I learned that my maternal great-grandfather was Jewish. I thought this explained my affinity for Israel but I was told by a rabbi, "You're not Jewish, since your great-grandmother wasn't. Jewishness can only be passed down through the maternal line."
I'm confused. Any definitive opinion out there?
Scientifically, that sounds stupid.
For the purposes of making Aliyah (claiming Israeli citizenship) I believe this is true. The idea is that you know who your mother is, you can't really know who your father is.
I've been told that jewishness isn't a matter of blood, therefore there is no such thing as a "secular jew".
But for those who look for these things in people, I should think that blood is blood.
My father's people were Jewish. It was concealed from me.
Jewishness is blood and/or faith.
The name Jew is derived from the Israelite tribe of Judah; therefore there are actual descendants from said tribe. If you are an actual descendant, you have Judah's blood in your veins. In addition there are many converts to Judaism who probably have no genetic link to Judah whatsoever.
It depends on who's doing the identifying. The Nazis were rather more generous about regarding people as Jews.
My great-great-grandmother on my mother's side was Jewish. I have no idea what this does for me, other than give the Washington Post something to write about when I run for President.
Kind of a silly "rule", since King David wouldn't have been "Jewish".
I'm confused. Any definitive opinion out there?
If your mother was Jewish, then you're Jewish. If your father was Jewish but your mother wasn't, then you're not Jewish (unless you convert).
That's the Halakhah.
Might explain your affinity for Israel, but yeah, Jewishness is passed down through the maternal line or through formal conversion, and through practicing the faith, or not espousing another faith (if you are born into it).
Suffice it to say that you are Jewish enough for Jim Webb to hate you.
Yes! I have some Jewish relatives by marriage with cousins or uncle or aunt. Love happens. When we get together it's to enjoy each other's company and have a nice visit. And play poker:):) There is an infatuation with democrats and communists about Jews. Democrats have been embarrassing Jews recently. They are supposed to be for social justice and equal rights permanently in lieu of everything else like staying alive.
The anti-semitism of the left has been noticed. The left is losing support from Jews. Socialists in Germany built ovens for them once and that won't happen again.
Good question. So, perhaps, you could study the Talmud, by deliberate intent. See how that fits. If it feels right, ask yourself- "should I go to temple?" If the answer is "yes" then go! If the answer is "no"- then you really should need to have already been there! lol...All the best to ya, elcid
Dear elcid1970,
Traditionally, Jews recognized a person as born Jewish if his mother was Jewish. This has been the criteria used by Jews since the time of the Roman conquest of Judea. It sometime results in some interesting "Jews" - for example, Harrison Ford's maternal grandmother was a Jewish immigrant from Russia - therefore his mother was technically Jewish, and technically so is he (according to "Halacha" - traditional Jewish law) - although this may come as quite a surprise to him.
In the late part of the 20th century, Reform Judaism decided that they would recognize a child of either a Jewish mother or Jewish father as Jewish, provided that the family lived a Jewish lifestyle and participated in "Jewish life-cycle events." This concept is not shared by the Orthodox or Conservative movements.
On the other hand *anyone* who has a sincere desire to become Jewish may do so following a course of study - this usually takes a year or more, and the depth and intensity of study will depend on which "branch" of Judaism is involved.
If you are sincerely interested in becoming part of the Jewish people, so a rabbi to discuss it. Many rabbis, by tradition, will try to discourage you (not because of any prejudice against gentiles, but because it's not easy to learn and accept the many obligations of traditional Judaism - and a prospetive convert should be aware that it's not all a bowl of cherries) but if you are truly sincere keep coming back and after two or three tries, the rabbi will usually start you on the process of study and practice of Judaism. If you are interested in doing this, I recommend that you go to an Orthodox rabbi, as then there would be no question as to the validity of your conversion.
According to Jewish law, a person who converts to Judaism is considered just as Jewish as one born into Judaism (although you will always find paskudnyaks among Jews who just can't get this through their thick heads.) In fact, the most famous convert in the Hebrew bible is Ruth, who was the grandmother of King David, from whose descendants will come the Messiah.
Meanwhile, wishing you all the best,
SteveR