible, to be inspired by God and written by human authors, yet she does not believe in original sin in Genesis 1. I don't understand how a person can pick and choose what parts they are going to believe and what parts they are going to twist the meaning of. It clearly says in Genesis 1 that God said, "Do not eat of the tree of the knowlege of good and evil," and Eve and Adam did, therefore disobeying God. But the Rabbi said that was not an issue because there is no problem with humans seeking knowlege, but that isnt the point. The point is God said you can do anything except this one thing, and Adam and Eve did it anyways. It was an interesting time listening to another person give details about their beliefs, as I was previously uneducated about Judaism
ReplyDeleteI definitely found Tuesday interesting. I have not studied Judaism so it was interesting to learn about. I think that the processes that they encounter after the death of an individual are extreme and I could never help bury a loved one, so I give them credit on that. The religion itself seems to go outside the box and some things are neat, but I could never follow their teachings. I still do not understand kosher and how that plays into a part of religion, so that would be the only question I would ask, is why kosher? But I thank your rabi for answering our questions and I appreciate learning about their death process, their thoughts of their eternal life of only heaven and their interesting celebratory days they have.
ReplyDeleteI was pleasantly surprised by Rabbi Terlinchamp's visit. I have to admit when I think of a Jewish person the first thoughts that come to me are of a man with a long white beard and black hat. Rabbi Terlinchamp was certainly nothing of the sort.
ReplyDeleteI suppose my misconception about the "Jewish culture" is that it is very specific to a certain time and place and not an exactly correct representation of some of today's modern branches like Reform Judaism. Rabbi Terlinchamp was very well spoken and full of information. My overall impression was that Judaism is a very rich and beautiful culture. Though the reform branch is a much more modern application of the culture it still has deep roots in things that do not change, like the Torah, prayer, and study.
Though some of the fundamental beliefs of Judaism are quite differ from my own, there are many similarities to Christianity and I definitely found an appreciation for the rich culture.
From the moment the rabbi entered the room (a woman), I knew that class would be highly informational. Prior to class I thought that I had a descent understanding of Jewish beliefs and practices, however Rabbi Terlinchamp's discussion proved me wrong. I found numerous of their beliefs to be very interesting. However, one belief that especially stuck out to me was their belief that the body is a temple of God. I had previously heard that people of the Jewish faith do not tattoo their body, but never really understood why. The rabbi shared with us the belief that one's body is not theirs. Rather it is given to them by God and thus is a temple of the Lord. While many beliefs of Judaism I do not find applicable to my life as a Christian, this practice of preserving one's body because it is on "lend" really meant something to me.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed by Rabbi Terlinchamp's visit. Not only did she give a great description about the Jewish faith, she knew so much about the world in general. The schooling you have to go through to become a rabbi is so intense. It's years of your life you have to commit. I found many of the Jewish practices very interesting. Like during a death of a loved one. You have a whole year to mourn over your loved one. After that year is up you then finally get to place the stone on the grave. I found it very respectful to the family that they get a certain amount of time to mourn. Not feeling rushed to get back to work really gives the family time to think about their loved one they lost and really set alone time for themselves.
ReplyDeleteAll in all the visit from rabbi Terlinchamp was a great way to look at another religion's faith. Not having her come in a would have been clueless about Jewish faith. Now that she came in I have a better understanding of their faith and respect towards their religion.
I agree with what Ryan said earlier on the page; I really still do not understand their afterlife or thinking of death. So do they or do they not think there is an afterlife. All of that was rather confusing to me, but what I got from the lecture from the rabbi was that the body stays in the earth and goes back to where it came from. But I still did not hear if they believed in a soul or some other spiritual form that lives on after death.
ReplyDeleteI really did learn a lot from the rabbi though. I took several theology and history classes in high school and learned about Judaism in the past, but she definitely went into way more depth then what I knew. She also answered many questions that I did not know and shed some light onto what Judaism really is all about.