Torah Observant Judaism: May 2013

Friday, May 10, 2013

Norman Mailer on Purpose

I don't think life is absurd. I think we are all here for a huge purpose. I think we shrink from the immensity of the purpose we are here for.

Norman Mailer

What Is Torah Observant (Orthodox) Judaism?

Torah Observant (Orthodox) Judaism, or TOJ, is a dynamic and multifaceted religious practice and life path that is practiced by approximately 1.5 million people or 1 in 10 Jews around the world. While there are numerous styles of TOJ, Torah Observant Jews have in common numerous beliefs including the following:

→ The world was created and is nurtured by a loving and all-powerful Being.

→ This Being, or God, like a loving parent, shared with His children guidance for living via an immense literature that we call the Torah.

→ The Torah teaches that life is purposeful. This means that each one of us is important and has essential contributions to make to the world. God created us ‘in His image,’ ie. creative, intelligent, capable of doing good for others, and morally conscious. These wondrous qualities are contained in the soul.

→ While God is involved in the world, He does not take a corporal form, ie He is not physical. Like the human soul, He engages the physical without being physical.

→ Humans, while possessing a holy soul, live with a physical body in the physical realms. We connect the physical to the spiritual via the mitzvot, (translation: instructions for productive living).There are all kinds of mitzvot. Many are interpersonal such as the call to be kind to widows, orphans, or other dependent people. Many mitzvot help to build a successful society such as the call for integrity in business and the call to establish courts of justice. Many mitzvot concern religious ritual such as those calling for prayer to God and care with the food we bring into our bodies. (continue reading)

Torah Observant Judaism

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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks discusses belief with four atheists

Friday, May 10, 2013

Norman Mailer on Purpose

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