I think a lot about how Judaism is not really a "Western Religion" even though it gets grouped in with that label, because... well, because labels are easy, and humans like categories, and they help us divide things (which we often need to do to be able to talk about them).

But what do you mean, when you call Judaism "Western"? Sure, there's a geographical nature to certain branches and ideas within Judaism that emerged from what some people call "The West" (i.e. Europe).

But the practices and ideas of Judaism that most people are familiar with emerged not in Europe, but in Persian Babylonia. In Iraq. The Talmudic centres of Jewish thought and practice that still reverberate today were in what are now Baghdad and Fallujah.

Lots of Jewish practice was sharpened over the years through encounters in Europe. But at its core, the root practices and ideas which make up Judaism aren't really geographically "Western."

And that's not even saying anything yet about Mizrachi (literally: "Eastern") Jews. So what do you mean when you call Judaism as "Western" religion? (For that matter,... what do you mean when you call Judaism a "religion"? But that's a topic for a separate rant).

Do you mean the "Western" idea that capital "T" Truth is knowable through deductive reasoning? Judaism doesn't so much buy into that. Truth - in Hebrew, Emet - is the domain of only One entity - God. We can get close to knowing Truth but we'll mostly have be content with "t"ruth.

Do you mean the "Western" dichotomy between science and religion? Judaism doesn't so much buy into that. Jewish spirituality is pretty expansive & makes room for scientific inquiry & knowledge. It's why you mostly don't see Jews obsessing over debates over creation v. evolution.

Do you mean the "Western" focus on individualism that has its roots in the Protestant Reformation and French Revolution? Judaism doesn't so much buy into that. While Jewish law & thought emphasizes individual rights, they are all ultimately based on collective responsibility.

Perhaps you mean the "Western" religious ideas of Abrahamic faiths/Judeo-Christianity. This is ***really*** not a Jewish idea. While there may be common ancestry - real/imagined - through the figure of Abraham, there are no so-called "Judeo-Christian" values inherent to Judaism.

(This has been discussed ad nauseam elsewhere anytime major political / cultural figures start talking about so-called "Judeo-Christian" values. I'm going to leave it alone here. When people say "Judeo-Christian," they almost always mean "Christian.")

Or perhaps you mean the "Western" religious idea of a dualistic God, enthroned on high and separate from Creation. That idea *is* within Judaism. But it's insufficient. Judaism has lots of non-dualistic spirituality, including panentheism.

Maybe you mean the "Western" ideas of democracy. It may come as quite a surprise to most American Jews, who believe that Judaism = democracy, but traditionally speaking, Judaism doesn't have much to say about democracy (see earlier point about Judaism vs. Greek ideas of Truth)

In the realm of what we might call politics, Jewish law has traditionally been much more concerned with communal care, and with maintaining the good graces of authorities, than with a system of political representation called "democracy."

It bears saying that for some there's no consensus on what counts as a unified body of Western Thought / The West. But when you take a close look at the major ideas on Wisdom, Truth, Law, God, Spirituality, The Self, & Society... Judaism looks more and more decidedly unWestern.

This is why it's so hard and frustrating for Jews as a minority to have to defend the ideas and practices that are & have become indigenous to Judaism against a cultural hegemony that tries to absorb us into it writ large and erase that cultural uniqueness.

This manifests itself from the comparatively petty & minor December retorts of "So that means you don't have a Christmas tree?!" to the more significant ideological attacks against Jewish sovereignty as Western colonialism / imperialism.

So when you see Judaism labeled as a "Western Religion," it's important to inquire why it's being called so, and who's doing it. What claim are they trying to make and who are they trying to convince?