November 2018
Colorado elects a gay Jew Democrat as Governor.
https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CO/91808/Web02-state.220747/#/
DEM DEM Jared (Schutz) Polis / Dianne Primavera 52.44% 1,183,654
REP REP Walker Stapleton / Lang Sias 43.91% 990,962
Total votes: 2,257,032 So Polis won by 192,692 votes, or 8.5% of the vote.
I'm wondering if he got the vote of a good number of Republican Jews. So here's a try at understanding a little bit about how today's Judaism functions, and how that might be a possibility.
Interesting that the Jewish Scriptures -i.e. Mosaic Judaism - say that homosexuality is an abomination to God.
Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
Leviticus 20:13 "If a man lies with a male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."
Obviously, any Judaism that is not aligned with the Torah, i.e. the books of Moses, cannot be Biblical Judaism.
So can Polis then be called a Jew?
How could he get the "Jewish" vote?
Wikipedia on Homosexuality and Judaism:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_Judaism
Traditionally, Judaism has understood homosexual male intercourse as contrary to Judaism, and this opinion is still maintained by Orthodox Judaism. On the other hand, Reconstructionist Judaism and Reform Judaism do not hold this view, and allow homosexual intercourse and same-sex marriage. Conservative Judaism's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, which until December 2006 held the same position as Orthodoxy, recently issued multiple opinions under its philosophy of pluralism, with one opinion continuing to follow the Orthodox position and another opinion substantially liberalizing its view of homosexual sex and relationships, while continuing to regard certain sexual acts as prohibited.
So it is safe to assume Reconstructionist Judaism and Reform Judaism and some of Conservative Judaism (i.e. all those repeating "Yea, hath God said?") would consider Polis a fellow Jew, and perhaps vote for him for that reason. And I wonder how many "Orthodox" Jews voted for him because he says he's a Jew?
As even in Israeli Orthodox Judaism there are some that do not follow Torah, as evidenced by the following gobbledygook:
2016 edict signed by some Israeli Orthodox rabbis
An edict signed by dozens of Israeli Orthodox rabbis and published in 2016 by
the Israeli Modern Orthodox rabbinic group Beit Hillel, a group which promotes
inclusiveness in Orthodox Judaism, stated, in part, "According to the Torah and
halacha, the [same-sex sexual] acts are forbidden, but not the proclivities, and
therefore, people with same-sex tendencies, men and women, have no invalidation
in halacha or tradition. They are obligated by the commandments of the Torah,
they can fulfill a [ritual] obligation on behalf of the public, and carry out
all of the community functions just like any member."[25] It also stated, in
part, "Just as it [is] inconceivable to mock someone for being physically,
behaviorally, or mentally different, so too those with same-sex tendencies
should not be mocked. On the contrary, those around them — family and community
— should show special feeling for them, and apply to them the Torah commandment
of 'Love thy neighbor as thyself' and to be diligent in avoiding the prohibition
of insulting another."
Q. Are you religious and are you raising your kid in
that tradition?
A. I was raised Jewish and my partner and I
both belonged*
to a conservative Synagogue. I would expect the kids will be bar or bat
mitzvahed as well.
* Note the past tense, which indicates that Polis no longer belongs to that conservative Synagogue. If the past tense is accurate, then the bit about his expectation that his kids will be bat/bar mitzvahed is at best misleading. But probably misleading enough to get the Jewish vote.
So, who is a Jew? Do Jews even know who a Jew is?
Who
is a Jew According to halakhah (Jewish Religious Law)?
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/who-is-a-jew
According to Jewish law, a child born to a Jewish
mother or an adult who has converted to Judaism is considered a Jew;
one does not have to
reaffirm their Jewishness or practice any of the
laws of the Torah to be Jewish. According to Reform
Judaism, a person is a Jew if they were born to either a Jewish mother or a
Jewish father. Also, Reform Judaism stresses the importance of being raised
Jewish; if a child is born to Jewish parents and was not raised Jewish then the
child is not considered Jewish. According to the Orthodox movement, the
father’s religion and whether the person practices is immaterial. No affirmation
or upbringing is needed, as long as the mother was Jewish.
Besides for differing opinions on patrilineal descent, the various streams also
have different conversion practices. Conversion done under the auspices of an
Orthodox rabbi, entails Jewish study, brit milah (for men), mikvah (for both men
and women) and a stated commitment to follow the laws of the Torah.
Conservative conversions use the same requirements as the Orthodox do;
however, conversions by the Reform movement and other streams do not have the
same requirements. Since the conversion practices are not uniform, many
Orthodox Jews do not recognize Reform or Conservative conversions as valid and,
hence, do not consider the converts Jews. Once a person has converted to
Judaism, he is not referred to by any special term; he is as much a Jew as
anyone born Jewish.
It's really a neo-Judaism.
Note especially "one does not have to reaffirm their Jewishness or practice any of the laws of the Torah to be Jewish." - This statement illustrates that Rabbinical Judaism is NOT the same as Mosaic (i.e. Biblical) Judaism, and in fact follows the false line "Yea, hath God said?" For the Jewish Scriptures are quite clear in saying that Jews are to DO the Sinai Covenant's commandments of God. Yes, they have their bible/word of God, but they don't completely follow it, just as in Ezekiel 33:30-32.
[Now of course even Temple Judaism ended in A.D. 70, as some 40% of the Mosaic law is dependent upon a tabernacle or temple. And this is where the Rabbis reinvented Judaism.]
Wikipedia on Who's an American Jew:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Jews
American Jews, or Jewish Americans, are Americans who are Jews, whether by religion, ethnicity or nationality.
Great! So let's say I want to move to Israel. So I'll say I'm a Jew. After all, I was circumcised as a baby. I have ancestors that came from a town that had Jews with the same name as my ancestors. I've been a member of a Congregation. I've kept the Sabbath. I've been "mikvahed" (English: Baptized.) I've made "aliya" and read from the Torah to the Congregation. I've celebrated all the Jewish feasts. I've carried the Torah around the Bema seven times. I've written a Passover Haggadah and a Shabbat Seder. I've kept The Commandment, (with God's help). Likewise, I keep the Shabbat (graciously, as per Hebrews 4:3). Bonus points: I have a copy of the Talmud, the Zohar, Rashi's commentary, and various selections from Rambam, Avot, Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer and some others.
Surely I qualify as a Jew, right? I'm more "Jewish" than a lot of Jews, right? What happens next?
[Just to clarify, this is hypothetical. the reality is that I'm not a Jew, I'm not saying I'm a Jew, I'm not implying that I'm a Jew: I'm a Gentile Christian. Clear enough.]
The State of Israel says prove you are a Jew.
ok, How?
The State of Israel's Law of Return does not appear to define Judaism, but never-the-less defines a Jew as:
4B. For the purposes of this Law, "Jew" means a person who was born of a Jewish mother or has become converted to Judaism and who is not a member of another religion.
Interestingly then, while the definition of the qualifying "Judaism" is lacking, if someone who was a Jew believes that Jesus is the Messiah, they are no longer by law allowed as a Jew! So I won't be getting Israeli citizenship!
If you have followed along, perhaps you can see how gay Jared Polis can be a modern Jew, and yet not be a biblical Jew...because they are not the same. Judaism then appears as a club of sorts. Just like most religions. And Jared Polis, whom the Torah says (in regards to his homosexuality) is (by literal interpretation and plain sense understanding of the Jewish Bible) an abomination to God, could move to Israel as a "Jew" based on the above non-biblical Rabbinical criteria. Tel Aviv is something of a gay Mecca. Israel's population (8,500,000.) is said to be only about 10% religious, and yet they have this "halakhah" religious (albeit non biblical) definition of "who is a Jew". This is mind boggling to this Gentile Christian. Viewed positively, 90% of Israelis are not pretending that they are religious AND 850,000 Israelis are at least sometimes trying to obey God.
A lot of Jews and Israelis live with eyes wide shut regarding what their scriptures actually say, relying instead on men to tell them what it says. Like most religions, they pick what they like to hear. However, God did say that he would bring Jews out of captivity into the Land of Israel, and He is unquestionably doing this. IN SPITE OF THE ERRORS OF RABBINICAL JUDAISM and the secular Jew, God is using them (ethinc, national Jews) and the State/land of Israel to fulfill his promises to them and show the Gentile world that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. And I think a lot (some?) of the Jews in Israel see and feel this happening. And - most positively - there is a growing number of Jews in Israel (and worldwide) that are trusting that Yeshua is their Messiah.
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