My questions for true, knowledgeable Jews:
1. Where did our spirits originate?
2. What will the Messiah be like when he comes?
3. When will the Levites begin practicing the Law of God again?
4. What qualifies a man to be a prophet?
5. Are there prophets today?
6. If not, then why?
7. What happens to those who die without accepting Judaism?
8. What happens to innocents who die?
9. Why do Muslims hate you?
10. Why is Jerusalem coveted by the Muslims and why shouldn't they have it?
11. What does the skull cap mean?
12. What is the purpose of the Wailing wall?
13. Why would Judaism only build one temple?
I'll give it a go. Though I have to admit a serious lack of knowledge about certain of these things.
Also, you ask these questions like all jews believe a single thing. Judaism is much more nebulous, IMO, and is always dependent upon what branch of judaism you follow; whether you believe in jewish mysticism; and who your rabbi is. Even among rabbis, if you ask one question, you will get a different answer from each. Remember, the socratic method is based in the way the talmud is studied. Unlike christianity, there are not always hard and fast answers. We study by asking questions.
1. The spirit... I needed google for a clear response on this one, I'm afraid. But I do have a link that's a good start:
Jewish views of the soul begin with the book of Genesis, in which verse 2:7 states, "Hashem formed man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." (New JPS)
The Torah offers no systematic definition of a soul; various descriptions of the soul exist in classical rabbinic literature.
Saadia Gaon, in his Emunoth ve-Deoth 6:3, explained classical rabbinic teaching about the soul. He held that the soul comprises that part of a person's mind which constitutes physical desire, emotion, and thought.
Maimonides, in his The Guide to the Perplexed, explained classical rabbinic teaching about the soul through the lens of neo-Aristotelian philosophy, and viewed the soul as a person's developed intellect, which has no substance.
In Kabbalah the soul is understood to have three elements. The Zohar, a classic work of Jewish mysticism, describes the three elements as nephesh, ru'ah, and neshamah. They are differentiated thus:
Nephesh – The living mortal being; it feels hunger, hates, loves, loathes, weeps, and most importantly, can die (cease to breathe). The nephesh is simply an "air-breather". Animals also are a nephesh (they breathe air), but plants do not (although there are Jewish traditions that claim that plants do - such as Chabad). It is the source of one's physical and psychological nature. (derived from Old Testament Theology, by Gerhard von Rad)
The next two parts of the soul are not implanted at birth, but are slowly created over time; their development depends on the actions and beliefs of the individual. They are said to only fullyexist in people awakened spiritually:
Ruach – the middle soul, or spirit. It contains the moral virtues and the ability to distinguish between good and evil. In modern parlance, it equates to psyche or ego-personality.
Neshamah – the higher soul, Higher Self or super-soul. This distinguishes man from all other life forms. It relates to the intellect, and allows man to enjoy and benefit from the afterlife. This part of the soul is provided both to Jew and non-Jew alike at birth. It allows one to have some awareness of the existence and presence of God. In the Zohar, after death Nefesh disintegrates, Ruach is sent to a sort of intermediate zone where it is submitted to purification and enters in "temporary paradise", while Neshamah returns to the source, the world of Platonic ideas, where it enjoys "the kiss of the beloved". Supposedly after resurrection, Ruach and Neshamah, soul and spirit re-unite in a permanently transmuted state of being.
The Raaya Meheimna, a Kabbalistic tractate always published with the Zohar, posits two more parts of the human soul, the chayyah and yehidah. Gershom Scholem wrote that these "were considered to represent the sublimest levels of intuitive cognition, and to be within the grasp of only a few chosen individuals":
Chayyah – The part of the soul that allows one to have an awareness of the divine life force itself.
Yehidah – the highest plane of the soul, in which one can achieve as full a union with God as is possible.
Soul - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2. The Messiah is not a "spiritual" savior in the sense that Christians believe. In fact, Jews tend to use the word "moshiach" in order for the concept not to be confused with the Christian concept. Interestingly, there is no mention of the moshiach in the Torah and there are those who believe that as a concept, it came later, during the days of the prophets.
Moshiach means "annointed one" as in having been annointed like a king would be. He is a messianic king of the line of David who will be a charismatic leader and great warrior and bring a millenium of peace at the end of our days on earth, during which time everyone will live togther in peace.
3. The "levites" are not the priests. those are the kohans. The Levites (of which I am one), being a descendent of the tribe of Levi, are the only tribe of Israel with no tribal land. When the temple is rebuilt they receive tithes because their sole duty is to minister to the kohanim and keep watch over the Temple. Without a temple, no duty to the temple.
4/5/6 I'm afraid I can't answer your questions about prophets because we don't believe there are any now as far as I know. We believe that age has passed and that Elijah was the last. (Now, I could be wrong about that... but that's my understanding. someone may correct me on it).
7. Nothing happens to those who "die without accepting judaism". If a child is circumcized in accordance with jewish law, he is jewish. If you are born to a jewish mother, you are jewish. If you are a righteous person, whether jew or gentile, you're blessed. (which isn't to say that if you're jewish, you don't have to live by the laws... ).
8. Innocents who die are always blessed and go to G-d.
9. Muslims? Think of it as the worst case of sibling rivalry ever in the history of mankind.
10. A yarmulke (what you call a skull cap) is worn to show devotion to G-d.
11. It's the "western wall". We don't really call it the wailing wall. But the wall was the western wall of The Temple in Jerusalem and is what remains after the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 CE. It's our holiest spot because the Temple was built over the holy of holies where Abraham took Issac to be sacrificed but was stopped and a ram given to him for sacrifice.
12. Obviously, we have many temples in the sense that there are synagogues all over the world. But as I said, THE Temple is over the holy of holies; we aren't allowed to follow certain laws until it is rebuilt. Right now there's a mosque over that site and we can't go there. (Although I did go to Al Aqsa [the Dome of the Rock] years ago when we were still allowed to).
