What are the Pros and Cons of Judaism?

Answer 1

The cons: We view them as challenges or tests, not disadvantages.

Among other issues, Jews are sometimes attacked.

The pros:

1) An identity and tradition. Jews have an unbroken tradition stretching back for 3800 years to our founder, Abraham. We possess the exact same text of the Torah that God gave to Moses over 3300 years ago. We have the names, dates, and teachings of the leading sages in every generation since Abraham.

See: Jewish history timeline

2) A life. Some might consider the laws of Judaism as being too much, but for us they are a life, with happy festivals, structured family life, daily activities, and a sense of purpose. Judaism is famous for its ambiance and its optimism.

See: The Jewish holidays

3) Community; friends. Every Jewish community has individuals and groups who give free help in loans of money or useful items, visiting the sick, preparing the dead for burial, assisting young mothers, etc. This is done voluntarily and is not for profit.

Jewish communities have free daily and weekly classes in Torah-subjects, both in synagogues and in other public and home-venues. In these settings, lay-people can ask questions in topics such as halakha (Torah-laws) and Talmud.

4) Eternity.

Rabbi Jacob Emden (1697-1776) once said that the survival of the Jewish people is the greatest of miracles. It can be explained only as a fulfillment of God's covenant.
Consider also this famous quote from Mark Twain:
"If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one quarter of one percent of the human race. The Jew ought hardly to be heard of; but he is heard of, has always been heard of.
The Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greeks and Romans followed and made a vast noise, and they were gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no dulling of his alert mind. All things are mortal but the Jews; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?"

Answer 2

To talk about pros and cons like this would be similar to talking about pros and cons of being Irish. This is purely opinion-based, and opens up the door to bigotry.