[Wyn]

I’m a little confused about what constitutes a Jew, as defined by Jews. (I suspect there will be differences in opinion between Israeli and American Jews.) As I understand, early in Jewish history, converts were welcomed. However, at some point this changed so that you couldn’t be considered Jewish unless certain criteria were fulfilled – e.g. your mother must be Jewish? Why was this “policy” changed? Does it still stand? Are there official degrees of Jewishness? What advantages do these levels of Jewish status offer? (E.g. entitled to participate in religious ceremonies, entitled to hold office in Israel, etc.)

User Detail :  

Name : Wyn, City : Dallas, State : TX, Country : United States, 

[Gregg S.]

Just as there are Catholic Christians and Lutherans and Baptists, there are Orthodox Jews, Reform Jews, Conservative Jews, Reconstructionist Jews and others. Just as Mormons consider themselves Christians, and some other Christians do not consider Mormons of their faith, there are disagreements among Jews regarding the elements of “Jewishness.” In the United States, the vast majority of Jews are Reform and Conservative, and converts are welcome. Even under Orthodoxy, converts are welcomed, but the requirements for conversion are more stringent.

It is true that Judaism has never been a proselytizing faith, and has never sought converts, but this doesn’t mean Judaism rejects converts. In fact, all branches now agree that anyone who wishes to become Jewish, and is sincere about it, should be welcomed.

As far as Israel is concerned, most Israelis are secular, but because of the political situation there, the interior ministry is in the hands of an ultra-orthodox party. They have been known to abuse their power and have made it difficult for political opponents and secular Jews. However, there is no such thing as “degrees” of Jewishness, and anyone can hold office in Israel, including non-Jews and secular Jews (the prime minister is non-religious, and there are Arab members of Parliament, including Azmi Bishara, who is running for Prime Minister).

User Detail :  

Name : Gregg S., Gender : M, Religion : Jewish, City : Boston, State : MA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jesse-N30797]

Jewish law is very simple. You’re a Jew if your mother was, or if you converted. There’s nothing else to it.

In reality, there are some groups that dispute the authority of some conversions. Generally this means that strict Orthodox groups refuse to accept people converted by a more liberal authority. In Israel today, this is a current issue because the state specifies religion on a resident’s identity card, and they take the religion as specified by the Orthodox authorities. The result is that there are converts who consider themselves Jews, but the State of Israel thinks otherwise.

Historically, Judaism has welcomed converts, but not sought them.

Once a person is recognized as a Jew, he/she is 100 percent Jewish and sees no restrictions. Realize, though, that Judaism differentiates between Kohanim, Leviim and others. Each has his own obligations and responsibilities. These are inherited distinctions, not earned.

User Detail :  

Name : Jesse-N30797, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 40, City : Herzliya, State : NA, Country : Israel, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Larry-Hill22947]

By Orthodox and Conservative rules, the childeren of a Jewish woman are Jewish regardles of wether the father is Jewish or not. If the mother is not Jewish but the father is, the children have to have a conversion ritual of imersiion in a special bath called a Mikvah, and the parents (if the child is under 13) would go before a panel of three Rabbis called a Beit Din. Under reform rules, if either parent is Jewish and the child is brought up with the Jewish rituals and education, the child is considered Jewish. In the past, starting with Rome, and continuing in countries such as Czarist Russia, and Spain during the Inquisition, it was a capital offense to convert somone to Judaism. Under these circumstances, converts would be turned away, becase it is more important to protect life. Before the Romans destoyed the Temple in 70 CE, conversion was a routine occurance, and only with the Roman ban did conversion stop. Currently converts are welcomed, but not aggressively sought.

User Detail :  

Name : Larry-Hill22947, Gender : M, Religion : Jewish, City : Huntington Beach, State : CA, Country : United States, 

[Author]

Posts