Judaism

[peacetraveler22]

Who is an expert on Judaism? I know a lot of Jews in America, but none are overly religious or hard core practitioners. Many things I witnessed during my trip confused me. For instance, why must men and women be separated at the Western Wall? For some reason, this shocked me. Why do people sway back and forth while reading the Torah? It appears they are almost in a trance like state. One reader recently told me about "Jerusalem Syndrome." I thought it was a joke, but it's a real psychological phenomenon where religious people enter into an altered state or engage in odd irrational behavior after viewing the holy sites. For me, there was absolutely no psychological or emotional impact when visiting these sites as a non-believer, yet they are still interesting from a historical standpoint. Many people in my group became emotionally overwhelmed walking in the footsteps of Jesus, including two pastors who were my companions on the trip, though not rising to the level of hysteria.

Tell me other interesting facts or insights about Judaism. Of course, I can go on the Internet and read more about it, but it's more interesting to learn from people who practice the faith, or have a lot of knowledge and insight about it.