(sr) you have to separate people (who are far from perfect in many instances) from teachings...I have trouble myself finding things in common with American Jews (who are mostly liberal, sorry to admit :-$ - nothing personal), and will get along with people who are Christians and conservative...I think that because a lot American Jews don't really live by traditional Jewish values today :-(, they are more committed to liberalism, unfortunately...my biased personal observation..

Sveta, you do not see contradictions with what you are saying and
"act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with G-d" - your words sound harsh, not humble....- please, do not take it as criticism(F) - this is how it might look.

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Happy New Year to all! Virtual hugs!

you said you saw hypocracy..I told you that many times from people thatyou expect to live by the Book, are not guided by the Book anymore..Iwas not saying that every liberal person is a hypocrite or lessmoral..I was addressing your claim about people in the supposedlyreligious community..In my observation, they were not religious..
I personally took out my daughter from the Hebrew Day School because myvalues and views of raising kids were different from a lot of peoplethere..and this is how I explained it (because people's views therewere not traditionally Jewish imo)..

Many American Jews are quite shallow and materialistic... At the same time they are mostly very liberal... It's a contradiction which I dont fully understand...

I think that because a lot American Jews don't really live by traditional Jewish values today
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you mean we no longer live in the isolation of the Jewish ghettos?

Many American Jews are quite shallow and materialistic
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and American gentiles aren't? and are they really more materialistic than Jews from the FSU?

"while the Jewish tradition was not liberal in substance, it was (sometimes) close to liberal in its cast of mind. There were indeed canonized and authoritative texts, but never a single hierarchy of authoritative interpreters claiming to be God’s representatives and able to make that claim good. There was no Jewish pope, not even a local archbishop. So “another interpretation” was always possible, which, though it might not have equal legal standing (the law was determined by a majority of leading sages), might nonetheless achieve equal intellectual standing. The preservation of dissenting views was an important feature of the tradition, and this suggests a tolerance for disagreement, a readiness to live with ambiguity, a sense of mutual respect at least among the educated elite. All these are also features of liberal political culture."

Yes I think American Christians overall are less materialistic then the Jews ...
Maybe it's the teachings of Christ. He did teach about the importance of moral values and of the horrors of materialism... Maybe it's something else... There are a lot of stereotypes about the Jews. For example "JAP" Jewish American Princess....

You honestly believe that Jews are more materialistic than Italians, Greeks, or any other group of relatively recent immigrants?

I think we all should stop perpetuating stereotypes here - this will descend again into a nasty exchange.
One can be philanthropic, very spiritual - and live in the nice house.
There is a big difference between reasonable comfort and greed.

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Happy New Year to all! Virtual hugs!