Religion - Who Is a Jew?
Who is a Jew?
(Hebrew: Mihu Yehudi—מיהו יהודי?) can be a complicated question because
Judaism shares some of the characteristics of a nation, an ethnicity, a
religion, and a culture, making the definition of who is a Jew vary
depending on whether a religious, sociological, or national approach to
identity is used. "Who is a Jew?" has also become a well-known
rhetorical question within Judaism, referring to a cultural and
religious battle to define who can be described as truly being a "Jew"
and what is the "correct" definition for being "Jewish"?
Recent controversy
The phrase Mihu Yehudi ("Who is a Jew?") came into widespread use when
several high profile legal cases in Israel grappled with this subject
after the founding of the Jewish state in 1948. These legal cases arose
because being Jewish is not simply a matter of subscribing to a set of
religious beliefs. For a variety of reasons related to Jewish history,
Judaism's religious laws, and cultural norms, being a Jew involves being
part of a people, or a nation in modern terminology. For most, it is a
product of their birth when they are born into a Jewish family; for
others, becoming Jewish involves applying and formally "converting" to
Judaism. Identifying who is a Jew matters for religious reasons as well,
a valid Jewish marriage can only exist between two Jews; a traditional
minyan (the quorum required for communal prayers), can only be formed
with ten adult male Jews.
According to Jewish tradition, the first converts were Abraham and
Sarah, and Biblical and post-Biblical literature provide numerous
examples of individuals, such as Ruth, and Onkelos, who joined the
Jewish people for a variety of reasons.
All Jewish denominations and groups within the Jewish community agree
that it is possible for virtually anyone to become a Jew, but since the
mid 20th century there has been increasing disagreement about what
precisely determines whether someone is born Jewish, or what it would
take to join the Jewish people.
Religious definitions
For the most part, a Jewish identity has been seen as a religious
question stemming specifically from the Torah and the Hebrew Bible as a
whole. As a result, religious authorities, namely scholarly rabbis, have
traditionally taken the responsibility of determining the criteria for
being a Jew.
Traditional (Halakhic) perspective
According to the traditional Rabbinic view, which is strictly maintained
by all branches of Orthodox Judaism today, only Halakha ("Jewish law")
can define who is or is not a Jew when a question of Jewish identity,
lineage, or parentage arises about any person seeking to define
themselves or claim that they are a "Jew" or "Jewish".
Therefore, Halakha defines a "Jew" as someone, male or female, who is:
either
(1) The child of a Jewish mother, known in English as "matrilineal
descent". For the derivation of this tradition see: [1] and [2], see
also matrilineality,
or
(2) A person who converts, meaning, formally converted to Judaism under
the auspices of a halakhically constituted and recognized Beth Din
("Court [of Jewish-Torah Law]") consisting of three learned rabbis
acting as Dayanim ("Judges"), who then issue a Shtar geirut
("Certificate [of] Conversion").
The first Jews are defined to be those who, in the traditional
historical narrative, received the revelation at Sinai.
This standard is mandated by the Talmud and the Shulkhan Arukh (the
definitive "Code of Jewish Law"), the text on which Halakha is based, is
held by Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism, and has been followed
by those Jews who follow the Rabbinical tradition ("Rabbinites") for at
least 1,800 years.
As a result, mere belief in the principles of Judaism does not make one
a Jew. Similarly, non-adherence by a Jew to Jewish principles of faith,
or even formal conversion to another faith, does not make one lose one's
Jewish status. Thus the immediate descendants of all female Jews (even
apostates) are still considered to be Jews, as are those of all her
female descendants. Even those descendants who are not aware they are
Jews, or practice a faith other than Judaism, are technically still
Jews, as long as they come from an unbroken female line of descent. As a
corollary, the children of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother are
not considered to be Jews by Orthodoxy or Conservatism unless they
formally convert, even if raised practising Judaism. (For that matter,
they are not considered to be children of Jews, as, in halakha, the
children of a non-Jewish woman have no paternity.)
Those not born to a Jewish mother may become accepted as Jews by the
Orthodox and Conservative movements through a formal and usually
difficult process of conversion in order to become "true converts" (Geirei
tzedek in Hebrew), and they are then accepted as Jews by the movement
doing the conversion. In addition, Halakha requires that the new convert
commit to observance of its tenets; this is called Kabbalat Ol Mitzvot,
"Acceptance [of the] Yoke [of the] Commandments."
Conversion is still relatively rare, and typically discouraged. Orthodox
Judaism does not accept the validity of non-Orthodox conversions.
Conservative Judaism may (rarely) accept the validity of some Reform and
Reconstructionist conversions, but only if they include (at a minimum)
brit milah (for men), immersion in a mikvah, and appearance before a
beit din (which is required to be composed of males, at least by the
traditional branch of Conservatism). Orthodox Judaism accepts only a
conversion in which the new convert accepts and undertakes to observe
Halakha. Non-Orthodox Rabbis do not require that converts make this
commitment, and therefore do not perform conversions accepted under
Orthodoxy.
Conservative Judaism may (rarely) accept the validity of some Reform and
Reconstructionist conversions, but only if they include (at a minimum)
brit milah (for men), immersion in a mikvah, and appearance before a
beit din (which is required to be composed of males, at least by the
traditional branch of Conservatism).
Perspective of Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism
In recent times, two theologically liberal Jewish groups have allowed
people who do not meet the classical halakhic criteria to define
themselves as Jews. The two groups are Reform Judaism, which began in
mid-19th-century Germany, and Reconstructionist Judaism, which began in
the 20th-century United States. Both exist primarily, but not
exclusively, in the United States, where Reform Judaism is the
denomination of about half of Jews who affiliate with a movement. Their
procedures for religious conversion often vary from the Orthodox ones,
and they accept a person as a Jew even if their mother is non-Jewish. In
the case of Reform, a person with one Jewish parent is considered to be
a Jew if he or she performs "appropriate and timely public and formal
acts of identification with the Jewish faith and people"; while this may
in principle be taken to require a Reform upbringing, it is also stated
that "for those beyond childhood claiming Jewish identity, other public
acts or declarations may be added or substituted after consultation with
their rabbi", and at least some -- possibly most -- Reform rabbis find
any form of clear and public self-identification, religious or not, to
be sufficient.
This policy is commonly (though somewhat inaccurately) known as
patrilineal descent; bilineal descent may be a more appropriate name.
The Reconstructionist position is similar.
Thus, today many Reform Jewish and secular American Jews born from
originally Gentile mothers consider themselves to be Jews, although they
are not considered Jewish by Orthodox Judaism or Conservative Judaism.
Not every movement outside the United States affiliated with the World
Union for Progressive Judaism (an organization to which both
Reconstructionist Judaism and American Reform Judaism belong) accepts
bilineal descent; notably, the Reform movement in the United Kingdom
does not, while the Liberal movement in the same country does.
Some Reform Jews view Judaism as a religion alone, and thus they view
Jews who convert to another faith as non-Jews. For example "...anyone
who claims that Jesus is their savior is no longer a Jew..."
[Contemporary American Reform Responsa, #68]. This contrasts to the
traditional view that Jews are a people, not merely followers of a
religion, and that those who adopt the beliefs of another religion are
still seen as Jews, though apostates. On the other hand, there are
pre-Reform texts stating that an apostate is always an Israelite, but no
longer a Jew; in order to be considered a Jew again, the apostate must
repent.
Jews who have practiced another faith
All Jewish denominations welcome the return of any Jews who have left
(or who have been raised in a faith other than) Judaism, and these
individuals would not require a formal conversion, though they would be
expected to abandon their previous beliefs and adopt Judaism. Males
would be required to have either a full brit milah (ritual
circumcision), or a symbolic one (if already circumcised). In some
communities, Orthodox and otherwise, people who return to Judaism may be
required or encouraged to participate in a ceremony similar to
conversion, including tevilah (immersion in a ritual bath) and
appearance before a beit din.
Conversion to Judaism
Related article: Ger tzedek ("Righteous Convert" or literally: "Convert
[of] righteousness")
The laws of conversion to Judaism are based in discussions in the
Talmud. Jewish law is generally interpreted as discouraging
proselytizing, and religious conversion is also discouraged. This is due
to the Jewish belief that all nations have a share in the World to Come,
and thus, do not need to accept Judaism and live as Jews. However, a
rabbi convinced of the prospective convert's sincerity may allow him or
her to follow the process of conversion, and thus appear before an
established three-judge Jewish religious court known as a Beth Din
(religious court) to be tested and formally accepted. There is no
specific time frame for the conversion process and procedures. The
convert is taught the basic laws and beliefs of Judaism, and must show
an ability to keep the laws and make a commitment to keep them. See How
does one convert?. A male convert is known as a Ger (or Ger tzedek,
meaning "[Righteous] Convert") and a female is a Giyoret, from the
Hebrew root word gar ( גר ) (to "live" or "sojourn [with]".)
As discussed above, some denominations of present-day Judaism do not
follow traditional Jewish laws concerning conversion. As a result, their
converts are frequently not recognized by other Jewish denominations.
Views in the State of Israel
The situation in Israel is somewhat ambiguous. One area where the
definition of Jew is relevant is in deciding who qualifies to make
aliyah and acquire citizenship under the Law of Return. The requirements
here differ significantly from the definition of a Jew under halakha, in
including anyone with a Jewish grandparent, as well as non-Jewish
spouses of Jews. However they specifically exclude Jews who have
converted to a faith other than Judaism. This definition is not the same
as that in traditional Jewish law; in some respects it is a deliberately
wider, so as to include those non-Jewish relatives of Jews who were
perceived to be Jewish, and thus faced anti-Semitism, but in other
respects it is narrower, as the traditional definition includes
"apostate" Jews.
A second area where the definition of Jew is relevant is in marriages
and divorces, which are under the jurisdiction of the Israeli Ministry
of the Interior which, unlike the Law of Return, defines Jews strictly
according to halakha.
A third relevant area is in the registering of "nationality" on Israeli
identity cards. This is also controlled by the Ministry of the Interior,
which has generally only registered as a "Jew" those who meet the
traditional definition. However, in a small number of cases the Supreme
Court of Israel has forced the Ministry to register as Jews individuals
who did not meet that definition.
A minority of secular Israelis consider themselves to be "Israeli"
enjoying a new Israeli culture and reject the title "Jew" as derived
from halakha. They assert that one who is devoted to Zionism, believes
and lives in the modern State of Israel, serves in the Israel Defense
Force, and works for the Ingathering of the Exiles from the diaspora, is
"the real Jew." According to this redefinition, even a gentile who meets
these criteria can be an "Israeli." They scorn the older generation of
European Jews who they believe went "like sheep to the slaughter" to the
death camps of the Holocaust and berate them for having a "galut (exile)
mentality". They have a particular dislike for Haredi Jews whom they
regard as old-fashioned relics of the Middle Ages, and whom they accuse
of "religious coercion." This is part of an ongoing kulturkampf, or
cultural divide in Israeli politics.
Controversy within the Jewish community
The traditional definition of a Jew is "someone born to a Jewish mother
or who has converted to Judaism." The requirement for a valid conversion
is that the candidate for conversion understand the obligations of being
a Jew, show commitment to fulfilling these obligations, undergo brit
milah (ritual circumcision) if male, perform immersion in a mikvah, and
satisfy the scrutiny of a beit din, or rabbinical court. The beit din
act not only as judges but as witnesses in the course of conversion, and
it follows that its members must be kosher, i.e. suitable and qualified
for these purposes.
The controversy of "who is a Jew" concerns two disputes:
* The Reform movement has changed some of the traditional requirements
for a Jewish identity in ways that are unacceptable to more traditional
movements in two ways:
o Children born of just one Jewish parent - regardless of whether the
father or mother is Jewish - can claim a Jewish identity. A child of
only one Jewish parent who does not claim this identity has, in the eyes
of the Reform movement, forfeited his/her Jewish identity. By contrast,
the traditional view is that any child born to a Jewish mother is
Jewish, whether or not he/she is raised Jewish, or even whether the
mother considers herself Jewish. As a result, the grandchildren of
Madeline Albright (who was raised Catholic and unaware of her Jewish
heritage) will all be Jews according to halakha (traditional Jewish
law), since their mother's mother's mother's mother's mother was a Jew
(Dr. Albright has only daughters).
o The requirement of brit milah has been relaxed, as has the requirement
of ritual immersion. (Conservatism also permits conversion without
circumcision in the case of hemophiliacs.)
* The Orthodox movement has determined that non-Orthodox rabbis are not
qualified to form a beit din, and are generally restrictive in their
willingness to accept the ruling of a beit din with whom they are not
familiar. This has led to the fact that non-Orthodox conversions are
generally not accepted in Orthodox communities. Since Orthodox Judaism
maintains the traditional standards for conversion -- in which the
commitment to observe Halakha is an absolute requirement -- non-Orthodox
conversions are generally not accepted in Orthodox communities because
the new movements perform conversions in which the new convert does not
undertake to observe Halakha.
In practical terms, this means that a growing number of traditional
Jewish families are increasingly concerned about the genealogy of their
children's potential spouses, fearing that their grandchildren may not
be Jews according to halakha. It also creates awkward situations in the
course of Jewish ritual, e.g. in creating a minyan during synagogue
services, etc.
It has also become an important issue in Israeli politics. The Law of
Return largely relies on the traditional interpretation of who is a Jew,
albeit with the added stringency that the person wishing to make aliyah
to Israel – that is, to immigrate under the Law of Return – should not
have formally converted to another religion. (This would disqualify Dr.
Albright's grandchildren). Leaders of the Conservative and Reform
movements have vehemently opposed the Israeli Chief Rabbinate's claim
that they alone can determine what is and what isn't a legitimate Jewish
conversion.
There have been several attempts to convene representatives of the three
major movements to formulate a practical solution to this issue. To
date, these have failed, though all parties concede the importance of
the issue is greater than any sense of rivalry among them.
Other approaches to Jewish identity
There have been other attempts to determine Jewish identity beside the
traditional approaches given above. These range from genetic population
studies (see Y-chromosomal Aaron) to controversial evolutionary
perspectives (see Kevin B. MacDonald, Yuri Slezkine).
Anti-Semitism and the definition of Jew
Although there are many reasons that the definition of Jewishness is
important within the Jewish community, the question of "Who is a Jew?"
has often been used by anti-Semites as precursor to persecution or
discrimination against Jews as an ethnic group. The Nazis, for example,
ruled that anyone with one Jewish grandparent was either a Jew or a
Mischling, and therefore subject to persecution. Similarly, Neo-Nazis
and modern anti-Semites often attempt to trace the ancestry of
individuals to determine the existence of "Jewish blood" in a family
tree, rather like racist efforts to identify individuals with "African
blood." Sensitivity over the historical and present use of the
definition of Jewishness for the purposes of ethnic persecution makes
some Jews uncomfortable when discussing the topic outside of the context
of religious identity.
Reaction against anti-Semitism
Jean-Paul Sartre, not a Jew himself, suggested in Anti-Semite and Jew
(1948) that Jewish identity "is neither national nor international,
neither religious nor ethnic, nor political: it is a quasi-historical
community." While Jews as individuals may be in danger from the
anti-Semite who sees only "Jews" and not "people", Sartre argues that
the Jewish experience of anti-Semitism preserves – even creates – the
sense of Jewish community. In his most extreme statement of this view he
wrote, "It is the anti-Semite who creates the Jew." Conversely, that
sense of specific Jewish community may be threatened by the democrat who
sees only "the person" and not "the Jew".
Hannah Arendt repeatedly asserted a principle of claiming Jewish
identity in the face of anti-Semitism. "If one is attacked as a Jew, one
must defend oneself as a Jew. Not as a German, not as a world-citizen,
not as an upholder of the Rights of Man, or whatever"; "A man attacked
as a Jew cannot defend himself as an Englishman or a Frenchman. The
world can only conclude from this that he is simply not defending
himself at all."
Sociological/anthropological approaches
As with any other ethnic identity, Jewish identity is, in some degree a
matter of claiming that identity and/or being perceived by others (both
inside and outside the ethnic group) as belonging to that group.
Returning again to the example of Madeline Albright, during her Catholic
childhood her being in some sense Jewish was presumably irrelevant. It
was only after she was nominated to be secretary of state that she, and
the public, discovered her Jewish ancestry.
Ido Abram claims that there are five aspects to contemporary Jewish
identity:
1. Religion, culture, and tradition.
2. The tie with Israel and Zionism.
3. Dealings with anti-Semitism, including issues of persecution and
survival.
4. Personal history and life-experience.
5. Relationship with non-Jewish culture and people. [3], [Voudouris
1999, 16]
The relative importance of these factors may vary enormously from place
to place. For example, a typical Dutch Jew might describe his or her
Jewish identity simply as "I was born Jewish," while a Jew in Romania,
where levels of anti-Semitism are higher, might say, "I consider any
form of denying as a proof of cowardice." [Voudouris 1999, 56]
Non-religious ethnic definition
In some areas of the world, and among some non-religious Jews, the term
"Jew" is used to describe a Jewish ethnic group without any kind of
consideration of Jewish faith and law. For example, in Russia (and the
former Soviet Union), "Jew" is commonly used to describe someone of the
Jewish ethnic group, and "Religious Jew" is commonly used to describe
someone of the Jewish faith. The ethnic group term "Jew" is used
completely outside the realm of Judaism. Therefore, there are no laws
governing matrilineal descent, and it is possible for to be considered ½
or ¼ Jewish, depending on ancestry. For example, it is not uncommon for
a non-religious person from Russia who has one Jewish parent to refer to
themselves as being a "Half Russian/Half Jewish", whether that parent is
the mother or father. In Soviet times, "Jewish" was a nationality, much
like "Ukrainian" or "Lithuanian"; a person whose parents were from two
different nationalities had the option of choosing either of the two
(but usually not both) at age 16.
Half-Jewish
"Half-Jewish" is a controversial new term, describing people who have
only a single Jewish parent. The term and the increasingly prominently
attached identity imply Jewishness as more of a cultural or ethnic trait
than a religious label.
Because of strict Jewish rules about parentage and Jews' strong group
identity, many people of mixed heritage have had difficulties
reconciling their identity. Familiar with Jewish culture and tradition,
they nevertheless cannot fully identify as a "Jew", whether or not they
embrace Judaism as a religion. Defined by both the broader culture or by
Anti-Semites (See Nuremberg Laws for example) on the one side or by
other Jews on the other, "half-Jews" have had to individually approach
and reconcile their identities. In the United States, because of
intermarriage, the population of half-Jews is beginning to rival that of
"full Jews" especially among young children. "Half-Jewish" is emerging
as an "independent identity" with its own traits of tolerance and
adaptation, but also perhaps a sense of "detachment" and "spiritual
indifference".
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_is_a_Jew
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