I have respect for the Tanaach as a documented history of our People,albeit with some embellishments and additives usually associated with folklore. I also have respect for the Talmud and for all people who have inquisitive minds and use their intellect to think,determine and arrive at conclusions. I have no respect for people who indulge in nonsense, in nonsensical concepts such as "God". I myself can relate only to things material that can be acknowleged by the human senses. All matters of a metaphysical nature are figments of Man's imagination, results of his ignorance and fear of the unknown and death,which is the ultimate unknown. "God was invented by Man in order to cushion his fears and failings and to give an excuse for all that does not go according to his wishes or for all that he intends to do with the full knowlege that it is morally wrong. I am a Jew because I was born of Jewish parents and all my antecedents were Jewish. We are a race descended from a mixture of the Cananite Peoples who inhabited this area 3 to 4 thousand years ago. Our religion has evolved from the roots of all these Peoples and it is called Judaism. First we are a race and second we have a religion. I am a proud member of the Jewish race, I am an ardent aetheist and strongly believe that religion is a negative force on Humanity. The argument for or against is futile as I shall never be able to prove the non existence of "God" and believers will never be able to confirm the existence. This is axiomatic so the best way out is for each to accept the beliefs of the other and to live in harmony. No missionary attitudes from either side. chacun a son gout.

about the dry bones in graves of the houses of Judah and Israel that come to life again. Some believe that is the rebirth of the State of Israel, but I believe it is the resurrection from the grave of the slaughtered masses from the Houses of Judah and Israel who will live again and receive the promises of Y'hovah/Adonai like the mansions and 100 times what they lost such as relatives. For Jews I(Judah) and the lost House of Israel to think the persecutions were an end and that there is no future for those who suffered is a great cause of atheism because they don't believe in the goodness of God who promised to much to Abraham, only to see the descendants of Abraham, Isaac,and Jacob persecuted and slaughtered to the point of near extinction at times in genocidal attacks by the devil. God will right the wrongs and Abraham will see the city he was promised (Holy Jerusalem) long ago for which he left the land of Ur in the Chaldea (Iraq) and his idol worshipper father Terah and all his relatives except for Sarah and Lot, his nephew. Abraham and all who were a part of his spiritual heritage will receive a hundredfold of what they lost. Faith is believing the promises of God though unseen.

Of course that there were Jewish atheist before the Shoah , why ? well let's say that as in other beliefs , Jews also lostt faith . People become more evoluated , can't believe anymore in "miracles" or a super guy who manages the world , who dictates them how to behave , what or/and when to eat .

When conditions for an infantry soldier become so difficult that he has to dig a small hole in the ground and to take whatever cover he can, then he starts to pray. Hence the military saying "there are no athiests in foxholes". Perhaps that is why we are here now in Israel. The conditions are difficult and we are sometimes exposed to rockets or other threats. For this reason the so called Jewish Athiests will have to change their philosophy. The rest is a pretence.

What you say can be , and is , right for Atheists in Israel . But what about the many Jewish Atheists abroad ? who don't suffer this coecision ? where the Orthodox can't "milk " the State ? I did'nt became an Atheist Jew when i made Alyah , i was it before . It's maybe only because of evolution . People have more knowledge and question the veracity of some "facts" described in the Torah .

by an utterly stupid individual. To be an atheist means you don't believe in God. That's all it means. You can memorize the Torah and Talmud if you like, you can live a useful, moral life and follow whatever precepts you please, you can even keep kosher, and still not believe in God.

Please cite your sources. I read a book called "The Faith and Doubt of Holocaust Survivors" whose survey results were that people either stayed as religious as they were after the holocaust or became less religious. The holocaust did NOT make people more religious. Why didn't G-d or his sages, in all those books bother to tell us that the earth was round, that it rotated, and that it revolved around the Sun? How could anyone tell you if what they saw was a miracle if they didn't know the basic laws of science?

but not in the way their own people believe, they against their traditions but not against the one and only since all rituals r man made. big however agnostics people r the ones who declare there is no god, two different things. not the same.

I became an atheist after I studied Judaism and Christianity intensely while searching for God. For more than 50 years of study, the idea of a God seems more and more absurd. Rabbi Brackman chooses to ascribe an absurd reason for Jewish atheism.

a yeshiva education can draw them and their children away from a productive material and fulfilled life, and some of its joys like dating and working and because Judaism's hermeneutic logic and hebrew and aramaic languages requires years of concentrated study to master, because of Judaism' belief in the irrational and illogical, in the face of science and rational logical thought, because Judaism requires one to be different, it interferes with the Jew's freedom to live and get work, because the world was and in many places still is anti semitic, you will suffer exclusion, be hated and be discriminated against and be humiliated and be physically violated if not expulsed, killed, massacred, exterminated. Finally if a Jew wants his own country he can't sit on a bench in a yeshiva all day but must not only be a soldier to protect what he has made but a productive member of this world to create, manage and advance a country.

Just to point out that Jews did not always believe in a singular god, at one point Jews worshiped a goddess called Asherah (Queen of Heaven) as well as the male counterpart. This 'Hebrew goddess' was not a Judaic invention but rather it was likely adopted from other cultures at the time.

There is, of course a more likely explanation for secular Jews. Have you considered the possibility that they are right and you are wrong?

don't you guys see that this article is nothing more than propaganda? How does he 'know' that most Jews are atheists? I personally think most people don't want Orthodox Judaism because: - It is has been proven to be wrong (see www.daatemet.org.il) - It controls every aspect of your life - Those who claim to be most religious are scary (not just the clothes, but their philosophy) - Judaism doesn't jive with modern life - Etc., etc., ad nauseum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByUod2VmBQY&feature=channel

To reduce the numbers of atheists (jews or goim) we must believe in G'd, but musn't hope on Him. He told that to us. "Tell the people to move by themselves". So HE doesn't interfere on ours decisions and acts.

An atheist does not have to be genetically predisposed to become an atheist! If some Jews are atheists it is because they have come to believe that like the Easter Bunny/Tooth Fairy/etc the Jewish god does not exist. All religions are 'man-made'/invented, they were created by primitive superstitious people to help explain what they could not understand at the time (ie: the forces of nature). These religions quickly became a means to control the masses as well as becoming the cause of some the worst atrocities in human history. This article is a load of bunk as it argues that (lets leave a side the ‘atheist gene’ nonsense). People do not become atheists because of a lack of religious knowledge; they become atheists because they realize that ALL religions are man-made inventions and lack any credibility (moral or otherwise) in a modern enlightened world.

In fact that is not appropriate question, as Brackman, ever greeting Rabbi, not answered his own question. Have you find out why there are so many Jewish ateists in this article? No. There is only one thing worth considering Brackman in fact confessed he had very common grounds with Atheists, he said he does not believe the god which is not believed by Atheists Despite he ascribe the reason to primitive understanding of God, that is historically old religious conception of God, Brackman forget one thing: Religioun is a dogma and as good as at the first day of coming into being You cannot assume a developing conception of God unless you condemn all past conception of God by Jews So Brackman claims date of David or Date of Moses had far inferior conception of God, Either Brackman is a new Prophet and have something to tell to You or an Atheist.

Veal and milk is mentioned once, but sheltering the orphan and feeding the hungry is mentioned dozens of times. Rabbi, why then do you force me to have two kitchens but direct the homeless to the nearby church? I want to add my voice to all those who want to see Judaism move away from the Talmud and back to the Torah.

You are not entitled to an answer. That's a blunt answer, but it's true. Judaism never promises that in exchange for belief in God you will know why things happen. And if this is a requirement for you, do you apply this elsewhere in your life? Knowing why--this is not the point of being a Jew. Do not condemn God for mankind's freewill. Without freewill, what would existence be? Atheists tend to shake their fist at God for free will while at the same time praising it in man. The gift is not guaranteed happiness, the gift is the ability to create along with God.

...because it's easier for you guys to say 'Inshallah' than actually do something. Or in the case of missing a sharp turn and flying off the road into a ravine....explaining that it was 'Kismet'....and nothing to do with the reckless driver

It is ridiculous to see secularism and atheism as a result of anything but the INCREASED education of the Jewish people. the more we have learned about our history and religion the more have left the orthodoxy of dunces, opting for a vibrant future over a meaningful past. the less we allowed irrelevant leadership and philosophies to dictate our lives, the further we have advance. Rabbinic Judaism does not answer the needs of the modern Jew. just as Temple Judaism could not answer the needs of the exiled Jew. The jewish people has risen refreshed, tired from 2,000 of metaphysics, hungry for something to build, something to invest in. 2,000 years we allowed Rabbinic Judaism to led us further and further into the desert . "40 years" have passed and it's time to come home. We have been a nation, a people with a land, since the 10th Century BCE. We have been a religion for less then 2,000 years.

whereas there is definitely such a concept as ben israel, what is the case with eretz israel?

"the entire genre of rabbinic literature is full of questions, arguments and intellectual query. " Actually, it's full of little questions and one giant unquestioned assumption-- that all of it is true and from God. Which is to say that all of the so-called "intellectual query" amounts to silly hypertechnical questions on stultifying rules, and no real honest inquiry into whether any of it has any validity beyond folk legend. Rabbis muse endlessly over whether God meant Y or Z when He said "X", but they never bother to question whether the evidence really supports the notion that God said "X" in the first place. Sorry, Rabbi, but the very theme of your article is premised on this same insulting assumption-- that the underlying truth of Judaism is so patent that the only possible reason for not buying into it is ignorance. This, alas, is simply false. There are plenty of Jews who are well-informed about Judaism-- and even have solid yeshiva educations-- who, after long study, decided that this tradition just doesn't contain all the truth it claims to have. Calling them uninformed or ignorant is not an argument. It's just an ad hominem attack.

First, any intelligent person who wants to know why some born-Jewish are atheists will rely on the atheists who posted their reasons, not on an Orthodox rabbi who knows no more about atheists than he does about Christians or Muslims. If you want to know about Christians or Muslims or how to deal with them, ask a Christian or Muslim (or former Christian or Muslim). Worse, here is yet another example of attempting to artificially impose a dilemma: it can only be either an atheist gene or ignorance of Kabbalah (Jewish metaphysics). That defines Rambam as a racial atheist! At least deal with the reasons given by many atheists themselves, the most predominant of which--among Jews (only, tellingly)--seems to be the Shoah. The answer here is stupidity in blameshifting the product of human free will to "g-d." This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, some Jewish atheists blameshift g-d for not abrogating free will of the evil perpetrators--a large segment of the 1940s world--and changing the world in their favor when they came whining despite their abrogation of Torah in the preceding German Reform Movement. (No less evil than blameshifting TO g-d, this transfers blame FROM the guilty. Which is it atheists?) Do you not realize the goyim come whining with the opposite requests? He should listen to you, instead of His other humans, _for racist reasons_?!? ROFL On the other hand, the same atheists contradict themselves loudly squealing, "No, the Reform Movement had nothing to do with it!!! -- necessarily implying that, THEREFORE, neither did g-d!!! If there was no g-d, then you cannot blame it on g-d and there must be a different cause… leaving no reason to insist (contrary to the existence of the universe ex nihilo) that there is no g-d. The Shoah was product of the free will of evil humans, stupid! The idea that Jewish-born atheists have an atheist gene--and are, therefore, racially atheists--must derive from the Esau/Edom gene. Pardon my chuckling at that prospect. Nor does the Shoah in any way explain goyim atheism… and there is no difference, other than racism, between atheists born of Jews and atheists born of goyim. Atheist arguments NOT related to the Shoah, while far short of logically compelling, are at least far more intellectual and serious than the simplistic blaming of the Shoah on g-d. One of the reasons that I've heard (or read) that atheists reject Judaism is that Orthodox rabbis fail to comprehend outside of their own perspective bubble. That is repeatedly demonstrated ad nauseum. This article is a fine example of ascribing square attitudes from within the bubble of Orthodox perspective to round holes of beliefs outside of the Orthodox perspective. The lack of fit is no surprise. Neither is the mass exodus of educated young Jews toward assimilation. Orthodox rabbis MUST address logic (which subsumes science and the external realities of the modern world, including goyim… as well as the need to correct internal wrongs re: converts, agunot, Mizrakhim, Ethiopians, etc.) as Halakhic authority… or be steamrolled by it. Paqid Yirmeyahu Paqid 16, The Netzarim, Ra'anana, Israel Israeli Torah-reverer (& Orthodox Jew) Advocate for Logic as Halakhic Authority Welcoming All Torah-reverers (Jews & non-Jews) www.netzarim.co.il

Look at wikipedia for the definition of race . I have read that we best of all can be considered a "family" , descendants of our forefathers in bibical times . And we are proud of the realisations of our "cousins" who contributed so much to Humamity , or saddened when we hear about our "cousin" Madoff's acts .

The reason that many of us do not believe is because the Jewish religion defies facts and logic. Archeological evidence clearly disproves most of the older parts of the Torah, especially Tanach. Israelites are Canaanites not descendants of a family from Iraq. The Exodus never happened. There was no mighty kingdom of Solomon. Israel was not the "evil empire" of Tanach but really a much better country during the time it coexisted with Judah. Jews were not mostly devotees of Yahweh until the time of King Josiah. The ridiculous rulings of rabbis even today embarrass us. The treatment of converts by Israel is shameful. The treatment of women by the orthodox is primitive. We dislike the unwillingness of even the most prominent rabbis to change any of the old rules in light of modern knowledge and technology. Richard Feynmann wrote about how negative his opinion was of the orthodox students who asked the great man whether electricity is fire. On top of all this, we have modern astronomy and cosmology which disapproves much of Tanach. Finally, there is no evidence that religious Jews are better human beings. On the contrary we see a large number of them as parasites, both in Israel and abroad.

let me make it simple so that you can understand. My name is Avi i live in Rananna which is in Israel. I have asked you to state where is it you live, but as usual you choose to ignore that question, ummm i wonder what it is you are hiding, could it be that Ghostq is the other personality of Rivka, just like Norman bates and his mother ?

listen to rabbi Brackman. mmm you r muslim? or atheist Turk? if that so y does religion matter bother you? oh you can't have both.

secular Turkish legacy, from bubak to ataturk.

Just a thought - the first of the 10 commandments states " I am the Lord thy G-d which has taken you out of the land of Eygpt, from the house of Slavery" Question - Why does the first commandment not say I am the G-d who created heaven and earth? why state the redemption? Answer - When G-d created the world, there was no one to witness it, when we came out of Eygpt the whole nation (approx 3 million people) saw open miracles the 10 plages the Tearing open of the sea for us and just in time it closed to drown our persuers. The Torah was given in front of the whole nation in the same Generation and it stated these facts. Now if this or any of it was un true the people would not except it and would not pass it on from generation to gereration. That is the difference between us and any other religion - we do not believe in one mans dream we believe in what us a a whole nation witnesd - this is just one of many. Unlike the Muslims who blindly bleive in their profits dream and many other religpns that are based purely on faith.