/lit/ - Literature

>>15636768

I think >>15632798 answers most of it. You can convert, but it is a process that takes years. Think of it as moving to the US- if you're born there, you can be as knowledgeable and ignorant of your culture as you want and you're still american. To become a citizen requires you to learn US History and Civics on a level most US citizens don't know. That's conversion to Judaism.

>>15636781
Hi bubbeleh, I'm still here.

Yes, it's one of my favorite topics because of how interesting it is.
The tractate of the Talmud where this is discussed is Eruvin, and it is one of the hardest tractates.

I'll give an explanation since you asked, but this will also be a simple first talmud study if anyone is interested
>in b4 'slimy legalistic jews are so jewish and legalistic and break laws', I'm sorry you got filtered. If you don't get it that's fine, but reacting in anger is just personal immaturity.

There are two classes of Laws in the Talmud- M'Sinai, from Sinai, and DeRabbanan, from the rabbis. The former class is totally indisputable and is used as the basis for many arguments and traditions of the latter.
Something M'Sinai would be "Observe the Sabbath Day and keep it holy", from the Ten Commandments. What we do is we ask "what does it mean to "observe" the sabbath and to "keep it holy"? What actions does that entail? Moreso, the Ten Commandments are read twice, once in Exodus and once in Deuteromy. and the first time it says to "Observe" (Shamor) the Sabbath, and the second time it says to "Remember" (Zachor) the sabbath day. What does it mean to remember, and since both are said, what does each one mean? How do we apply that to our lives?

Halacha De'Rabbanan, from the rabbis, serves to try and fill in that blank.

>The way I read it, it would make taking anything out of your home on sabbath forbidden. But that does not make any sense to me.

That is nearly exactly what the Rabbis thought. The conclusion reached was that it is indisputable that you cannot carry things around in a public space on shabbat. The Tractate Eruvin serves to create the Halachic Construct of the Eruv, a string surrounding a neighborhood, town, or city that transforms it from a public space to a private space. It's a lot of needling logic, but that's the point. It's a complete flex in using logical systems to determine legal frameworks and answer hard questions in the process.

In practice, it ends up like this.
If I'm in Buttfuck Montana, I cannot carry a bag with me on shabbat, and I cannot go more than a 1000 step vicinity from my door because everything outside of my house is public domain.
However, if I'm in Jerusalem, I can walk within the boundaries of the eruv as much as I want with however many bags I want-- though using the eruv as an excuse for labor is strictly forbidden.