I believe that to be Jewish today means what it meant yesterday & a thousand years ago. It means for the Jew in me to seek fulfillment both as a Jew & as a human being. For a Jew, Judaism & humanity must go together. To be Jewish today is to recognize that every person is created in the image of G-d & that our purpose in living is to be a reminder of G-d.
Naturally, I claim total kinship with my people & its destiny. Judaism integrates particularistic aspirations with universal values, fervor with rigor, & legend with law. Being Jewish to me is to reject all fanaticism anywhere.
To be Jewish is, above all, to safeguard memory & open its gates to the celebration of life as well as the suffering, to the song of ecstasy as well as the tears of distress that are our legacy as Jews. It is to rejoice in the renaissance of Jewish sovereignty in Israel & the re-awakening of Jewish life in countries where it was forbidden. It is to identify with the plight of Jews living under oppressive regimes & with the challenges facing our communities in free societies.
A Jew must be sensitive to the pain of all human beings. A Jew cannot remain indifferent to human suffering. The mission of the Jewish people has never been to make the world more Jewish, but to make it more human.
I am proud to be Jewish. Tell me about yourself and what you are proud of.
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23 comments:
This is lovely and I agree with all you have said. I am also proudly Jewish. G-d Bless and a Happy Shabbas to you.
I love this! It is going to be so nice to read what other people say. G-d Bless you. :)
I have many Jewish friends and can definitely agree on the fact that all they want is for the world to be a better place; for humans of all faiths to get along better. I am a Catholic and proud to be one. The Catholics over the years have also taken many beatings and when I read this I thought of how a Jewish man had defended the Catholic people where I live; proof again that Jews in general are there for all people. I must share his words that were printed in the paper:
Excerpts of an article written by Sam Miller,
prominent Cleveland Jewish businessman -( NOT CATHOLIC )
Submitted by Dee Lynd.
18 April 2008
Why would newspapers carry on a vendetta on one of the most important institutions that we have today in the United States, namely the Catholic Church?
Do you know - the Catholic Church educates 2.6 million students everyday at the cost to your Church of 10 billion dollars, and a savings on the other hand to the American taxpayer of 18 billion dollars. Your graduates go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%, all at a cost to you. To the rest of the Americans it's free.
The Church has 230 colleges and universities in the U.S. with an enrollment of 700,000 students. The Catholic Church has a non-profit hospital system of 637 hospitals, which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people - not just Catholics - in the United States today.
But the press is vindictive and trying to totally denigrate in every way the Catholic Church in this country. They have blamed the disease of pedophilia on the Catholic Church, which is as irresponsible as blaming adultery on the institution of marriage.
Let me give you some figures that you as Catholics should know and remember. For example, 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other inappropriate sexual contact in a study by the United Methodist Church, 41.8 % of clergy women reported unwanted sexual behavior; 17% of laywomen have been sexually harassed. Meanwhile, 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. 10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia. This is not a Catholic problem.
A study of American priests showed that most are happy in the priesthood and find it even better than they had expected, and that most, if given the choice, would choose to be priests again in face of all this obnox ious PR the church has been receiving.
The Catholic Church is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. The agony that Catholics have felt and suffered is not necessarily the fault of the Church. You have been hurt by a small number of wayward priests that have probably been totally weeded out by now.
Walk with your shoulders high and you head higher. Be a proud member of the most important non-governmental agency in the United States. -Then remember what was written in Jeremiah:'Thus says the Lord: Stand by the earliest roads, ask the pathways of old. Which is the way to good, and walk it; thus you will find rest for your souls.' (Jer 6: 16).
Be Proud to speak up for your faith with pride and reverence and learn what your Church does for all other religions.
...... Be Proud That You're A Catholic......
My mother would have enjoyed this one; she was proud of her heritage, of being Jewish and she made sure before she left this world that all her children were proud too. I believe that everyone on this earth should be proud of who they are, where they come from and also be proud of their beliefs and respect the beliefs of others. We live in a world where there are many religions that differ from each other in many ways and even though we don't always agree with one another, there should always be that boundry that we don't cross, the common courtesy of respect.
A Jew must always be sensitive to the needs of others. I am also proudly Jewish. I enjoy these blogs immensely and enjoy reading what others have to say.
Short and yet so powerful. I to am proudly Jewish and agree that all people should be proud. G-d be with you.
Wonderful! I am a proud Catholic!
I choose to be on neutral ground when it comes to religion - religions just cause conflict. I believe in G-d and try to live a decent life - that counts for something. I dont need a religion to tell me what I must do or tell me that they are right and other religions are wrong. I am a believer and proud of it.
Thanks for sharing J! Powerful man! Proudly Jewish too! :)
Its nice when people can be proud of their religion and be open about it. In a modern world, it is sad to think that there are still many people that have to hide for fear of being persecuted; even sadder that there are people that still think they can be persecutors. I am a proud believer in the Creator and freedom of religion.
I work with non-Jewish people every day of my life. Some good, some not so good. I can say that they are very different; their cultures, their religions and some don't believe at all. As a Jew I sometimes get frustrated with their different outlooks but then I remember I have to set an example. I am proudly Jewish and I know that I must love all people.
A powerful statement. I'm proudly Jewish.
Thanks for sharing. I recently claimed my kinship and destiny; I am also proudly Jewish.
Proudly Jewish.
You could not have worded this any better than you have. Very well written. I to am proudly Jewish. G-d Bless you.
I love everyone in the world and am also proudly Jewish.
A short but powerful blog. To share my life would take a ten page blog. I agree we need to care about other human beings. Great blog. Thanks for sharing.
Well written. I am proudly Jewish too. :)
For as long as I can remember there has been a religious war going on. As young lads we would sit on the roof tops in Belfast and watch what was happening down below. We were a group of kids that were mixed in religion sitting up there and we used to wonder what it was all about. Why the adults had to fight over something that seemed so stupid to us. It is still going on today. I am a husband and father now. I teach my kids about G-d, but we belong to no religion. I see myself as a good man and am proud That I can teach my children. It would be nice to go back to a church. If I could make a difference I would. There should be a no religious wars. I can say that I am proud to be a follower of G-d.
Wow. The responses to this are powerful enough to make me want to say I'm proud. I believe in a higher power for sure and I believe we got to be good people so that counts for something. I'm finding my feet still in the religious aspect but I do believe. I'm sure happy to be part of this blogspot though because it sure is great. I'm proud I'm a good person.
This is a wonderful blog. Words like yours and the thoughts and inspirations that you so freely share, make me very proud to be Jewish. G-d bless you.
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