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Markku H

Hejsan/Salut!
Great question about Orthodox Judaism. I was mostly involved with the Chabad variety...which as you probably know holds tightly to the mystical/kabbalistic teachings of Judaism. For me, a non-mystical approach to Judaism (or Christianity) doesn't make much sense. Remove the mysticism, and you end up with just a set of rules, or an intellectual exercise. I don't know if you read my blog post about leaving Evangelicalism, but I talk a bit about it there. Chassidic Judaism (which is more accurately what I was involved in) makes EVERY moment of life an opportunity for elevation, or transendence. I find that Quakerism (aside from Orthodox Christianity...ie the Russian or Greek variety) is the only form of Christianity that also holds to a mystical understanding of G-d, and remains open to mysticism in general. I couldn't stay in Chassidic Judaism, mainly because I believe the Messiah to be literally Yeshua (Jesus)...but I also hold to the mystical view that there is the "Christ", or the Spirit of Messiah, that "divine Spark" which resides in everyone. It's our journey here on earth to uncover those sparks in each other, and in the world around us. So...in keeping with true Kabbalistic thinking, my idea of G-d, and who He is has multiple layers of truth and expression. I find that in Quakerism, there is room for all of those layers to co-exist in unity, even in sometimes seeming contradiction. It is my biggest struggle in life to not be consistently rejecting one part of myself or another (ie Christianity, Judaism, Quakerism....even some Christian Science and Islam thrown in there!) so I can make myself somehow feel more "whole". G-d is One, He is Whole, and in Quakerism, as well as in a mystical understanding of Judaism, I can see my identity as Whole in the Heavenly Realms without having to make an intellectual decision about "truth", etc.... G-d will make all of that clear in the end. In the meanwhile, all I have to do is continuously turn back to H-m, finding my identity in H-m, however he chooses to express H-mself to me.

I don't know if that answers it....I could write paragraphs and paragraphs on this...it's one of my favourite topics!!!