Gentile

2 weeks ago - The Hebrew word "goy" went through ... to "non-Jew" today. The word "Goy" is now also used in English, principally by Jewish people – see goy. In 2006, the academic David Novak wrote, with limited exceptions, "The Bible can be seen as one long discussion of what differentiates Israel from all the other peoples of the world." The Hebrew Bible does not have a word which directly corresponds to the modern concept of a gentile (see etymology above). Instead, the Bible views different ...

April 10, 2017 - Biblical and rabbinic literature, with some exceptions, reflect a negative view of non-Jews, based on moral rather than racial or other grounds. In ancient times, before the rise of Islam and Christianity, non-Jews were presumed to be idolaters, and idolatry was associated with moral deviancy.

In addition, the Noahic commandments are applied more leniently to non-Jews than the corresponding commandments are to Jews, because non-Jews do not have the benefit of Oral Torah to guide them in interpreting the laws. For example, worshipping G-d in the form of a man would constitute idolatry for a Jew; however, according to some sources, the Christian worship of Jesus does not constitute idolatry for non-Jews. The most commonly used word for a non-Jew is goy.

June 4, 2019 - What does conversion to Judaism mean? Our question: "In your opinion, is conversion a process of joining: The Jewish people, the Jewish religion, or joining both the Jewish people and the Jewish religion?" The largest group of respondents (45%) said that a convert joins both the Jewish religion and the Jewish people. The second most common answer is that a convert joins the Jewish religion (31%), and in third place – the Jewish people (18%).

According to those interpretations, ... Throughout most of their history, Jews had usually shown little interest in—and quite often utter contempt toward— the surrounding lower-class and lower-stratum non-Jews....

December 15, 2024 - The verse says (Leviticus 18:5), “You shall guard my statutes and laws, for HaAdam (a man) who does them shall live.” The Torah doesn't say a Jew. It says Adam, a man – meaning any man, including non-Jews. The very same word used to exclude non-Jews in one Talmudic source is used to include non-Jews in another source. Clearly a simplistic reading of these passages won't suffice. Rabbi Yisrael Lifschitz in his commentary to Ethics of the Fathers (3:14) pushes back forcibly against any insinuation that the Talmud views non-Jews as inferior or subhuman.

That may seem an extreme view, but it vividly illustrates how seriously many Jews take the issue of intermarriage. Nonetheless, currently most Jews outside the Land of Israel are taking non-Jewish marital partners. If the non-Jewish spouse truly shares the same values as the Jewish spouse, then the non-Jew is welcome to convert, and if the non-Jew does ...

As we debate the pros and cons of the Nation-State Law and analyze whether changes should be made to it, we should take these traditional Jewish values to heart.

Answer (1 of 81): Absolutely not. In fact, the chosen people appellation means we chose to be God’s people and follow God’s commandment to bring the concept of monotheism to the world even if we suffer and die because of it. This is why Jews discourage conversion Judaism posits that all people ar...

February 20, 2002 - And from my personal experiences, not all goyim hate all the Jews, but we talk as if that is the truth. We are supposed to be about truth. Just talking the talk, sorry, is far from being enough. Reply ... To Helen Bruce. We do not "exclude" non-Jews. We just don't marry them.

September 17, 2023 - Jews don’t believe that non Jews are any less moral or deserving of gods love provided their beliefs are consistent with the noahide laws, which Jews understand to apply to everyone. Because of this there is no need for a non Jew to convert to Judaism unless it is something they want for themselves. ... Sadly most of us are short, so no.

What should be our attitude toward ... the Divine Image. It concludes that the attitude of Jewish teaching in Scripture and Rabbinic sources is overwhelmingly positive toward non-Jews and that most of the laws found therein are not discriminatory against Gentiles....

February 27, 2024 - We give tzedakah (charity) to non-Jews just as we do to Jews (Gittin 61a; Rema Yoreh Deah 251:1) and we violate Shabbos to save non-Jews just as we do for Jews (Iggros Moshe OC 4:79, et al.). We’re just not obligated to extend certain courtesies to people unless they extend the same courtesies to us. Jewish relations with non-Jewish neighbors have a complex history. The way we interacted with Zoroastrian neighbors in 500 BCE Babylon, with Muslim neighbors in 1000 CE Spain and with German neighbors in 1938 Berlin differs from what most of us are used to in the 21st century, recent unpleasantness notwithstanding.