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Without getting too deeply into theology, I thought it might be a good idea to have a place to ask questions about Judaism, Hebrew language, and basic beliefs since I've seen quite a few things posted about Judaism lately that aren't quite...accurate.
Names of God, to begin with are pretty much: Elohim (as noted by Ireth this is plural and has some instances where it is used in a plural sense, but mostly just used in the singular), Adonai, El (and variations), and most popularly in English "The Lord".
YHWH, transliterated into "Yahweh" by Christian theologians, isn't used. There are reasons for this, most notably because the vowels were not put in (well they weren't ever put in, in the Torah) and any attempt to pronounce it would be wrong, and potentially offensive to God, so best to just not try.
The Hebrew language has noun endings that denote gender and number. The exception to this is the singular male nouns. They don't get endings. Everything else should have some kind of ending, but as my Hebrew isn't up to par, I don't recall what the exceptions are. I don't imagine anyone would want to get too far into creating text in Hebrew as it would have a very small audience that could read it. And transliterating text from a non-Roman alphabet can be problematic.
Another note on Hebrew: there's Torah Hebrew and there is modern Hebrew. The Hebrew used in the Torah is not spoken, except in study or in shul, or during prayers. Modern Hebrew is the language you're looking for when you're talking about Hebrew today. And it has rules and grammar and words that are not included in the Torah, and to be honest my Hebrew is better when it's related to the Torah.
As for basic beliefs: Torah is law, follow the law, do mitzvot (good deeds), keep kosher, study Torah (traditionally if you're a man, but this has changed outside of Orthodoxy), etc. It basically boils down to be a decent person, follow your traditions, celebrate what God has given you and you should be fine.
If there are any questions about the above or general beliefs, I would be happy to answer them to the best of my ability. I don't want to get into any thorny debates about the topic, but by "general beliefs" I mean asking what "mitzvot" are. Or what a Seder is. Not debating the translation of one line and what effect it has on a religion.
If anyone else is Orthodox or Conservative, your input would be appreciated as well. I'm from a Reform congregation that leaned Orthodox at times, so I probably have a weird blend of traditions.
Names of God, to begin with are pretty much: Elohim (as noted by Ireth this is plural and has some instances where it is used in a plural sense, but mostly just used in the singular), Adonai, El (and variations), and most popularly in English "The Lord".
YHWH, transliterated into "Yahweh" by Christian theologians, isn't used. There are reasons for this, most notably because the vowels were not put in (well they weren't ever put in, in the Torah) and any attempt to pronounce it would be wrong, and potentially offensive to God, so best to just not try.
The Hebrew language has noun endings that denote gender and number. The exception to this is the singular male nouns. They don't get endings. Everything else should have some kind of ending, but as my Hebrew isn't up to par, I don't recall what the exceptions are. I don't imagine anyone would want to get too far into creating text in Hebrew as it would have a very small audience that could read it. And transliterating text from a non-Roman alphabet can be problematic.
Another note on Hebrew: there's Torah Hebrew and there is modern Hebrew. The Hebrew used in the Torah is not spoken, except in study or in shul, or during prayers. Modern Hebrew is the language you're looking for when you're talking about Hebrew today. And it has rules and grammar and words that are not included in the Torah, and to be honest my Hebrew is better when it's related to the Torah.
As for basic beliefs: Torah is law, follow the law, do mitzvot (good deeds), keep kosher, study Torah (traditionally if you're a man, but this has changed outside of Orthodoxy), etc. It basically boils down to be a decent person, follow your traditions, celebrate what God has given you and you should be fine.
If there are any questions about the above or general beliefs, I would be happy to answer them to the best of my ability. I don't want to get into any thorny debates about the topic, but by "general beliefs" I mean asking what "mitzvot" are. Or what a Seder is. Not debating the translation of one line and what effect it has on a religion.
If anyone else is Orthodox or Conservative, your input would be appreciated as well. I'm from a Reform congregation that leaned Orthodox at times, so I probably have a weird blend of traditions.