Ellen K. > wrote:
>Thank you for demonstrating that you know nothing about normative Judaism.
>One of the most important requirements is to study. And the study is done
>in the original texts.

I of course know what Jews learn to do in yeshiva. However, their understanding
of Hebrew is already filtered through rabbinical scholarship rather than daily
speech. Modern Israeli Hebrew has ultimately little in common with Biblical
Hebrew; knowledge of the former will therefore not help study of the latter.

>It's true that there are Jews who choose not to practice the religion their
>ancestors practiced. That doesn't invalidate the experience of those who
>do.

Ancestral practices are meant to change over time. That's partially why I doubt
animal sacrifices will be made when the Jerusalem tabernacle is someday
rebuilt. Orthodox Jews have largely chosen to freeze their practice in a
historical moment rather than embrace time's necessary changes, many of which
were heralded by the messiah Jews refuse to acknowledge.

Orlando