How long did it really take to make everything

Today’s question is regarding creation and just how long it took.

Do Jew believe G-d created the universe in 6 literal days as it is written or are they figurative days?

Sadly like many questions regarding the Torah you will find some will say yes, others will say no and very few are wrong based on the text within the Torah. How I am going to answer this is based on our modern understanding of science and further information we can find out within the Tanakh.

While it is true that it is written that it took six days for creation and we can confirm this via the word יום‎ or yom. The word yom is understood to mean “day” such as twenty four hours but it can also be read as a defined amount of time such as a year, seasons, eons and much longer defined time.

With this word alone we could make the debate that creation happened over six unknown amount of time and I would agree with this but what else is there to support this?

The next reason it is meaning an undefined amount of time is the order of creation itself suggest that an Earth’s day didn’t yet exist.

And G’d called the light day, and the darkness He called night, and it was evening and it was morning, one day.

Genesis 1:5

וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים | לָאוֹר֙ י֔וֹם וְלַח֖שֶׁךְ קָ֣רָא לָ֑יְלָה וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם אֶחָֽד:

This suggests that HaShem created the Earth first, then the Sun and then the Moon. Based on this alone it would be impossible for a twenty-hour cycle to have started yet.

I could go into a few more quotes about how time isn’t the same for ourselves and HaShem but I will leave it there to go back to the actual question – is it meant to be taken exactly as written?

Well, the answer there really is it’s up to you. There are two schools of understanding and evidence both ways that the first part of the Torah is meant to be understood as a moral lesson and that is why it is done like that while others debate it is written exactly like that so it should be understood exactly like that.

Just like the old saying goes – for every two Jews there will be three opinions. I hope it answers at least why you could see why it can be debated it took longer than six actual literal days.

Do Jews eat ducks?

Today’s question (and for those interested I am currently writing up another answer to a question likely out later in the week that I think you will find interesting) and it’s a simple one.

Do Jews eat ducks?

Yep, we do. Domestics ducks are kosher but I am not aware of how common it actually is eaten within Jewish households and there may be a reason for this – ducks are debated IF it is kosher. The reason for this is mostly due to the fact it is not outright said but ducks, at least to my understanding, are clean birds and ticks every box needed and thus is kosher.

You may hear some people debate that the “New Kings James” Bible (Christian) says ducks are swans but first that is a mistranslation and anytime you debate anything within Judaism it is best to look at the original Hebrew texts and not a translated version.

With that said if you are looking for a very well translated version of the Torah – I would recommend this version: The Hebrew Bible: by Robert Alter.

What is “Shavuot”?

Today’s question is

Message I was wondering if you could answer the following questions.

What is the Feast Of weeks? (Shavuot)

What is the significance of Shavuot?

What were the orders/instructions G’d gave the people for Shavuot?

(I want to apologize if I did not ask these questions properly or if I misspelled the words. My acts were not intentional.)

Question was slightly changed in order to write it as G’d out of respect.

Don’t worry about anything you may mis-spell you will often find a million different ways to spell things within Judaism due to different cultures.

What is the Feast Of weeks? (Shavuot)

Shavuot is one of the major festivals within Judaism which is held fifty days after the second day of Passover and there are two parts of it. The first is it used to be a festival regarding the end of barley harvest and the start of wheat and secondly, it marks the day Jews were given the Torah on Mount Sinai.

What is the significance of Shavuot?

What is more important than remembering the day we got the Torah? The sign outside of the harvest festival is we remember when we got the Torah and the importance it is to our lives and it is the exact moment HaShem and Israel sealed their covenant together for the rest of time.

What were the orders/instructions HaShem gave the people for Shavuot?

There isn’t really much we are told to do beyond customs but we commemorate the giving of the Torah by studying texts all night which is known as “Tikkun”. As it is originally a festival of harvest it is very common to decorate a house hold to bring “the outdoors to inside”.

Beyond that its mostly just to remember our covenant and the Torah. If I am missing something I will research further but there is nothing else we are told to outright do by HaShem.

The scrolls in the back

Today’s question is as below. For the three people still waiting for their question to be answered – I am in process of doing so.

What is written on the scrolls inside the Ark?

I am assuming you are speaking regarding the scroll found in the back of a Shul within the Ark and the answer is simple – it is the most important text of them all – the Torah!

I am going to link to a Wikipedia article that explains it in far more detail but in a nutshell it is a hand written copy of the Torah which is commonly known as the Sefer Torah.

Excluding commentary you can often find in a book form of the Torah (commonly called Chumash) they are the exact same between the books and the scrolls.

You can find more information about how it is made and much more on Wikipedia here: Sefer Torah.

The Jewish & Christian HaShem

Today’s question is an interesting one!

Hi, I am currently reading the bible and in the old testament right now. I was raised a Christian but am no longer religious.
I think the Old testament is not exactly the same as the Jewish version but still was hoping to get a Jewish perspective on something that I’m very curious about.
In the early books, God is portrayed as specifically interested in the Jewish people and it seems to me that God is seen as the Jewish God. Does that mean that Jews considered God to be exclusive to Jews? I mean, when Christians speak of God, do Jews consider that to not be the same deity?
I just don’t see anywhere so far where God is available to others. God may speak to others but it is always in the service of helping the Jews.
Thank you for addressing this. I hope it makes sense.
bb

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Pikuach nefesh

Hello, I was reading the quran when I stumbled upon an ayah (Ch:7, Ver:163), which made me wonder if Jewish people are not allowed to work on Shabbat then what do the doctors, police officers do if there is an emergency? Do they strictly adhere to their religion and refuse to work during say a road accident. Thank you!!

SAHIH INTERNATIONAL Sahih International – Ayah: 7:16

Today’s question is quite a common one and it is one I am going to explain in a bit of detail. For anyone reading wondering why your question isn’t answered yet – I got three questions that go into quite some depth and I have not yet to have time to research them. Quite good questions as they go into both Judaism as a race and skin colours.

For those that do not know, the lines in the Qu’ran above is as follows.

And ask them about the town that was by the sea – when they transgressed in [the matter of] the sabbath – when their fish came to them openly on their sabbath day, and the day they had no sabbath they did not come to them. Thus did We give them trial because they were defiantly disobedient.

In Judaism there is something that is very important and honestly one of the most important things to worry about – the idea that Jews are to save other lives where possible (Pikuach nefesh) and this also applies to most laws and that includes many of the Sabbath ones.

Before I go on, it is worth saying defaming G’ds name is never allowed, forbidden sexual acts, murder (excluding self defence where it is NOT possible to do so otherwise), or to trade your own life for another (risking it however is fine).

So let’s get to the question. Can doctors, police officers (and in fact anyone) break the Sabbath in order to answer to an emergency? It all depends on what the emergency is. If it was something that is not threatening someone’s life. So if there was a crash and urgent medical care is needed then yes, there is an obligation to help within your means. In general practice there will be many other doctors, police officers and such that it is unlikely a Jew would need to work on the Sabbath but if they were needed urgently because there was no one else and someone will die if not, then the answer would be yes.

Is this antisemitism and why?

So in short, I play a role playing game with around 50 people working together in a guild. 5 of them are new and were playing another gaming while chatten in the guild chat, so that we all could read it. In this other game dropped an item that one of those 5 people wanted to have. He then wrote “JUUUUUDDDDEEEEE” in the chat. So I thought that he wanted that item, didn’t get it and called the winner a jew.so.. For me that was antisemitism. I said I the chat, that there is no room here for this behavior and that he should tibk about it. He then chatted with me privately an said that I got it all wrong. It wasn’t a slurr, but he is called a jew by his gaming friends for bering lucky and greedy with items. He won that item and then psted “juuudeee” in the Chat. I said that it is still anti semitism, positive but still… He said that is bullshit and I am over sensitive. What would you say?

Today’s question is related to antisemitism. The very short answer is yes, this is antisemitism and now for the longer answer.

While I do understand that the person isn’t “using” it as a slur and likely hold no bad feelings to Jews nor his friends – it keeps a stereotype going that all Jews are greedy and this is bad to keep passing around.

So are you overreacting with it? I would say no. It is quite possible himself and his friends are annoying people who do not want to speak up but more importantly, it just shows how accepted this is still nowadays and if people like yourself don’t speak up, it will never change.