Is Judaism the Truth?

G-d created all human beings to worship Him. Leaving others not to recognize the real purpose of their existence on this temporary planet is a dishonesty on the part of scholars. Reply

aron moss my name is amir david ashkenazy and im in love with your answer and i am amazed and i never thought i would ever have such knowledge in life thank you and thats the most beautiful thing i've read so far in my life! Reply

I believe that knowing the difference between 'truth' and 'true' helps to clarify this topic.

Human beings exist within time, while HaShem exists outside of time and space.

These are two boundlessly different perspectives, which means these are two
boundlessly different sources of information.

Given the definition of true, which source can only produce information that is 'true'?
Given the definition of truth...? Reply

Beautiful answer Reply

Hi Jim. Thank you. This has helped me understand what I must do. I had my road to damascus and my mind is blown. I understand now. Thank you. Reply

Jewish people are the chosen people Reply

Judaism is Truth for me too. I knew instinctively when i first set my eyes (age 13 years ) on the Yeoville ultraorthodox Jews that there was a connection , albeit that they acted and dressed foreign to me . I knew then ( deep inside ) they had something that i had NOT !!! Judaism is truth and its part of each and everyone whom has immersed themselves in the Truth conveyed by God to Moses for us all. Without this divine Truth i would be infinitely poorer overall. And i thank all the lightbearers (old & new ) responsible for shedding the Light ; for opening my eyes to witness and obey the INCONTROVERTIBLE Truth, for without this fulfillment i would remain half baked and incomplete... unable to grow spiritually ,physically and without the benefits of how to discern & understand Kabbalah too .Amen. Reply

Re Opinion I appreciate your view and, maybe you are right...that G-d cares about the type of person you try to be verses what you believe. 12 step recovery movements, for example, produce much positive transformation and spiritual growth from the simple idea of a reliance on a "Higher Power" or "G-d as we understood Him"...My point however was simply that you are redefining the term " Noahide". First, all people are techniquely Noahides as we all descend from Noah. But we are discussing the term to mean those non-Jews who actually practice the seven laws given to Noah and his descendents. Those laws are revealed and oulined by the Sages from the Oral Torah. No Oral Torah, no authentic Noahide laws, no authentic Noahides either. So if I am going to call myself a Noahide than I need to study keep what the Sages say regarding them. A person can't honestly call himself a christian and follow Buddha or to put it the opposite way, a person could be an ethical monotheist without being a Noahide. Reply

The beauty of the Jewish culture... Is that as a group, those of us who are enlightened are capable of tempering the rules and laws with WISDOM. There are not too many other religions which hold this quality as a shining star or light. In this manner, yes, Judaism is truth. We pride in our ability to converse, debate, discuss scriptures rather than just memorize them and follow them blindly. Reply

In my opinion, which is not orthodox, I see it as being layer upon layer of truth,, just as was described by one Rabbi about how we each, as Jews, are on different rungs of one ladder. I don't see this as being a strict black and white, good or bad, sinner or saint type of following of the laws. I see the person FIRST, and what they believe second. So, if the person has a good heart, means well, knows no better, and is doing blessings for G-d and helping heal the world as MUCH as is possible for him or her in his or her situation, then to ME, he or she is a genuine Noahide; with some being more observant and compliant, and others not so much but doing what they can. I see Go-d's love and grace covering for their inequities, and do not see G-d striking them down dead for not being perfect. Do they worship idols? It's a given, with the way the world is today. Is it all in G-d's plan? Absolutely! Any person thinking he/she has the only direct truthful line to G-d should re-think. Reply

Assumptions and being a Jew If it is that G-d offered the world's people the Torah, yet none but the Jewish people would accept it, then it isn't so much about truth as it is about commitment. Assumptions in this case really aren't needed, the Torah was given. Was it smooth and seamless? Hardly. So then the question of truth. As a Jew, I struggle everyday to find a truth in this world. Study, while made more efficient with all the technology available today, doesn't provide a shortcut to truth. Why? Technology also connects us as a people in the world more than at any other time in our history, but it times seems as though we must hurdle great distances to communicate even the most simple of ideas. Why? Maybe there is not secret instead, its in the effort, the commitment, the longing (for anyone, but in particular a Jew) to know the Torah, the words of the great sages, and the lessons we have learned through our 5772 years. In that, there is a universal truth. Reply

Re: Maimonides I thank you for the quote and I am familiar with it as I vist this site quite often and I of course agree! But while I agree that other montheistic faiths like Christianity and Islam are aberrations of Judasim that help pave the way for Mashiach the fact remains that these religions in their present state do violate the seven Noahide laws in one way or another for example shituf, the concept of partnership, in Christanity which Maimonides expressly classifies as idolatry. Though Maimonides veiws these religions as part of the ultimate plan of redemption he does not necessarily view them as being faithful to the Noahide laws themselves. As a Ben Noach who would try to explain to family and friends why I can no longer accept thier religion as they hold to it I feel discouraged to see well meaning people comment that a person can worship a tree as a g-d and still be said to keep the sheva mitzvos as a legitimate Noahide. I would think that you would agree that that is not true. Reply

Re: wisdom That sounds nice but worshiping a tree as a g-d would be a form of idolatry and... "anyone who serves idols denies all of G-d's commandments...any good principles that an idol worshiper observes e.g. honesty in business, restraining from stealing...are not done in fullfillment of God's command since he does not accept G-d..." "Sheva Mitzvos Hashem" (Weiner, 2011) pg. 134. Therefore you can't observe the Noahide laws while simultaneously breaking them. That said I do agree that all things ultimately have thier purpose even, the wrong that G-d permits, but thats a different statement than saying that you can be an idolator on the one hand and a practicing Noahide on the other. Reply

Anon in MI, I think the answer to this Seeming confusion is WISDOM. To everything there is a purpose. Your studies were for the purpose of helping you, personally. In the larger picture, let's say a person believes in~ for the sake of argument ~ that a tree is a god. But, he follows all the 7 Noahide laws, has a sweet character, helps others, is decent, etc. So, yes, that person can be a worshipper of trees and still be a Noahide. Reply

Re: Is Judaism for everybody? Thank you for your suggestion of article. I read it and have a better idea of the point that Rabbi Moss is making in the above article. However the article you suggested leads to a subtler question: I am a Ben Noach and have been studying the book "Sheva Mitzvos Hashem" (Hebrew) by Rabbi Weiner with a Rabbi and close friend of mine. My impression so far is that most, if not all, of the worlds religions violate at least the spirit if not the letter of certain of the sheva mitzvos especially idolatry. At the end of Rabbi Freeman's article he states that non-Jews should study their heritage and take the truths there (as they relate to the sheva Mitzvos) and make that their path. So I guess my question would be are the sheva mitzvos really compatible with the religions of the nations? For example, can a person be an evangelical Christian and Noahide or a Hindu and a Noahide? The article seems to suggest "yes" but my studies indicate "no". Reply

Define truth. How can you even use that word in philosophy or religion? Reply

Re: defining "proper" I don't think that is what the Rabbi was saying. But here is an article which elaborates upon the point this article is trying to make Is Judaism For Everybody?/ww.chabad.org/857823 Reply

defining "proper" In this case, proper = legitimate/valid or "G-d given". The original question the Rabbi was asked was essentially "if you believe Judaism is the "Truth" than are all of the other religions "Non-truth". The answer the Rabbi gives is essentially Judaism is the the way for Jews to "express their souls"... Non-Jews/the nations being different, have their own "mission" which I assumes he means to be thier own way of expressing their souls, thier own G-d given path to G-d. So, the answer the Rabbi gives seems to imply that Christanity, Islam or any other religion is a G-d given, "proper" way for nations to express their soul/mission. I am curious if that is really the Rabbi's position since I have never heard of this view in normative Judaism but rather the mission for all of the nations of the world is to fulfill the Noahide laws. Therefore I am simply seeking clarification. Reply

Anon in MI, what is a "proper" path to G=d? Define "proper". Reply