Are there any Jewish people here?

[HateyouxD]

I have a few questions for you

[strateguy632]

1, i have noticed a handful in their replies, so jews are here too. 2, about "boyfriend has done a lot of research on Israelite people and who God's chosen are. It's black people and jews."research actually shows it is a certain family but African or African American is a different family. lots of research doesn't mean real traditional sources. 3, "Do babies get baptized when they are younger for the Jewish religion?" jews don't baptize. if baby was born before mother converted to jew, then child only jew if does conversion.

[abc3643]

I am not Jewish, per se, but I am descended from Jews. I think my great-grandfather (a Jew from Denmark) and my great-grandmother (an Catholic from Ireland) met in NYC and, when they got married, he either converted or they raised their kids as Catholic likely to avoid prejudice against Jews.

However, in my town where I grew up, there were plenty of Jews and my first girlfriend was a Jewish girl, God bless her!

[HateyouxD]

Well... my boyfriend has done a lot of research on Israelite people and who God's chosen are. It's black people and jews. He doesn't go to church anymore as he was a Christian. If he wants to practice Jewish religion that is fine its just I don't know where to start. Do babies get baptized when they are younger for the Jewish religion? I have a 9 month old

[abc3643]

I am a little confused by your question. Are you going to "baptize" your baby into being Jewish or something?

By the way, considering that you, yourself, are not actually a Jew, many Jews would not consider your baby to be Jewish. This is because, in Judaism, everything is through the mother: If the mother is a Jew, then the baby is a Jew. Why? You can never be sure about who the father is, but the mother leaves no doubt.

By the way, I don't think they have an actual "baptism" in Judaism. They have "tvilah" also spelled "tevilah" which is a ritual washing by submerging the body in water called "mikveh".

However, male babies also have a "bris" in which a "mohel" circumcises the baby's penis but that's supposed to happen when the baby is 8 days old.

So, you might want to skip this baptism thing. Your boyfriend's #1 problem is that he should have married you before you had your baby (I am assuming the baby is his). So, he needs to put his money where his mouth is and make a commitment to you before you make a life-altering commitment to your baby. Right now, I am not impressed by him because he seems a bit flighty and weak-minded.

So, my real advice is to do nothing religious or ceremonial with your baby until the boyfriend gets his shit together regarding his spirituality... And that doesn't mean just making a decision... It means making a decision and sticking to it for years... like getting married and being married for a few years would prove. After all, an adult accepts the consequences of their actions and takes personal responsibility.

[HateyouxD]

I understand. But what if I c9nvert to Judaism? Can my baby be raised in the religion? It seems all too difficult

[abc3643]

"It seems all too difficult."

Exactly.

Do not bother being religiously or politically affiliated with anything.
Once you give yourself a label (like a religion or a political party), then two things are going to happen:

1. You are self-identifying that you belong to a group. Anyone who hates that group and acts on that hate, then makes you a target.

2. You are constraining yourself to their rules. Constraints are the opposite of freedom and, by the time you get to be my age, after getting your basic biological needs met (food, water, heat, safety), there is nothing more important than freedom for making you happy.

REMEMBER WHAT I JUST WROTE.

[HateyouxD]

Right now I am a Christan women but I wanted to live right by God and start doing right

[HateyouxD]

I understand having a baby out of wedlock and not getting married isn't living by God but my boyfriend had to use my ring money twice

[abc3643]

THIS:
"I understand having a baby out of wedlock and not getting married isn't living by God"

Don't sweat that. Adam and Eve weren't married.

Being married before having kids is just being smart.

Having a child is the biggest commitment there is because you are responsible for keeping another human being alive until they can care for themselves. That's hard work and both parents need to be committed to that.

So, through marriage, both the man and woman are making commitments to each other that they will be there...
... for richer, for poorer
... through better or worse
... in sickness and in health

Furthermore, marriage is a statement and, in fact, a legal one. When you are just shacking up, that's like "playing house". Society doesn't respect it and law doesn't really either since it's no different than teens dating. Marriage - which is a LEGAL thing - officially says "We declare:
We are committed to each other.
We are each other's best friend.
We will make decisions that are in our best interests.
I trust this person with my life.
We are a new family."

In short, it tells society that you are serious and not just fucking around (in every sense of the word).

This is why marriage isn't "just a piece of paper".

========
Your boyfriend needs to get his shit together because it is apparent that he doesn't. He's a boy in a man's body and he needs to grow up. So, instead of being obsessed with his religion-du-jour, he needs to focus on getting a good job and taking care of his family: Himself, you, and your baby.

[jshm2]

Yes. But you probably have the same daft questions.

No we do not have "superpowers," nor do we "rule the world"

[strateguy632]

how often do you guys sanding your horns to hide them? just kidding.

[strateguy632]

i meant another daft one to add to the list.