JewsByChoice

Quora: Why do some folks interpret figurative scriptural stories literally?

Torah wasn’t given to Angels!

Many years ago when I was exploring the many monotheistic faiths, perhaps subconsciously looking for a “home” where I felt more comfortable than the religion of my family, I attended an interesting evening school in a suburb of Detroit. If I'm not mistaken it was a very…

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Gathering the Exiles and Sending Away the Mother Bird — a hashgacha story and why the tware related

Torah Was Not Given to Angels

[This is one of many communications that I have shared with other, newer converts to Judaism that turned to me for advice and counsel.]

Dear Ruth,

There is an issue that I really feel the need to discuss with you. In our correspondence to date…

If my understanding of Judaism is correct, there is a tension between the particularism and the universalism within the Jewish faith. At one and the same time, the god of the Jewish People is both the creator of the universe and the “god of the entire world”, as well as at the same time having a special relationship with the Jewish People.

Why is it required for a convert to live in a Jewish community before their formal conversion?