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I was surprised to learn that like all other religions Judaism followers also change how they view their religious practices and become less engaged in the traditional religion. "New age Judaism which is to say it isn't really jewish at all. Just as Humanistic Judaism has gone over the deep end into agnosticism and even atheism...(pg.277, Prothero)

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What surprised me was the notion of exile and return. I knew this existed, but when I see it related as a motivational tragedy, it makes much more sense, seems like it has been true for jewish people through history.

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"what makes you a jew is being born a jew" (252). It was interesting to learn this belief.

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The Tanakh refers in places to God in almost embarrass human terms. "Jews emphasize the radical qualitative distinction between God and human beings" (Prothero 253).

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"In the United States, Jews are influential in politics, thanks in part to high voter turnouts among Jews..." (246) This stood out to me because it kind of reflects what Malcom X was saying at the end of his book about "beating white people at their own game" and how if black Americans turned up to the polls then people would have to pay attention to them.

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One thing that stood out was how much Judaism values story and narrative, and how that mixes in with their culture. Prothero said "Judaism begins and ends with a story" (Prothero, 243) This ties into how we learned about myths and religion.

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Mel Grasso-I was intrigued by Prothero's explanation of the dietary restrictions within Judaism. He states that Jews "consume only fish with scales and fins and they will not eat pork or birds of prey. Because meat and dairy cannot be mixed, many Jews have two separate sets of plates and flatware" (259). I was unaware of many of these food restrictions.

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Mel Grasso-I was intrigued by Prothero's explanation of the dietary restrictions within Judaism. He states that Jews "consume only fish with scales and fins and they will not eat pork or birds of prey. Because meat and dairy cannot be mixed, many Jews have two separate sets of plates and flatware" (259). I was unaware of many of these food restrictions.

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I was very surprised to learn that Judaism is considered the smallest religion with about 14 million Jews worldwide. In my head I always viewed this religion being one of the largest because I have known so many people who practice it.

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I was surprised that it is encouraged in teaching to discuss personal interpretation of the Torah.

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There are only 14 million Jewish people around the world

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There are only 14 million Jewish people around the world