53.5 What it means to be a Jew | Rabbi Manis Friedman

Ebb and Flow with Solomon Ezra

What it means to be Jewish The body parts are matched to the personality. The more definitions we give ourselves, the healthier. If I know who I am, where I belong, what my mission is, I'm solid. If not, I spend half the day worrying about it all - existential problems. Would it make other people able to accept us if we didn't identify as Jews? If I can't present myself as a Jew, then I cant present myself. Something essential about me. Born Jewish, not a religion. In fact you are more Jewish than you are male. Your Neshama could come back as a female, or the opposite sex. A soul can't change from Jewish to non-Jewish. A convert doesn’t change his soul, he receives a Jewish soul, that's why a convert is a real Jew. That soul can honestly say "my ancestors were slaves in Egypt." Even if he was an Egyptian. We're almost a different species. That's why we don't fit in no matter where we go. As long as you see the commonality, you haven't identified the Jewish you. What is Universal is not Jewish. Jewish is beyond Universal. We're all created in God's image, but what makes us Jewish? To identify something you must identify a unique quality not the universal one. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/solomon-ezra-berezin/support