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gailryder17
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28 Jul 2013, 10:33 pm

This is sort of a group discussion/chat for Jews on the spectrum. Let me introduce myself.

I was diagnosed with autism at 18 months. My family members and I are Ashkenazi Jews, technically Conservative, though we don't practice as much as we used to. We live in Los Angeles.


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nominalist
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29 Jul 2013, 5:40 am

I grew up in a secular (Ashkenazi) Jewish family in NYC. However, I converted to the Baháʾí Faith when I was 14 years old. I still consider myself to be ethnically a NYC Jew (now living in the Midwest) - although I do not follow Jewish cultural practices.


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ruveyn
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29 Jul 2013, 11:15 am

Judaism is the religion that G-D made for the Aspies. It is rule oriented.

Love and sentimental slop is for the Christians.

Justice and rectitude is for the Jews.

ruveyn



redriverronin
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29 Jul 2013, 12:18 pm

I have been raised Korean and jewish but I tend to relate more to my Korean family than my jewish family for a lot of reasons.



gailryder17
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29 Jul 2013, 12:42 pm

ruveyn wrote:
Judaism is the religion that G-D made for the Aspies. It is rule oriented.

Love and sentimental slop is for the Christians.

Justice and rectitude is for the Jews.

ruveyn


It is also more "literary/scholar-oriented", to put it in the words of an aspie Jewish friend from Massachusetts.


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AspE
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29 Jul 2013, 1:13 pm

Ethnically Jewish, but atheist. I was always agnostic growing up, and especially baffled about kids who believed in Santa. I can't stand Jewish laws, because they make no sense in this time and place. And I'm against circumcision unless you want to get one as an adult.



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29 Jul 2013, 2:14 pm

I have some Jewish ancestry and have been lately exploring some Jewish cultural practices with my family, but I'm more of a Christian-universalist when it comes to religion.


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30 Jul 2013, 12:29 pm

Raised as a reform Jew in Los Angeles. These days, my family really doesn't practice at all any more, and at this point, my beliefs have evolved to the point where to any extent I'm religious at all, its almost just for social reasons (celebrate holidays with family etc.)



ruveyn
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30 Jul 2013, 12:31 pm

AspE wrote:
Ethnically Jewish, but atheist. I was always agnostic growing up, and especially baffled about kids who believed in Santa. I can't stand Jewish laws, because they make no sense in this time and place. And I'm against circumcision unless you want to get one as an adult.


There are Jewish laws against murder, robbery, fraud and rape. Do you think these make no sense in this time and this place?

ruveyn



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30 Jul 2013, 1:16 pm

I have a family name that in all likelihood is Yiddish. Family legend has it that we came to Switzerland from the East, and there still exist some very similar names in the region of Poland/Czech Republic, and all of them are Jewish. We've been Roman Catholics for at least 500 years though (ever since arriving here, maybe because Jews were only allowed to live in two particular villages in Switzerland), but I've been thinking about converting (back) to Judaism. Problem is that a) I'm more interested in cultural Judaism than in the religious aspect (though I identify more with the G-d of the Old Testament than the New), while conversion is only possible in the most orthodox of circumstances, and b) Judaism may seem too community-focused for someone with AS.



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30 Jul 2013, 1:28 pm

My ancestors centuries back were Jewish in faith (not race).



AspE
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30 Jul 2013, 1:57 pm

ruveyn wrote:
AspE wrote:
Ethnically Jewish, but atheist. I was always agnostic growing up, and especially baffled about kids who believed in Santa. I can't stand Jewish laws, because they make no sense in this time and place. And I'm against circumcision unless you want to get one as an adult.


There are Jewish laws against murder, robbery, fraud and rape. Do you think these make no sense in this time and this place?

ruveyn

Correct. For instance, if you rape someone, the woman can be forced to marry her rapist. Laws against murder make a distinction if the victim is a Jew or not, the latter not being a crime.



pezar
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30 Jul 2013, 4:21 pm

I have a Jewish ancestor on my maternal grandfather's side, most likely. His real father is a mystery, but he had (died in 2009) Jewish facial features. The weird thing is, he HATED Jews. His mother and stepfather were Nazis, real ones, not punk skinheads but real honest to god Nazis. I look a lot like my grandfather, and every so often somebody asks me if I'm Jewish. I explored Reform Judaism in my 20s, but ultimately decided on Buddhism. My last name is Scottish but it sounds a lot like Hebrew "kohan" (priest) so there's a lot of confusion.



ruveyn
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30 Jul 2013, 7:40 pm

AspE wrote:
ruveyn wrote:
AspE wrote:
Ethnically Jewish, but atheist. I was always agnostic growing up, and especially baffled about kids who believed in Santa. I can't stand Jewish laws, because they make no sense in this time and place. And I'm against circumcision unless you want to get one as an adult.


There are Jewish laws against murder, robbery, fraud and rape. Do you think these make no sense in this time and this place?

ruveyn

Correct. For instance, if you rape someone, the woman can be forced to marry her rapist. Laws against murder make a distinction if the victim is a Jew or not, the latter not being a crime.


Read the Talmud, not the TNKH. The authoritative law for Jews is Rabbinic Law as recorded in the Talmud. Judaism ceased being a Bible based religion more than 1000 years ago.

ruveyn



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30 Jul 2013, 11:55 pm

Aspendos wrote:
conversion is only possible in the most orthodox of circumstances


That is true of Orthodox Jews. However, they represent only about 3% of Jews. The two largest Jewish movements in the U.S. are (in order) Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism. Conversion to Reform Judaism is pretty easy. Ditto for the much smaller Reconstructionist Judaism, Jewish Renewal, and Humanistic Judaism.


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31 Jul 2013, 11:43 am

ruveyn wrote:
AspE wrote:
ruveyn wrote:
AspE wrote:
Ethnically Jewish, but atheist. I was always agnostic growing up, and especially baffled about kids who believed in Santa. I can't stand Jewish laws, because they make no sense in this time and place. And I'm against circumcision unless you want to get one as an adult.


There are Jewish laws against murder, robbery, fraud and rape. Do you think these make no sense in this time and this place?

ruveyn

Correct. For instance, if you rape someone, the woman can be forced to marry her rapist. Laws against murder make a distinction if the victim is a Jew or not, the latter not being a crime.


Read the Talmud, not the TNKH. The authoritative law for Jews is Rabbinic Law as recorded in the Talmud. Judaism ceased being a Bible based religion more than 1000 years ago.

ruveyn

I don't even care, except on an academic level. Religion prevents us from progressing on many levels, including morally.