What Jewish customs are forbidden for gentiles?

Question

I've been heavily considering a conversion to Judaism for a while now and am starting to study and begin practicing certain aspects. I read that certain customs are forbidden from practice by gentiles and would like to know which ones specifically, as I don't want to make such a transgression.

Answer 1

Interesting question. The only one I know of is Shabbos. Technically, for a non-Jew to keep Shabbos is a capital offense. It's not enforced, of course. And there are no non-Jews keeping Shabbos. I believe it's the Kuzari who says that the Sabbaths of the nations of the world resemble the Shabbos the same way a statue can be said to resemble a living human being. And of course, the majority of Christian churches hold that the Sabbath is Sunday, I suppose is lucky for them! (Some say the changing of the Christian Sabbath to a different day from the original Sabbath was deliberately to spare Christians from this problem, but now we're getting off-topic.)

And of course, it goes without saying that a non-Jew, if he's in synagogue, cannot play an active part in the prayer service (like davening for the amud, or an aliyah to the Torah), since he is not a part of the minyan. If you're not Jewish, and you're visiting a synagogue to check it out, if there are only ten men there including you, you should discreetly inform the rabbi or the chazzan (cantor) that you cannot be counted towards a minyan. It might be awkward, but trust me, you're doing them a big favor by letting them know!

Aaaaanyhoo, as far as I know, a gentile could theoretically take any mitzvah upon himself voluntarily, except for Shabbos. I know that, when a good friend of mine was going through his conversion, he would practice keeping Shabbos, except that he had to deliberately violate it once, so as to not have kept the Shabbos in total accordance with Torah Law. So at one point, he would have to say, pick a flower, or flip a light switch on or off, or something like that. It's terrible, but the rest of us (mostly ba'alei tshuva, that is, returnees to Torah Judaism, ourselves) would take advantage of this, and "save" his breaking of Shabbos for when we needed it, like, if the fan was left off, or somebody accidentally turned off the light in the bathroom...

In any event, you'll get instructions in these matters as your conversion progresses. Whatever you do, do not start ritual Torah observance on your own! Consult a competent, Torah-observant rabbi first! A proper conversion to Judaism must take place according to Torah law, and under the general supervision of a beis din (rabbinic court). You cannot become Jewish on your own any more than you can become an American citizen without interacting with Citizenship and Immigration Services.

In the meantime, the best thing you could do for yourself was to continue to study, but more importantly, to learn and follow the Noachide Mitzvot. Make sure that being Jewish is really the right choice for you, because there's nothing that says that non-Jews are condemned for not being Jewish, G-d forbid. Being Jewish offers unique spiritual rewards - but it's also REALLY hard. For more info on the aforementioned Noachide Mitzvot, check out the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noachide

I hope this helps, and wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide.

PS: I've answered lots of conversion-related questions on YA recently. You might find some of my responses useful, if only for the links to additional reading materials. So check those out if you get a chance.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhCFsEVRS3rCid2RvmHLZrTty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071015190341AAT2byg&show=7#profile-info-F06H578raa
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuZvSa4tniCbu_iaFtElYz_ty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071002204759AASnTnG&show=7#profile-info-6gPpQOBbaa
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnNchqhri2Hbh5zla.Py2frty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20070930195513AAUMNUb&show=7#profile-info-DH2TqXolaa

Answer 2

This doesn't necessarily make sense on the surface, but I think it is what you're referring to and it is what I was taught-
A gentile is not allowed to keep the law as a Jew. What does this mean? Simple- A gentile is not to keep shabbat in the entirety as a Jew is to. So if you are thinking of converting and want to practice certain aspects, as you said, it's pretty easy to avoid fulfilling the complete law! On shabbat, Carry something outside. In your home, do not have your kitchen formally kashered. The list could go on and on, but I'm sure you get my point. I believe this was to make the distinction between who is and is not a Jew, as it goes back to the Noachide laws. The others who mentioned not leading a service/ chanting Torah are of course correct and no Rabbi is going to allow you to do that at this point anyway. I think you'll find this commandment- to not uphold the full of Jewish law- quite easy to obey!

Answer 3

From the Torah view, non-Jews are required to observe the sheva mitzvot b'nei Noach (the 7 laws God gave to Noah).

Some Torah practices, like observance of the Sabbath, are for Jews only. So in the case of a Torah-observant Gentile spending a Shabbat with Jewish friends, the Gentile should do something that "violates" the Sabbath, like lighting up a cigar.

Answer 4

ARRRGHHH! I started to answer this question straight out and then I saw the first response! Instead, I think I'll address that bit of very ill advice given.

Of all the evangelics targeting Jews for conversion to Xianity, Perry Stone strikes me as the slimiest I have ever seen.

I have only watched one of his television broadcasts, but that was MORE than enough! He spent most of the program trying to pervert the very statement of the affirmation of faith of Judaism, the Shema!

He tried to impose the triune Godhead onto it by claiming the word echad in the Shema..as in Shema Yisrael Adonai Elohanu Adonai Echad , Hear O' Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is One..meant a "compound unity" as the word echad never, ever, under any circumstance at anytime in the Torah referred to something that was not a grouping. That is just a flat out lie.

The word echad means ONE..plain and simple. ONE. In English we don't count "compound unity" two, three, four, five etc..and In Hebrew, Jewish children learning to count would find it as ridiculous as I did to hear Perry Stone spend a whole television program to teach the world that when they're counting in Hebrew, they're really saying compound unity for the word one..when they count to ten. More importantly, it ignores the great many times the word echad appears in the Hebrew when it is not referring to any form of unity. Exodus 25:19 And make one (echad) cherub on the end and the other cherub on the other end. That is just one of hundreds of times the word echad appears and does not refer to a compound unity.

If this deceptive man would spend nearly an hour trying to undermine the very core of Judaism,and the very nature of the God of Israel by trying to twist the Hebrew of the Torah,he is certainly the very last place on planet earth anyone would want to try to LEARN about anything Jewish.

Perry Stone struck me as someone more interested in selling books to Evangelic Christians who have some kind of emotional attraction to things Jewish as well as to try to convert the disenfranchised Jew ignorant about Judaism.

Now..back to your question. I am Reform and married to a non-Jew. In my synagogue, perhaps my non-Jewish spouse would be allowed to do much more than in a traditional Orthodox shul ( especially since we can sit together in the sanctuary ) However he is not counted as a part of a minyan, he may not lead worship, lift or carry the Torah or dress the Torah, or use other Jewish ceremonial objects used in worship in the synagogue.

We were married in the synagogue before the open ark containing the Torah and he drank from the wine glass ( this is the one stretching of the rule of not touching ceremonial objects)..and helps to raise our child Jewish and participates in every area open to a non-Jew. He does not wish to convert and I don't find any problem with his decision.

Good luck in your studies. I hope your congregation is one you can feel comfortable in asking them specifically what roles you may take on in your process of learning. Shalom :)
EDIT..I just saw Ms. Rahi's answer..hmm, I always thought that it was that a Gentile was not EXPECTED to keep the whole Torah law, since it is only the Noahide laws they are under? Hmm that's interesting..but I don't know that I really get the logic in trying to purposely do something outside of Torah JUST because you're not a Jew. See I learn something new here every day too! I never paid much attention to customs surrounding conversion, either so that's probably why I never heard of it before today!

Answer 5

If you're actually in the process of converting, which it sounds like you are, then by and large I wouldn't worry about it, especially in terms of celebrating Shabbat or the holidays. The ones that would most apply to you would bed in the area of sh'liach tzibbur, which means a representative of the congregation. You aren't allowed to say the blessings before and after reading the Torah, for example, or lighting Shabbat candles in synagogues, or be counted as a minyan for purposes of prayer. This is my viewpoint--I doubt it's shared by the Orthodox but I'm not sure. I'm more sure that it's not shared by ultra-Orthodox communities.

Answer 6

Not many, most involve parts of communal prayers or blessings. So as long as your not leading a service I think you would be ok =P

besides that the only other thing I can think of is keeping the Sabbath as per Jewish law, and for that all you need to do is strike a match friday night and your fine.

Answer 7

You cannot follow Shabbat. So basicly you can do everything like a Jew does on Shabbat but maybe turn the light on once.

Answer 8

One who is undergoing a conversion process (to Judaism, of course) is not allowed to keep the Sabbath completely. They are expected to "break" it (in private) by turning a light on or off.
This website should help you:
http://www.halakhicconversion.org/
For a rabbi/synagogue/classes near you:
http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/aid/15676/jewish/Advanced-Search.htm
Best of luck to you, and a warm welcome:)

Answer 9

Giving donations at the Synagogue instead of the Church is frowned upon.

Answer 10

I like to hear about how most of christainity
is based on those traditions....
its amazing, go to perry stones website
he is on tv sat. night. manna fest
he makes it pretty understandable.