I understand the following doesn’t constitute an argument and also that you might say the same right back to me, but it is my sincere belief that wearing a yarmulke ( -and the like) indicate that you are not ultimately committed to being self-critical.

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Jewish Pride

I’m what they call a ‘Self-hating Jew’, but I prefer ‘Proud Self-hating Jew’, as I don’t hate myself, other Jews or the fact that I’m Jewish, I just wish Judaism didn’t exists, but in a world where it does, like Spinoza, Einstein, Hitchens and so many other leading Jewish thinkers I’m fortunate for the position to criticize from within.

Antisemitism is a self-inflicted wound.

We said we had a prophet, they believed us and were jealous. When we expelled one of our own they made a god of him. Christianity and Islam exist only in response to Judaism. If we stop pretending we had a prophet, others might begin to neglects theirs.

Blaming the victim: Of course even if a nude girl drinks herself out cold at a frat house she should not be mistreated, but perhaps acting differently would put her less at risk? Of course nothing justifies a holocaust, but if you are from those Jew’s who acknowledge the possibility that religion is but man made, in a scenario where antisemitism is not a test from god, what might be it’s cause? Could our claim to be God’s favorite, with a divine right to a piece of land, perhaps be why we are disdained?

Judaism is a religion. One can convert to become Jewish, one can’t convert to become ―say Asian. If Jews would stop being religious, Judaism would cease to exist.

I don’t regard Hitler as a member of only German legacy, but rather as an unfortunate part of mankind’s shared legacy.

Israel has the right to exist because of Hitler?

Israel is a theocracy disguised as a democracy. A Jew born in Tanzania has more rights in Israel than a Muslim whose family has been there for ages.

Abraham’s claim to a piece of land is to this day a primary source of international unrest.

So long as some people believe they are superior to others, there can be no world peace.

If antisemitism is a test from God and the more we pass the test by not integrating with  gentiles the more he tests us by making them hate us more, I say we let God down by become more secular there in bringing on world peace.

starofdavid

Generation to Generation

From my experience of physics’ consistent nature and the unskeptical nature of humans, it seems to me more likely that humans could over time begin to believe a fiction involving millions of witnesses, than for an entirely new set of physical laws to be created so a sea can split to accommodate a group of fleeing slaves.

Though the Torah claims there were 600,000 men present at Mount Sinai, we are still trusting the words of individuals, such as the one who counted the machatzis hashekel and the author who wrote that verse.

If a story as miraculous as a splitting sea would not be believed were it not true, how can there be debate regarding the equally miraculous theory that Mount Sinai levitated?

Inconsistence

Growing up Hasidic I understood Judaism to be very different than what my religious family and friends make it out to be, now that I am an Atheist.

Then: Jews are God’s favorite. Now: God merely entrusted the Jews with the task of spreading his word.

Then: Gentiles possess no soul nor freewill, and exist only to lure the Jew with secular temptation in this life, and to be our slaves when Moshiach comes. Now: All humans are created equal.

Then: Judaism is a set of laws that must not be broken. Now: Religion is an optional personal journey of spirituality and love.

Then: Gehenom was were I will go if I broke Jewish law. Now: Hell is christian invention.

Then: If I didn’t repent correctly on Yom Kippur I would not live through the year. Now: Yom Kippur is a body cleanse.

Then: Israel has been the property of Jews since it was awarded to Abraham. Now: Israel is an arbitrary location selected, and awarded to us by the United Nations in 1948.

Then: This life is merely preparation for the after life. Now: Judaism is only concerned with improving the quality of our lives in this world.

Then: When Moshicah comes we will no longer be subject to the limits of time and space. Now: Moshiach is just another term for world peace.

Then: One should spit when passing a church, and is forbidden to complement its architectural aesthetic. Now: All religions are equally valid attempts to connect with our ascents.

Then: Every medrosh is Torah misinai Now: It’s just a medrosh.

Then: Reform and conservative Jews are not really religious. Now: a) Even though Albert Einstein didn’t wear a kippah he was a very religious Jew; b) Atheism is a religion.

When I say I’m against religion, I’m not referring to a scene of family, community, celebration  and tradition, I am referring to the religion I knew growing up, literalism, ultra orthodox religious fanaticism.

I still eat cholent every shabbos only now I sprinkle it with Parmesan. I still light a minora, only now it’s next to my Christmas tree.

The Jew

Jews swing a living chicken around their heads once a year to get rid of sin.

As part of the circumcision ritual the mohel’s mouth is in contact with the child.

Jews believe that milk from the farm of a gentile poisons the mind and heart.

Jews won’t mix wool and linen into a single garment.

Jews won’t walk without a tasseled shawl.

Jews live to cry at a wall.

The Kippah symbolizes a yoke.

“The word Jew often carries a pejorative or offensive connotation.” -English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Chabad

Calling yourself ‘Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge’ looks to compensate for the fact that you are actually just concerned with blind faith, dogma and superstition.