what i think judaism is, give or take everything
offered in the spirit of clarity, fallibility, and trying not to embarrass my ancestors too much
(“Shmella Shmillwell” by Stella Stillwell.)
I’ll be skipping capital letters in headers below, mostly to remind you (and myself) that I’m not handing out Truth here. Just shooting from the hip about something SERIOUS, hoping that what I think is “true-ish about Jewish” might still be oddly useful, especially if you’re curious what an uninvolved-but-not-uninformed ginger Jewess THINKS this all is. Corrections welcome.
Some wonder how Jews actually view Christianity. After all, we share a book. The foundation looks similar. The ethical overlap is huge.
So why the split? Why the distance? As a Jew, I’m often asked to explain what exactly we believe, and why we didn’t follow Jesus, especially when the teachings seem so aligned.
I’m not a rabbi or a scholar, just someone who grew up inside the tradition, studied the texts, got Bat Mitzvahed, spent time in Israel, and stayed curious.
I’m not claiming to speak for all Jews or offer the definitive version of anything. This is just my own understanding, how it looks from where I sit, and I might be wrong about parts of it or even most of it, or ALL of it, frankly. But I’m being sincere and doing my best, and this is just a record of what ONE particular Jew believes, not an authoritative guide to Judaism.
It’s just what shook loose when I sat down and tried to put the interesting parts into words. If you never really bothered to SEE Judaism, I doubt the usual studied doorways will pull you in. The reverence or precision others would be over-eager to heap on might be the thing that makes it unapproachable. So consider this a weird little side entrance.
Okay, first up:
jesus was a jew and a good guy, just not THE guy
I like Christianity or at least Jesus, for the most part. Love your neighbor. Self-sacrifice as a form of aesthetic longing. All good stuff.
But Judaism is all that and more, and much older.
Basically, here’s what happened: at one point an eccentric rabbi, Yeshua, broke off and started his own sect. Wasn’t the first or last to do this. Just the most popular. Our refusal to follow him is not a matter of not wanting to evolve.
jews evolve too
Judaism continued to evolve past the Old Testament (the written Torah) with something called the Oral Torah, made up of the Talmud (Mishnah and Gemara). It’s so long it takes seven years to read all of it with any sort of understanding, because it refers to other sections and requires deep discussion to grasp all the connections.
We keep reading it over and over throughout life. The Torah itself is read daily, completing a yearly cycle that starts over again every Simchat Torah.
no, we didn’t reject love your neighbor
The discourse around the “Old Testament” is extremely deep and esoteric, so it has to be read continuously throughout life just to understand a tiny bit. There are 613 mitzvot, or laws. Jews were supposedly “chosen” to carry and study this Torah because it’s a lot, and it’s hard to do well.
But if done well, it supposedly brings God’s will into the world and offers guidelines for how to survive in a post-Garden world without losing our humanity or our ability to elevate the mundane into the holy.
Jesus had an offshoot that jettisoned the complex. He claimed to be the Messiah, or even more, or perhaps it was his disciples who fleshed out that part of the story.
Jews certainly don’t reject any of the beautiful teachings like “love your neighbor as yourself,” or “love and fear the one and only God above all else.”
just didn’t pass the messiah test
The only thing the Jews at the time rejected was the idea that Jesus was the Messiah, because according to the Torah and Mishnah, he didn’t come close to meeting the requirements.
Instead, the story featured a virgin birth, resurrection, and the idea of dying for everyone else’s sins. Jews felt this was made up, and not aligned with the spirit or letter of what they’d been entrusted with as a covenant, to read, study, and preserve.
not jealous, just booked
Jews don’t really have a choice. It wasn’t jealousy. They probably loved Jesus. He was Jewish, and likely a mensch. They just felt he was a little off, and leading people astray.
As for why some of the Rabbis at the time encouraged the Romans to arrest and execute Jesus, I’m not sure. You’d have to take it up with those particular Rabbis. They don’t represent Jews.
No individual or group of Jews represents Jews. The old saying is, for every two Jews, there are three opinions. 99.999% of Jews would be aghast at the idea of having someone killed just for being weird or starting their own religion.
There’s no connection I’m aware of between that act and Judaism as a style of thinking or living.
We’re tolerant. We don’t execute people for blasphemy or apostasy. For the next two thousand years, other religions did. And to some degree, still do.
we didn’t kill him (and also, come on)
So the idea that we “killed our own” is absurd. The amount of burning at the stake for this or that by Christians is too many to count. And don’t get me started with Islam.
why we’re not studying your religion
The reason Jews don’t study Christianity is we are way too busy studying Judaism. It’s ridiculously complex and thorough, has mysticism (Kabbalah, Tanya, and others), and we simply think Christianity is made up, fake, not divine. Just a new religion that caught on, like the thousands of others, many of which are offshoots of Judaism. Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean we have to study it.
we don’t hate the new testament
I’ve read the New Testament. I’ve read the Old Testament. To me, they’re both made up, both interesting, both useful. Jews are allowed to discuss Christianity and read the Bible, and we’re encouraged to learn all of it, because we are people of the book. Learning is always encouraged. There’s plenty of beauty in Christianity. But all that beauty is in Judaism too, in our opinion, and more. So it’s just not a big draw.
fix your mess here, not hope for heaven later
Judaism tends to focus on this life:
If you hurt someone, make it up to them.
Enjoy and elevate this life, don’t just live for the next one.
Spread love and peace, fix the world via tikkun olam, keep the Torah alive.
It’s not that different from Christianity on the surface: love, kindness, civility, dignity, sustainability. Just a different approach. At some point, the Messiah will come, but he’ll just be a regular human. He’ll help unify everyone to prepare for God being more accessible. That will usher in a time of peace, love, and plenty. No more war, suffering, ignorance, selfishness, or fear.
grace feels like a loophole
Jews think the idea of simply believing in Jesus’ story as a free pass into Heaven is dangerous. We reject the idea that people will burn in Hell. Confession to God doesn’t absolve anyone, you have to make it up to the person you hurt.
Jews believe in a serious, rigorous legal system, not just “winging it” or simplifying it. That’s why they were “chosen” to be keepers of the flame. It’s hard. It’s a lot of work.
Modern law echoes the way Torah is structured, and we now see clearly: complex legal systems are indeed needed to maximize wellbeing in a social structure. It’s not perfect, but it beats anarchy. Humans are not capable of living according to one principle.
We feel Christianity was designed to simplify things for the masses. We see it as a manipulation of the poor and unfortunate—offering comfort through beliefs that make pain in this life more tolerable. “Don’t question it, just believe.” We find that dangerous.
We remember that one of our own rabbis once claimed it was the right way, and we just roll our eyes. “Oy vey, look how dangerous it is to make stuff up, and of course the rules are easier, so the masses love it.”
We held on because we made a promise. Jesus’ story goes against our deep understanding of what Messiah looks like. That doesn’t mean we hate Christians. Or disagree with the spirit of the New Testament. The teachings are generally true in terms of morals, but vastly simplified in our opinion, and overly focused on the afterlife.
“Be kind and don’t question the story, go to heaven. Be mean, deny the virgin birth and resurrection, go to Hell.”
I mean, come on.
Judaism doesn’t punish non-believers. A Jew is allowed to be skeptical and nobody gets mad, including God.
Christianity strikes us as a made-up, simplified religion that encourages kindness (great!) but also belief without discernment and permission to sin as long as you believe. We find that dangerous and stupid.
The mere act of giving your soul to Jesus isn’t enough. It feels like idol worship to us. We were way too attached to the Old Testament to suddenly believe that everything it said about the Messiah was wrong.
the messiah has a deadline
Jews believe the Messiah will come in the next 150 years or so, by Jewish year 6000. He’ll inspire all Jews to return to Israel, the Temple will be rebuilt, and then God will make Himself known.
The lion will lie with the lamb. Poverty, disease, crime, and pollution will end. Nobody goes to Hell. There are different “tasks” assigned according to ability, but nobody is punished, and everyone has what they need.
Kind of sounds like AI technotopia.
religion: humanity’s most dangerous dog
Most Jews think all of this religious stuff is 100% human-made. Mostly by men. It evolved because belief and its practices must have had protective, pro-social properties. Here we are, co-evolved with religion, just like with dogs.
Religion is a dangerous technology because it introduces competing versions of how to live, and the stakes are very high. Things like Hell. Disappointing God. So it led to a lot of death and anger when beliefs collided.
Judaism is the oldest, the most complex and rigorous. We don’t proselytize. We don’t recruit. We don’t persecute.
But everyone kills us, no matter where we go. So when the League of Nations and British Empire made Israel available, we grabbed the chance. We worried that if we didn’t, we’d be gone by the 21st century. And we were probably right.
Half the world would prefer us gone from the chessboard. Maybe more. If they could push a button and make us vanish, they would. Our very existence is a reminder that the other religions are younger, and that we find them lacking.
The fact that we also tend to succeed wherever we go looks a little like vindication. So instead, people claim we are cheaters and liars.
But I think it’s centuries of prizing hard study and scrappy survival. The smartest and scrappiest Jews survived. Now we have a genetic tendency to be smart and strong.
We don’t cheat more than anyone else. I’ve been around Jews my whole life, and I’m not one to shy away from truth. The Jewish culture I know is gentle, tolerant, laid-back, generally honest and fair. Often because we have the luxury to be that way.
I think we should be more generous, never ostentatious, lead by example to end poverty, lead in sustainable practices. We’d be better off. But the antisemitism really is just ignorance. Live and let live.
Many Jews have read the New Testament. Christians generally don’t read the whole Torah or Talmud, and my sense is they don’t want to know our real version of the story. It’s easier for them just to believe Jesus died for all our sins, and if we believe in him we go to Heaven. Simple.
Jews find that story half-right: be a good person, be kind like Jesus. But it’s way more complex than just believing someone is God. You have to actually do the work. Make things better here on Earth, not just live for the next one. But yes, love your neighbor, do unto others, all very good stuff. The rest is commentary.
But you’re supposed to actually READ the commentary. That’s the Jewish angle.
priests and rabbis get along. it’s the civilians that sometimes panic
And by the way, the conversation should be cordial. And it is, at the level of clergy. Interfaith alliances and panels are common. Priests and Rabbis love each other. They’re both just trying to help people get through life and be good people with meaning. They work together. The clergy aren’t the problem.
The problem is when average people get entrenched in fear and bigotry. That happens on both sides. A lot of dumber, more impulsive Jews think negatively of Christians. But if they spent two seconds with a rabbi, they’d be chewed out. Judging non-Jews harshly for their beliefs is extremely un-Jewish in terms of character.
Granted, over the centuries, Jews have had to adopt a sort of familial double standard to survive. But modern Jews don’t discriminate. A human being is a child of God and equal in God’s eyes. Even Hitler. Even bin Laden.
Islamism is the one that still clings to too many extremist views and old hatreds. Hopefully that dies out. The idea that all Jews should be killed and the world taken over is not a myth. It’s a small percent of Islam, but it does exist. Which is tragic, because Islam could be a beautiful religion. But as with all three, the extremists ruin it for everyone else.
(I don’t mean Islam should die out. To be clear: the extremist and violent parts of all three religions should die out.)
i might know some of it, but i’m not religious myself
Jews are often not great at explaining what Judaism is. The ones who really know it tend to feel personally connected to it. And when something means that much to you, it naturally shapes how you talk about it, usually with deep love, reverence, or insider shorthand that doesn’t always translate well outside the culture.
On the flip side, a lot of secular or loosely affiliated Jews never got exposed to the texture and depth of it, so they end up not knowing what they’re even stepping away from.
I think I’m in a weird middle spot. I’m not religious. Religion in general just isn’t my jam. But I grew up inside it, and I’ve always cared about ideas. So I learned it. Deeply, at times.
The more I learned, the more I started to see why it has such staying power, why it’s beautiful to so many. It’s not perfect IMHO. But it’s serious. It’s layered. It’s trying to protect something human.
And I think maybe that’s why I can help people see it fresh. Because I don’t speak as a true believer or an outsider. I’m not here to defend it or to tear it down. I just know a fair amount about it, maybe more than I should for how lightly I wear it. That doesn’t mean I’m right about all of it, or ANY of it, for that matter.
Some of what I’ve said might be off, or just one lens among many. But it’s a sincere lens. I’m doing my best to represent what I understand to be true, or at least meaningful.
So if nothing else, take this as a record of what one Jew believes. Not an expert’s guide, not a spiritual authority. Just a lived perspective. And maybe that’s useful. Maybe I can help someone ask better questions. That’s all I’m really trying to do.
And maybe someone can help ME ask better questions.
Happy holidays.
🕎🎄❤️
More of my articles with a Jewish bent:
The Good Doctor seems out of his depth on this subject. And so, drowning in it, he grabs for time-worn canards. It should be noted that his evident vitriol towards Jews makes for a very poor life vest.
Scripture is quite clear on who killed Jesus.
The Sanhedrin wanted him dead. They asked the Romans to have him executed. The Romans didn’t want to do it. The Roman Procurator. Pontius Pilate, found no crime in him. But the Sanhedrin insisted.
They offered him to the Jerusalem mob (Jews). They could save Jesus, or Barrabas, a known murderer. The Jerusalem mob chose to save Barrabas.
There’s no such thing as hereditary guilt. Jews today aren’t responsible for the sins of their ancestors.
But to say “we don’t know who killed Jesus” is self-serving and disingenuous. The Romans drove the nails, but he was condemned to death by a mob of mostly Jews, with the imprimatur of the Sanhedrin. That’s a historical fact.