Do Orthodox rabbis generally discourage conversion to Judaism?
Where can I learn more about Judaism? Should I read the Torah? Where do I start?
How would you describe Judaism in 1 sentence?
Why does the Torah forbid non Jews from observing Shabbos?
Do some Jews believe that Hashem doesn’t have emotions, including love or anger?
All Jews should believe that HaShem doesn’t have any human emotions, including emotions such love and anger on our human level of showing emotion. Time doesn’t exist for HaShem, time is relevant only on this physical plane of existence and emotions are bound by time, how a person arbitrarily feels at any given moment. HaShem is the sole creator of all of His Creation, so therefore He can see everything from every persective, there is no past, present or future, it is all NOW. It’s a mind-blowing concept if you’ve not thought about what it truly means to be The Creator of EVERYTHING!
Anthropomorphism (personifying G-d as having human attributes) were and still are commonplace as a way for a person to identify with something that cannot be comprehended by a human being. Maimonides warns against it in his work: ‘Guide of the Perplexed’ (Part One). Here’s a rather in-depth, interesting paper about the concealed negation of HaShem; in essence, HaShem can only be defined by what he is NOT, since we cannot say what He IS! We cannot ascribe any human physical condition to HaShem!
(Answer accepted by Quora Space | Orthodox Judaism FAQ)
Other questions:
Does the Jewish religion believe in the story of the War in Heaven and the fall of Lucifer with one third of the Angels?
First of all, Judaism is not a Religion, it is a relationship sealed by contract between Jews and G-d (The Creator) at Mount Sinai. This contract is still in operation today.
- The Jews believe that G-d is One, and all is created by Him. ‘The Divine life-force which brings all creatures into existence must constantly be present within them in order to recreate and revivify them on an ongoing basis. Were this life-force to forsake any created being for even one brief moment, it would revert to a state of utter nothingness, as before the creation of the universe.’ Intro to Chapter 2 , Tanya, Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah.
- Therefore, the idea that an angel created by G-d could go against His will negates the idea of ‘One’. An angel cannot ‘create’, (an act of will is a creative act) an angel can only be commanded, and only be commanded by G-d who is ‘One’.
- War means there are two sides in opposition, this is impossible, for everything exists at the command of One G-d. He cannot be in opposition of anything because He cannot be divided in thought or deed.
- Personifying angels, giving them physical bodies and human attributes is myth-making. Whatever exists in the ‘Heavenly realms’ cannot be conceived of here, our human reason cannot fathom that which is unfathomable. Imagine trying to teach a cockroach quantum mechanics!
If God is “All Powerful” then why can’t he just kill Satan?
Yes, G-d is all powerful and is also a Unity; he cannot be divided in thought or deed, so therefore it’s incorrect to think that He has any adversary. To have an adversary it would mean He would have to be on one side with Satan on the other. G-d is timeless and all is under His control. G-d uses his angels to carry out His plan, he doesn’t kill His angels!
It’s best to think of any angel as a type of operand (a kind of mathematical equation), ‘something’ that serves G-d’s wishes. Do not give Satan or any other angel human attributes, this is called anthropomorphisation or anthropomorphization. Anthropomorphization is the act of attributing human characteristics to non-human things, such as animals, objects, or natural forces. It’s a common way humans perceive and interact with the world, and is considered an innate part of human psychology.
The Christian viewpoint of Satan is of it having a mind of it’s own, this is incorrect but unfortunately it’s hard to remove this belief from the modern person; it’s now embedded in our culture. Thankfully, the Jews do not believe in a Satan that has it’s own free-will, they believe in the ‘Unity Principle’ – there is only one G-d, and He cannot be opposed, all good and evil stem from Him.
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