A few questions about Judaism.?

Question

Are Jewish men really required to pray and Jewish women aren't? If so how can one be an atheist or non-practicing Jew? Another user inspired this question and I'm still trying to figure out how the being Jewish thing works. No disrespect intended I'm just looking for a good reliable explanation.

Answer 1

Thedre are lots of commandments, positive and negative.

Some apply only to women; some apply only to kahainm (descendants of Aaron); some apply only to adults, and so on.

One's religiosity is judged by the commandments that he observes, referring, of course to those that are relevant to the particular individual.

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Answer 2

In Orthodox Judaism, the men are required to do the three times daily prayer.  However it is the women who lights the shabbat candles.  Everyone is required to pray on certain holidays such as Yom Kippur (and on that one to fast).  Nothing stops a women from praying at any point in time.  Basically each s*x has important roles in supporting the religion & different elements that are uniquely theirs.  (Can you picture asking a new mom to drop everything to pray just as her baby decides it wants to be fed, pre-bottles?)

Times have changed.  With feminism, the conservative, reform, reconstructist are equally inclusive of women in the prayer cycles.  So women are able to be Rabbis, lead prayers that require a leader, & be counted in a miyan (when 10 people are needed for the prayer.)  Even orthodox has changed with the times, & women are given more options to study torah & more direct roles in the prayer cycle of the religion that were traditionally men's.

I don't know what atheist or non-practicing has to do with who's allowed to pray.  Can you explain your question?  To answer a little, being an atheist isn't consistent with being Jewish.  I'm sure there are plenty amongst the Reform who feel this way about God (& I tend to sit on a fence), but officially there is no "atheist Jew".  

Of the 613 commandments most apply to both sexes, so in that way a non-practicing Jew is not practicing regardless of man or women.  The Jewish religious activities are HUGELY more involved than the simply praying 3 times a day.  We have tons of holiday throughout the year each with meaning, almost all involving more than simply praying, often family meals & discussions, candle lighting, some with songs...  Then there's Shabbat each week which is creating of a special feeling for the day, & keeping kosher (if you're observant), commandments such as not slandering others.  Most of this is not s*x specific, so if you're non-practicing, you're dropped a LOT more than just not-praying.

Hope that helped.  Feel free to ask questions!

If you haven't gotten this already:

www.jewfaq.org

Answer 3

According to halakha (Jewish law), Jewish men are required to pray three times daily and four times daily on the Sabbath. Jewish women are required to pray at least daily, with no specific time requirement.

Answer 4

Hello power_d,

The answers above apply only to those who are practicing Jewish people.  Otherwise, one is free to live his/her Iife as he/she believes, which can be without prayer based on religion.  Many Israelis feel as I do, such all the people I associate with.  Personally, I do not practice any religion because I do not believe in religions - period.  All they do is separate people even more than they already are.  So please do not think of us all as the same, doing the same things and following the same "requirements," because we do not.

There are many free thinkers in Israel who make other choices in life such as not keeping kosher, not going to synagogue, using electricity and driving on the Sabbath, eating bread during Passover and barely celebrating religious holidays other than gathering for a good meal, lol.

Sincerely,

Ms. Miche ; })

Answer 5

It works the same in any religion.  There is God.  He has rules and a chosen people,

Jews,Muslims, Christians and some pagans

You dedicate to the worship or God and to understanding His Word.  to follow His laws and praying a lot.  It the same thing for all.

An atheist insist there is no Goddd there fore He is God,  He makes himself the God of his life.  Look what he has to worship and obey and pray to.

If you are god there is no one to worship you therefore you are nothing.  Not God!

Now if this makes no sense it's OK, cause your question didn't either.

Answer 6

As Ms. Miche says, it is only the Orthodox Jews who observe those laws.  The vast majority of Jews worldwide are Conservative (Masorti) or Reform (Progressive) Jews, separated by practice rather than belief.  Conservative Jews tend to follow more of the laws such as keeping kosher and guarding the Sabbath.  Most Reform Jews don't follow any of the laws, but.... many are gradually moving closer to Conservative Jews by keeping "Biblical kosher," i.e. following the laws found in the Bible, not Rabbinic law.

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Answer 7

I guess they have to pray they are not found out!

Answer 8

jewish women are required to pray too, but there is a lot of variation, and plenty of jewish people don't participate in organized prayer services.

if you really want to learn about judaism, go to your local Hillel house at a nearby college, or make some jewish friends. you're not going to learn much here.

Answer 9

Jewish women are exempt from all the mitzvot (positive commandments) which are time-related, because their most important role is having and raising children.

Still, most Orthodox Jewish women find time to pray.

Unfortunately, many Jews choose not to practice, mostly because they were not brought up in religious families.

Many people who survived the Holocaust stopped believing in G-d, for obvious reasons.

These people emigrated to Israel and raised non-religious children, and those children grew up and did the same....

Answer 10

As far as being an atheist Jew, that reminds me of one of my favorite stories:

Rabbi Moshe Leib said:

"There is no quality and there is no power of man that was created to no purpose.  And even base and corrupt qualities can be uplifted to serve God.  When, for example, haughty self-assurance is uplifed it changes into a high assurance in the ways of God.  But to what end can the denial of God have been created?  This too can be uplifted through deeds of charity.  For if someone comes to you and asks your help, you shall not turn him out with pious words, saying:  'Have faith and take your troubles to God!'  You shall act as if there were no God, as if there were only one person in all the world who could help this man--only yourself."

Answer 11

Women in Judaism can do pretty much as they d**n wish! If a woman chooses to pray she may, and if she chooses not to pray, she may do so as well--like the quarterback in football who may run with the ball or pass it! The quarterback calls the play!

Answer 12

All Jews are required to pray.

The difference is that women are exempt from all time-bound commandments. This means that they are not required to pray within the same time boundaries as men; women can pray whenever they are able to find the time.

As for non-practicing Jews, well, they do not follow the laws, so they do not pray.

Answer 13

Although Jewish women are not required to pray on time and/or in public, most do pray (especially at home), and it is recommended that they pray.

Answer 14

I like to pray to the clouds! somewhere I know I'm Right! but I am a Greek Jew! sometimes I wonder if the Greek gods xists and somehow merge the two religions 2gether!

Answer 15

It depends who you ask.  Don't try to take one answer from one person as the only view. Nobody will never understand Judaism if only take one view.  These are really good questions thank you for asking them.

My best attempt to explain would be that Jewish people are One body, both masculine and feminine aspects, with contributions by cumulative and collective effort: teamwork.  And after millenium we are a well oiled machine too! LOL

My belief is that Jewish women are only exempt from time bound while the exemption occurs. This is a good discussion regarding it.  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0...

My apologies to the readers that the writer didn't choose more eloquent speech in the opening paragraphs, she doesn't share my views in that regard.  It is written by Judith Hauptman, Associate Professor of Talmud at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

I pray 3 times a day for a few reasons. One, is that it is obligatory. Two,  because I am obligated to assist others that are occupied with something else that I can't do. It's not to replace them or fight with them or any religious institution that is present today.  I like to do it and I look forward to it and I am very good at spirituality (most women are) so that is one of my contributions. It is obligation to help them, not to detract but to assist.

Regarding the Atheist, Non Practicing Jew: Out of 613 commandments (mitzvoh) there are plenty enough to go around there is no such thing as a non practicing Jew.  Nobody bickers with who does what and who doesn't do what. All is cool as long as nobody is stabbing another with their fork (and I personally speak up in defense of the wounded in that case.) Atheists are still very much Jewish with their own contributions to the Jewish community.  So maybe these groups are performing a function for me that I cannot do, and I am performing a function for them that I can do.  

This sounds like teamwork of that collective and cumulative effort I first spoke about.

"Every Jew has a mitzvah to which he finds an affinity. Don't argue with him. Find that mitzvah and encourage him in it." --Rabbi Schneerson, Chabad

For further advanced analysis on the aspects between men and women, view links.

Women Wearing Tallit. What?:

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cd...

Women in Prayer:

http://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/art...