Why I became a Jew

Leviticus17:11
JPS Tanakh 1917
For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life.
This verse does NOT say that a blood sacrifice is mandatory. Indeed, there are many examples in the Torah of a non-blood sacrifice atoning. Leviticus specifically says that if a person cannot afford a blood sacrifice, they may bring grain and the priest will atone with it.
 
Leviticus17:11
JPS Tanakh 1917
For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life.
That is a verse from the New Testament (Hebrews to be exact). The New Testament carries no authority for us. You might as well be quoting Harry Potter.
Essentially, according to the law, blood was necessary for the atonement (covering – not removal) of sins. God’s justice demanded that the penalty of sin be paid. Yet, by God’s grace, he allowed a substitution to be offered for the death which man had earned by his sin: the substitution of a worthy sacrificial offering. This entire system was a foreshadowing of Christ’s own substitutionary death. While the Old Testament sacrificial system did not remove sins, it covered man until such a time as Christ would apply the final, permanent and worthy provision of his own blood.
This verse does NOT say that a blood sacrifice is mandatory. Indeed, there are many examples in the Torah of a non-blood sacrifice atoning. Leviticus specifically says that if a person cannot afford a blood sacrifice, they may bring grain and the priest will atone with it.
You can believe what you want. But the truth is without Yeshua as your Lord and Savior you will never see Heaven. Yeshua said" No one can come to the Father but through Me. There is no other way. Don,t be deceived by those who have rejected the true Messiah. P/S I am a Sephardic jew myself but in Yeshua there is neither jew or greek. I pray that you will come to your senses and repent and be restored once again. Remember salvation is a gift. It is given by grace and mercy.
 
You can believe what you want. But the truth is without Yeshua as your Lord and Savior you will never see Heaven.
Sorry, but I'm vaccinated.

I'm sorry to hear that you are a Jewish apostate. I hope and pray that some day you will leave your avodah zarah and return to your covenant.
 
I was raised fundamentalist Christian. As a result of studying the Bible and Church history, I became Catholic. But my questioning mind could never leave well enough alone. I spent many years studying the various World Religions.

I am always the sort to actually listen to others, including on forums. My participation in religion forums raised many questions in my mind. I had posted in a forum that origins were important to me, and that I had become Catholic because I found it to be the closest and most connected to the early church. I had taken a step back in time to reach that. An Orthodox Jewish woman sent me a simple post saying, "Take one more step back." It got under my skin.

I was, over time, presented with Jewish takes on various Bible passages, and found, to my surprise, that the Jewish understanding simply made more sense. It became clear to me that there was a serious problem in that Jesus didn't fulfill the prophecies the messiah will fulfill.

One day, I was driving down the freeway and saw a bumper sticker that proclaimed "Jesus is God." I had a moment of insight as I realized that this statement made no more sense than saying This Rock is God, or That Tree is God.

And so commenced an inner battle that lasted for years and years. You see, I loved Jesus with all my heart. I talked to him. I had a "relationship" with him. And I loved being a Christian -- my love had been highly meaningful as a believer. It was a battle between what my head said, that Christianity was false, and what my heart said, that Christianity meant all to me.

Eventually I realized that the "Jesus" I had known and loved was not Jesus at all. I had put a face and name on God. It was what Judaism calls Shituf, or association. But it was God all along and not Jesus that I had loved and served and had a relationship with. In the conflict between head and heart, I had to decide in favor of Judaism, since I simply no longer believed the Christian understanding, and could not bring myself back into that belief (and believe you me, I tried). Christianity is, after all, a belief based religion -- if you don't believe, you are not a Christian.

It was very very painful to lose my Christian beliefs. There were times I felt like I was just in free fall. But Judaism was the safety net that caught me.

While all this was going on, I developed quite an affinity for the people of Israel. I had dreams that I was Jewish. I simply resonated with Jewish issues and Jewish culture. I wished I were part of this People.

All of this led me to become a Jew and give up Christianity.

But you gave up on Jesus being the Messiah?
 
I was, over time, presented with Jewish takes on various Bible passages, and found, to my surprise, that the Jewish understanding simply made more sense.

Can you be a little more specific since there is not just one Jewish understanding of the Bible.

For example, here is an article that answers the question What is the most fundamental difference between Reform Judaism and Orthodox Judaism?

And, since the largest affiliation of American Jews is Reform Judaism, are you saying that is what you came to believe?
 
Can you be a little more specific since there is not just one Jewish understanding of the Bible.

For example, here is an article that answers the question What is the most fundamental difference between Reform Judaism and Orthodox Judaism?

And, since the largest affiliation of American Jews is Reform Judaism, are you saying that is what you came to believe?
For example, while Christians think that Isaiah 53 is about the messiah, Jews view it as about the remnant of Israel. This is based on the fact that the servant metaphor is carried on all throughout Isaiah, and Isaiah identifies the servant as Israel. Isaiah 41:8 "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend"

I am a Conservative Jew, not reform, not orthodox, although I feel comfortable praying in any synagogue.
 
For example, while Christians think that Isaiah 53 is about the messiah, Jews view it as about the remnant of Israel. This is based on the fact that the servant metaphor is carried on all throughout Isaiah, and Isaiah identifies the servant as Israel. Isaiah 41:8 "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend"

I am a Conservative Jew, not reform, not orthodox, although I feel comfortable praying in any synagogue.

So what made you decide the Conservatives are right rather than the Reform or Orthodox?

I would have thought the Orthodox were "one more step back" from the others and you would end up there.
 
So what made you decide the Conservatives are right rather than the Reform or Orthodox?

I would have thought the Orthodox were "one more step back" from the others and you would end up there.
Their stance on Oral Torah, that it is not written in stone , but neither do we lightly change it. It makes for us a living Torah, which will be pertinant to all times.

I was in fact Orthodox for years, but it was a mismatch -- these are folks that say it is not lawful to put your left shoe on first. Women are forbidden to sing in front of men, had to wear long sleeves even in very hot weather, and wives must have their heads covered--that was just really oppressive to me.
 
For example, while Christians think that Isaiah 53 is about the messiah, Jews view it as about the remnant of Israel. This is based on the fact that the servant metaphor is carried on all throughout Isaiah, and Isaiah identifies the servant as Israel. Isaiah 41:8 "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend"

I am a Conservative Jew, not reform, not orthodox, although I feel comfortable praying in any synagogue.
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah” . . . “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

— Jeremiah 31:31, 33 The new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31 is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. With his blood through his death on the cross, Jesus establishes the new covenant4 where God's law is written upon people's hearts, and God shall be their God and they shall be God's people. All this is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Its now circumcision of the heart.
 
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah” . . . “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

— Jeremiah 31:31, 33 The new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31 is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. With his blood through his death on the cross, Jesus establishes the new covenant4 where God's law is written upon people's hearts, and God shall be their God and they shall be God's people. All this is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Its now circumcision of the heart.
Sorry, the new covenant hasn't happened yet. The law is not yet written on our hearts -- you have to teach your kids right from wrong. Also, atheists still exist, so not all know God.
 
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