Talk:Judaism

Please use this page to discuss the development and editing of this article. Some questions to spur discussion:

• Which sections should be moved fairly soon to their own articles?

• Which sections should be removed outright (and not replaced)?

• Would you recommend any new sections for this article?

You are strongly encouraged to boldly make edits and changes. It would be helpful if you annotate significant changes in the summary line and, when suitable, comment here about potentially controversial edits.

In addition, your feedback, appreciative or critical, on how this article is developing would be appreciated. David Hoffman 22:40, 10 May 2007 (CDT)

To Do list

Some initial suggestions: David Hoffman 22:40, 10 May 2007 (CDT)

1. Please import the images from WikiCommons if possible
2. Please edit for CZ style and writing quality throughout
3. Please list below your suggestions for key secondary, linked articles
4. Please fill in the checklist and keep it below, for now.
5. Please add to this To Do list.

From Wikipedia?

Did this not come from Wikipedia? If so, we should check the box. --Larry Sanger 17:15, 14 May 2007 (CDT)

Suggestions: Expand on the destruction of the temple

• Under Ancient Jewish History it seems to me the significance of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem is understated. I would like to see some a link to or discussion of what the destruction of the temple and related events meant to the Jews at the time and today. I don't mean to advocate anything a devout Jew would find offensive and don't have any sources for the following, but my recollection (as a Christian uneducated in what today's experts in the religion teach) is that: the Tanakh includes a prediction somewhere that Messiah would reveal himself in some way near AD 12 (while Israel as a nation retained the "sceptre" or power of capital punishment); Daniel prophecies that Messiah would come into his kingdom near AD 30, after Israel was subject to Roman law regarding capital punishment; the destruction of the Temple in AD 66 meant the loss of the only authorized place for certain annual ceremonial worship under Mosaic law, so there is no way to satisfy that law while worshipping as a Jew today until the temple is rebuilt; along with the temple all the records of royal lines were also destroyed (so there seems no longer to be any official means of proving the inheritance of David's royal line if a new claimant (including the Messiah) were to arise. If I were to find an article or articles from a reputable non-jewish authority on such matters would that be useful? Thanks for all your good work here! --Tim McCully 20:10, 28 May 2007 (CDT)

Thanks for your comment. I added somewhat to emphasize the key turning point marked by the destruction of the Temple (though the later revolt, crushed by the Romans, is also part of this transition). Otherwise, your points strike me less as history and more suitable for an article/section on theology or on Christian-Jewish polemics. Let me know if you find the sources and work it up. Thanks again. David Hoffman 15:58, 1 June 2007 (CDT)

Doubtful sentence in Terminology section

• For denoting Judaism, the term Torah also is used frequently, though it connotes an arguably more stable notion. Thus, one refers to "Reform Judaism" but not "Reform Torah."

Torah is not a synonym for Judaism. It denotes, per se, only the religious literature and belief system of Judaism, but not Judaism itself. I am removing this sentence. Nahum Wengrov 03:12, 1 November 2007 (CDT)

Another doubtful sentence in that section: "In the book of Esther, there is a verb that means "to become a Jew," though presumably again with an ethno-geographic meaning." Assuming the reference is to Esther 8:17, that presumption doesn't seem to be warranted. Shamira Gelbman 01:31, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Yes. Esther 8:17 is not about the Jews as an ethno-geographical group, but about conversion to Jewish belief. The Septuagint is pretty clear: it doesn't say "become a Jew" but "circumcision" to "live like a Jew". This accords to Dio's description of the Jews as a group signified by customs and observances, not by ethnicity or geographical origin. I'll see if I can rephrase that part of the article. —Arne Eickenberg 21:22, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

The whole Esther-8:17-thing is now included in a footnote. But it has little relevance in the terminology section, and it could be deleted altogether… or moved to a different, more appropriate paragraph. —Arne Eickenberg 22:57, 29 June 2009 (UTC)