> > And no, the Jews are *not* all there is to Israel any more than, say, New England is all there is to America.
>
> Agreed. There are plenty of scriptural references to people and groups who became a part of Israel. Ruth is an excellent example, simply because of her descendents and how important some of THEM were to Israel. :-)

Well, there's them, too, but I was referring to the other tribes, i.e. Gad, Dan, Naftali, Asher, et al. I realize that "Jews" and "Israel" are *very* often used synonymously, but the Jews are really just a couple of tribes... out of 12!

> > And if you still don't see yourself as Israel, then these aren't *necessarily* for you, although they're not prohibited *to* you.

> Again, agreed. I suspect that much in the same way as people can become part of Israel, I think that even those with the right bloodlines can fall away from Israel and become Gentiles -- after all, if blood isn't required to become a part of Israel, I can't see why it would prevent one from becoming disconnected from Israel.

Well... They're still identified by blood as Israel, but they're Gentiles in practice.

> As for keeping the Law, I think I would find it very difficult, but I would be interested in trying to do it more. After all, it can't hurt, so long as I keep in mind what really matters, and I could probably benefit from it. Someday

Right. It won't happen overnight, though, and it's easy to get so caught up in doing the right thing that you pick up Extra Rules added by the Rabbis(sort of like the prohibition against dancing and musical accompaniment found in some churches). Some people you run into may try to convince you that Talmud is part of Torah. The example I've always seen is where reference is made to a way of doing something, but that way is not given in the Bible. I think it was kosher slaughtering of animals, but I could be wrong. I'll try to remember to look it up. Anyway, that's one thing. Changing a clear-cut command is quite another. A good question set to ask, especially when someone tries to pass off something as a command, is, "Is that in the Bible? If so, where?" If it's in there, you should be able to find out where.

Example: God said, "Don't boil(some translations say "cook" a young goat(some translations say "a young animal") in its mother's milk."(Ex. 23:19; repeated in 34:26 and Deut. 14:21)

Do you know anybody who violates this command? I've neither seen nor heard of this command being violated in today's society. It might happen, but for the most part... we just don't see it happening.

Man said, "Don't eat any animal's meat with any dairy product. If one has been consumed, wait such-and-such a time before consuming the other. Have two sets of dishes etc.; one for eating meat, one for eating dairy. If someone is consuming one, you may not sit at the same table if you're consuming the other. etc..."

God said, "Write them[these words, see Deut. 6:6] on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."(Deut. 6:9)

Man said, "Don't YOU write it. Get a rabbi to do it. And it should be written on a piece of paper, to then be hidden away in this small box-like thing. This box should be nailed to the doorpost, not vertically, not horizontally, but somewhere between the two. Get one for every room in your house, except the bathroom. Kiss or touch it whenever you pass through the doorway, whether you go one way or another. etc."

The idea was that if you don't break the additions, you won't break the real thing. And even if you do break the additions, there's a chance that the real thing can remain unbroken.

But then, the additions were treated like the real thing. I can easily see people giving up and going whole hog the other way in the face of having these heaps and tons of additional rules and being told that they're sinning by not doing them.

> > Nyperold
>
> Don Monkey

Nyperold