Who is more deserving of a Jews' love and respect...?

Question

a self-described atheist Jew

a practicing Muslim

an idol worshipper

a practicing Christian

a Jew by birth only

Joe Blow on the street


If you could list these in order of most deserving from a Jewish RELIGIOUS perspective. Thanks!

Well Katie, an atheist Jew would obviously not be a Jew by religion! Nevertheless, he may be culturally Jewish by heritage.

Mathew- Thanks for NOT following the rules! This was supposed to be a question for Jews, not Baptists!

hooly- Thank you for your comments. I am not stereotyping anyone by my question. I am well-aware that there are many Jews who work harder for the rights of Muslims in Israel than do the vast majority of Muslims outside Israel. I was not assuming that the answers from a Jewish perspective would go one way or the other. My question was merely designed to give pause. And I also do not mean to imply that all humans do not have rights. I was hoping to bring out a little perspective from outside the tumble of current events. When I said "more deserving" I meant just that.

I can see that my wording has made it difficult to answer this question without seeming to not have respect for all people and their fundamental rights. Perhaps I should have worded it thus....

WITH WHOM DOES A JEW SHARE A GREATER AFFINITY IN MATTERS OF FAITH?

(My point being that this affinity would naturally lead to a greater love and respect.)

Lady Suri-As idol worship is a capital offence in Judaism (yes, I know it is not easy to get a verdict for death), I'm surprised that a Jew would count idol worshippers as equally worthy of respect.

Excellent point, Mr. X!

mama_paj- I didn't mean to leave you unacknowledged, but in all honesty, I think you're exactly right as to why I felt compelled to note Mr. X's answer. You did ramble a bit, but that's ok, if you've noticed, I can do a bit of that myself!

I certainly appreciate everyone taking the time to answer the question in depth as you did.

A "JEW BY BIRTH ONLY" IN MY MIND WAS SUPPOSED TO MEAN A COMPLETELY UNCOMMITTED, NON-PRACTICING JEW, THOUGH NOT ONE WHO IS AN AVOWED ATHEIST. PERHAPS I SHOULD HAVE SAID A "CULTURAL JEW"?

I think the trouble everyone seems to be having is with the term respect, as touched on by L'Chaim and Redisca. Specifically, Redisca helped me clarify this in my own mind by using the term "civil". When I used the term "respect", I meant it on a personal level. In other words, ALL OTHER THINGS BEING EQUAL, which one would you feel the most respect for in terms of his lifestyle and beliefs, not which one would you be nicer to around the office or on the street. Understanding that there is a certain respect due to everyone, which one would give you pause to say, wow, I really admire that person's character and philosophy of life? i think I'm still rambling and not being very clear, but I hope you see what I mean.

Thanks for ranking, Ladi Suri and Jewish girl!- Just curious as to why an atheist (though culturally Jewish) comes before a monotheistic believer in your mind, Jewish Girl. Certainly you are
entitled to your opinion, I'd love to hear your reasoning.

mama_paj- Thanks for trying so hard on this question! I found your input quite warm and sincere. I esp. loved the part about "fulfilled Judaism". I have gotten the distinct impression over the course of my questions on things Jewish, that if there's one thing any kind of Jew can't stand it is that. A big shalom to you and a hug too, if you don't mind.

Gamla Joe- I loved the clarity and honesty of your answer. I have always had this question in my mind about how Jews really feel about others; a sort of nagging suspicion that no one else can quite measure up. I can see from your answer that, at least for you, it is quite different from that. Your love for other Jews would be based on the love of your people as an extended family, but respect is a different matter. We (usually) love our relatives because they ARE our relatives, but respect is a different matter altogether. Perhaps that is why Jewish Girl ranked the atheist Jew before me!

Thanks for clarifying, Jewish Girl. I guess the atheist Jew would fit into the "love of nation" concept that Gamla Joe was referring to, provided he had some identification with the Jewish people in your mind. Thanks for getting back to me on that.

Thanks for clarifying, Jewish Girl. I guess the atheist Jew would fit into the "love of nation" concept that Gamla Joe was referring to, provided he had some identification with the Jewish people in your mind. Thanks for getting back to me on that.

Answer 1

Your original question is indeed, very different than what you say you should have clarified it to mean.

I begin each new encounter with an individual based on the premise that every human is deserving of equal respect as a human. We are all connected as bretheren whether or not it is recognized by all. ( and despite humanity behaving as a dysfunctional family!)

They can gain greater respect or lose it based on their behavior exhibited to me.

I could not rate that list in any order other than all on the same line for your question.

Now as to which of those would perhaps be more closely in agreement in matters of faith or belief..hmm...the believing Jew and believing Muslim would have the two closest concepts of the Creator. Other aspects of faith would be different. This does not mean greater or lesser deserving of respect soley based on a shared concept of the nature of God.


I was raised and raise my child to be respectful of the rights of each person or group to their own unadulterated culture and beliefs and practice up to the point where the expression of beliefs would incite others to violence, harm another, willfully misrepresent the beliefs of another or remove the civil rights of another. I am not required to tolerate deception, bigotry or cruelty. My tolerance ceases for such violations of civility.

Live and let live and let us live together in respect and honesty.


My Jewish religion teaches me these things and my Jewish parents instilled them in me and I do the same for my own.

Dances and lady suri gave EXCELLENT answers from a religious Jewish perspective.
Shalom

edit:.. I agree with Mr. X, of course since the essence of what he gave was the same rationale I presented. Perhaps because my answer was rambling and his succinct, you noted it as exceptional. I"m not known for brevity ..hehe.
And L'Chaim gave yet another perspective of the same teaching.
Perhaps now you understand that Jews from different religious backgrounds all glean the same way of looking at other humans from the same Torah and same religious ethical teachings, as agreement is seen here from Jews of different branches.

Shalom :)

EDIT: I still can't rank them easily or with any firm conviction because my respect depends on how someone behaves..what I would know of their personal ethics and behaviors.

I'd probably get along best with the atheist Jew( we would likely have been raised with the same ethics and values and shared history, their not being able to believe in God doesn't make them a lesser human to me ) next as to most likely to get along with me would be the believing Muslim ( unless they're fundamentalist Islamist), I know a couple of Muslims and that was precisely how we first found connection, through similarity in God concept and family values.

Joe Blow I have NO idea where to rank since I know nothing about him.

Christian belief and idolatry are farthest from my belief system, yet ironically the majority of my offline friends are Christian and their beliefs in my view are somewhat idolatrous. ( Belief that a devil demi-god of the underworld is " prince of this world" and battles God, not to mention worship of a deified man)

I live in a place where there are very few Jews. I find my friends among those people here who can live with mutual respect for others in a similar manner to what I earlier described. My friends are people I believe to be honest, sincere, trustworthy, kind and have integrity. If they want to worship Elvis it wouldn't really much matter to me unless they tried to tell me that Elvis worship was "fulfilled Judaism" ;)

I've rambled on enough now. Shalom >:D<

Answer 2

I'm a religious (Orthodox) Jew and I think all of them are equally deserving of respect.

As long as none of them are going out trying to convert people with no pause, because that just brings their respect level down, imo.

Peace

Edit: I was thinking about that before I answered your question, actually, and I had to decide what you mean. I decided you didn't mean a Jewish idol-worshiper but rather some other one, in which case it would be no business of mine to say anything about that person's beliefs. It is only a capital offense to be an idol worshiper if you were Jewish, say the Jews for JC. So, since I decided you meant a run of the mill idol worshiper, I have no reason to treat them with any less respect than anyone else.

But now that you have refined your question, I will refine my answer. I think religiously I as a religious Jew would have the most in common with a Jew by birth and a practicing Muslim. They're pretty much tied for number one on the list. Then maybe would come the atheist Jew, Joe Blow on the street, a practicing Xian and an idol worshiper are tied for last place...(NOT that they're the same thing!! just that our beliefs are so different!)

Peace

Answer 3

Who flew the planes into the buildings? They were Muslim and there is no doubt about that except for the nutjob conspiracy people. according to the Jews that people look up to, Jesus (pbuh) is a phony, fraud, fake, that man, a sorcerer, trickster, deceiver and other bad stuff. They even say all kinds of stuff about Mary's (pbuh) chastity. For the Jewish Talmud legends about Jesus (pbuh), look up Dr. Josh McDowell. - How can you possibly stuff all this idiocy and intolerance in one sentence. We do NOT say those things about Jesus - listen, you act as though all Jews think about is Jesus. We never think of him and live our lives never speaking about him or giving a fig about him. Stop making up lies to make yourself look better. Edit: Dr Josh McDowell....you mean the guy who calls himself "doctor: when he never finished the requirements for a Ph.D? Joslin "Josh" McDowell is a Christian apologist, evangelist, and writer. He is within the Evangelical tradition of Protestant Christianity, and is the author or co-author of some 77 books. His best-known book is Evidence That Demands a Verdict, which was ranked 13th in Christianity Today's list of most influential evangelical books published after World War II. Other well known titles are More Than a Carpenter, A Ready Defense and Right from Wrong. This person is certainly not an authority on Judaism - you are wrong...but people like you don't seem to mind being wrong if you can convince everyone you aren't.

Answer 4

The Torah says:

"When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall do them no wrong, the strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19:33-34). Additionally, the great scholar Hillel said, "That which is hateful to you, do not do unto others. That is the heart of the Torah; all the rest is commentary."

All of the people you mention are equally deserving of the respect of a Jewish individual (we don't really look at it as "love" in the usual religious sense, so I don't want to put that). They are ALL God's children.

There's a midrash (a sort of parable) about the crossing of the Red ["Reed"] Sea that says it pretty well. After the Hebrew people were safely across, and the waters had closed on the Egyptian army, Moses' sister Miriam and the other women sang and danced, and made it very clear that they were glad that the Egyptians were dead. She was rebuked (and to be honest, I don't recall if it was by an angel, or by God directly), who pointed out that the Egyptians were God's children too. It's pretty typical of our attitude toward those who are not Jews.

Answer 5

they are all equally deserving of love and respect, obviously. but with regards to "affinity in terms of matters of faith" it would probably go:

jew by birth or conversion
atheist jew
practicing muslim
joe blow on the street
practicing christian
idol worshipper

EDIT

hi again. most atheist jews that i know still participate in jewish holidays and celebrations to some extent and so the religious affinity is still there. there are some atheist jews who no longer have any connection to judaism at all and in that case they would be lower on the list and would be the same as joe blow on the street.

Answer 6

By default, I treat everyone *civilly*. I don't care if a person worships Zeus the Thunderer, Kali, whatever -- as long as they stay out of my life, they don't bother me one way or another. I may find someone's belief system a matter of academic curiosity, but by and large, I JUST DON'T CARE.

Respect, unlike civility, is something that must be earned individually. Whether or not I respect someone, and the degree of that respect, depend largely on character, which varies widely even among members of the same community. Respect is a function of many things, and religious affiliation is but one tiny factor among many.

Answer 7

Why are you asking this? I know what you're getting at and I agree - yet disagree. First of all, it is obvious that there are Jews - specifically Zionist Jews, who hate Muslims more than anybody. However, you are stereotyping. There are thousands of Jews who are fighting for Palestinian rights in Israel. There are many Jews who want the 1948 border returned.

Second, I don't like how you think that just because Islam is a monotheistic religion, as is Judaism, that Muslims should get more respect than an idol worshiper or an atheist. NOBODIES beliefs make them LESS of a human being with rights, and whom deserve RESPECT.

***The rewording of your question does make much more sense. And, from a religious perspective, I would assume the Muslim would have their respect more, as it is Christians who believe that there is a son of god, which goes against both Islam and Judaism.

Answer 8

You want my honest opinion?

I personally share a level of affinity any Jew (irregardless of lack of faith)
this is what we call Ahavat Yisrael.
http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=180&o=67

Irregardless of that fact just because I see someone as "one of my own" so to speak dose not mean I will have any more or less respect for them than anyone else.

love and respect are two different things. A Jew will automatically have my "love," but anyone can gain or lose my respect.

Answer 9

Speaking from the original Jewish perspective, God chose Israel (the people) to be a holy people. The word holy means separate/apart. Therefore, God's chosen people are to remain separate and apart from those who commit the sins forbidden in the 613 commandments -- murder, adultery, ritual prostitution, etc. However, although we are to stary separate from others, we MUST treat all others with the same respect we have for each other. Love is an entirely different matter -- love cannot be commanded. Only actions can be governed, but by treating everyone with respect, it leads to caring (perhaps love) for one another. In other words, Judaism is a religion of ACTION. We are what we DO, not what we THINK.

Many of our dietary restrictions require us to stay separate/apart from others, but that doesn't mean we don't have as much respect for others as we do for each other.

From "Judaism for Everyone" by Shmuley Boteach:
I have often heard it said that the God of the Old Testament is vengeful, whereas Jesus’ teachings are more humane; that the Old Testament is about law, whereas the New Testament is about love. There are endless comparisons between the Hebrew Bible’s “eye for an eye” law (which has always been interpreted by the Jews to mean financial compensation rather than an eye itself) and Jesus’ magnanimous philosophy of “turn the other cheek.” It is undeniable that Judaism champions law above love, practice above faith, and religious service above theology and dogma, for which it has paid an enormous price in terms of popularity. Judaism maintains wholeheartedly that love without law is nothing more than meaningless sentimentalism, which will ultimately end in cruelty. As the popular saying goes, “He who is kind to those who are cruel will end up being cruel to those who are kind.”
…”Paul’s excoriation and condemnation of the law has directly influenced millions of people to see only oppression in the Torah.” “Judaism rejects these attacks. Law is the ultimate safeguard for love. The separation of law and religion has proved to be a great calamity for human civilization. First, it means that atrocities can be perpetrated in the name of God and no one can say that religious law forbids it. Furthermore, the Christian rejection of law as a religious discipline would guarantee religion’s divorce from the world and its realities. That religion has lost out to secularism as the mainstream guide to human life is a direct result of the detached role that religion began to play when Christianity abrogated the law. To say that religion cannot be about law is to say that religion is not designed to regulate human life!”
.

Answer 10

from a jewish perspective, we don't judge or rank people like that. it depends on your heart, whether or not you are a good person, and your categories do not speak to that. any of those people could be a good, loving, thoughful person who is kind to others, and any of them could be a selfish, heartless, cruel person. that is how we would rank them, based on their hearts, not their religion or the condition of their birth.