Opinion
Torah isn't everything
Avi Rath
Published: 11.04.12, 11:15
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61. Desecration of the Name is when
Lemmings hotline ,   SD usa   (04.12.12)
A religious person behaves in way that misleads others into believing that the Torah permits behavior ,which ,in fact it actually forbids
62. A confusion of categories
Shalom Freedman ,   Jerusalem Israel   (04.12.12)
A formally religious person is not necessarily a good person. Ideally observant people are ethical, but many people who profess observance violate ethical principles. So from the quite blatant examples of self- proclaimed observant people who are not ethical we do not learn much. What should have been said and can be said is that there are people formally observant who are non- ethical and there are many ethical people who are not religiously observant.
63. Never hurts to be reminded
Elihu ,   Efrat, Israel   (04.12.12)
Derech Eretz kadma LaTorah ... even if we are also meant to go beyond derech eretz. May this Peasch be a time of renewal and remarkable progress in working to understand each other and ourselves. Imagine what the world would look like if we each saw and treated every other person as another piece of Divinity ... interesting thought experiment , if nothing else.
64. Torah is NOT dati OR secular. It UNITES us all on all levels
Jerry ,   The Netherlands   (04.12.12)
65. What about good people who are not religious?
Amiad Horowitz ,   Ramat Gan, Israel   (04.12.12)
Why does doing a good thing make me religious? I am fine doing good things and being an atheist. Stop being so narrowed minded and thinking good must come from religion.
66. To build up our character
Carl van Zijll de Jo ,   Lincoln, NZ   (04.12.12)
If I may, I would like to provide some suggestion to the issues in this article. A Jew is somebody belonging to the tribe of Judah, but the people of all twelve tribes are called “Israelites”. Somebody is religious when his/her life is ordered based on faith. Faith is making oneself dependent on a deity (God/god), or entity for life’s fulfilment. All this is by submitting to a “code of conduct”. As we all have this desire in us to be worshipped, we invent laws/rules for others to act upon. Because they are manmade rule at some time or day they become outdated, or cause conflict of interests. However, our Creator asks us to adhere to two commandments, and on the basis of these two commandments He wants us to build up our character that we may live in harmony with Him (who do not need anything, because it is all His, but our love), our Creator, and with one another.
67. In line with Jesus
John ,   UK   (04.13.12)
I am glad to see this kind of reactions that remind me of the gospels and what Jesus himself criticised in his time. I am amazed that 2,000 years later we still debate the same topics...
68. Great article
Jewish Patriot ,   Galut   (04.14.12)
Great article totally agreed. But as I see others don't really that much, but I do not know that an atheist or a non religious Jew why can't be a patriot. Me and many Israeli friends of mine who are not religious made a lot more for Israel than those haredim who spit at girls and do not serve in the army.
69. Avot 1:12
Yehezqel ,   Houston   (04.19.12)
Mitzvah worship = avodah zarah. This is the main problem with the charedim; they feel they are doing G-d a service by over observing the mitzvots while treating everyone else as sh*t not knowing they are nullifying the mitzvah to love your fellow Jew. Ahavah Yisrael does not stop at one's subjective belief of how the Torah should be followed. The beard, kippah, etc.. are all myopic illusions of false piety. No matter how much energy a person places on the external appearance of the mitzvot they are completely missing the internal meaning behind the mitzvot and instead of Israel being known as a Ohr Lagoyim its seen as the ass crack of the nations.
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