>>315059
>What makes the Jewish faith and history unique?

Being persecuted by just about everyone.

Also being both an ethnicity and a religion.

>How does Judaism think about beauty and aesthetics?
All about the shape, feel and metals that make up the shekel, ahi.

>>315059
>What makes Judaism special?
Christianity and islam

>>315059
>What traits of judaism make it distinct from all other world views/ways of conduct/ways of constructing and thinking of society?
Unlike polytheists, they don't believe there are multiple gods and that other peoples gods are either lower gods or a different interpretation of their own gods. At the same time though, even though they believe in only one God that they believe created everything, they seemingly hog knowledge of that God to themselves.

/pol/-ish post, yeah, but I wanted to bring up the topic. I know about the noahide laws and all, but still, it seemed very peculiar to me that they don't even make half an attempt to share their "knowledge of the divine"

>>315123
There are different strands of judaism. Some dont consider the Talmud or gmara as holy and true forever.

>>315123
>/pol/-ish post, yeah, but I wanted to bring up the topic.

Actually sounds pretty SJW to me.
Like you're trying to say that Jews are selfish and intolerant and bigoted.

>>315138
Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox jews are the good ones. anything lower are muh agnostic jew and everthing higher is fucking crazy, amish tier.

>>315123
There not mean if you get to know them. And if you ask a rabbi he would give you more information. They generally do not care about that. Its just becoming a jew that is hard I guess. Many do it because there spouse is jewish and people don't like that. They like to keep there own ethnic lines. Really, jews are like the most racist people in aome respects lol.

>>315059
>What makes the Jewish faith and history unique
They may actually be the chosen people.

They get shit on by everyone, but always come out of it on top.

Christ, what a horrible revelation.

>>315159
Reform jews dont consider The talmud or Gmara to be beyond criticism.

>>315059
>What makes the Jewish faith and history unique?
The fact that they worked to maintain a unity between their religious identity and ethnic identity.

It's managed to protect them from the kind of destruction-by-assimilation that took out most of the other small religions of a similar age. Jews can largely integrate into a different community, but they remain Jews; forever separate from those around them.

>>315138
>Some dont consider the Talmud or gmara as holy and true forever.
Is the talmud literally considered as holy as the Torah? I though that this was their policy even before the Talmud was produced and followed.

>Like you're trying to say that Jews are selfish and intolerant and bigoted.
I don't think anything I said implies "intolerant". I am just saying, that as far as I am aware (and I am willing to be proven wrong), that if you actually believe that Yahweh is the real and only God, that would you be willing to share that information. Maybe not go out of your way to eagerly try to get people to convert, but at least make it a policy to make an initial attempt to share the information, and if the other guy rejects it, whatever, his loss. It's like, they know the most important thing you could know, and they don't want to share it. At least, traditionally speaking they don't.

As for "bigoted", I don't think what I said implies that either, but the "chosen people" concept might make them as such if it acted as their motivation to not share the knowledge (like as if "we're God's chosen (elite). The gentiles are not to be privy to this privileged information")

>>315210
I meant to quote you >>315151

>>315187
Reform are the ones that don't wear yamakahs or go to shull often so yes, they don't use it

A long, long, long history of literally being driven from every land they occupy

>>315123

A fairly deeply ingrained Jewish belief is that you're supposed to be the "light on the hill", and not directly proselytize.

You don't exactly keep knowledge of God to yourself, but you don't go out and teach people either, you let them come to you by living a model life and reaping the benefits of it.

>>315138

Nobody consider the Talmud/Gemarah (the Gemarah is part of the Tlamud) to be holy, at least not on the same level of holiness of the Tanach.

>>315187

And nobody considers the Talmud to be beyond criticism. Maimonides had plenty of criticism for the stuff, and half of it is rabbis calling other rabbis idiots.

>>315210

See above in the post.

>>315320
>you're supposed to be the "light on the hill", and not directly proselytize
But wasn't the information non-public, and the community segregated from the others so contact for other peoples to "admire" the Jews limited?

And it's more than just a model life, it's about knowledge of the divine. A gentile could see a virtuous Jew and emulate his virtuous behavior, but he won't necessarily adopt the same religious beliefs because those are not as obvious. Know the nature of God, what rituals should be done, the history of God's revelation, etc is not found by emulation.

Arguably, I'd also say making no effort to share either their knowledge of the divine, nor the virtues of their good behavior - and instead just hoping that some random people happen to see them enough and have the self-interest to ask for more seems questionable morally to me.

>>315059
It was a religion that came out of henotheism to monotheism, but kept many traces of its original conformation. So, still view the god they worship exclusive of their people, as in the days when the protected of Yahweh fought the protected of Baal, who fought against the protected of El, and so on.

>>315381
Depends...
Ever tried convincing someone of something while they were not interesting in listening?
Christianity and Islam spread either by military force or by targeting important characters that would later force the religion on all of society.
You can think of Judaism like..a university..You don't go cause someone told you, you wont make it than. You go because you decided you want to.