Who Is a Jew

According to the midrash, it's very easy to determine who is a Jew. If a soul was present at Har Sinai to hear the Ten Commandments, it is a Jewish soul, if not, than it is a non-Jewish soul. That does become a bit hard to prove in the real world however , but any step taken past that mystical concept become tricky. In a religion where there is not a single belief of faith that is accepted by one hundred percent of the followers, trying to determine how to determine exactly who should be counted amongst those followers does not show itself to be an easy task. This dilemma leads to the more serious concern than a mere religious, social, or ethnic label, it creates potential problems with the critical issues of whether their children are Jewish, or whether they are allowed in under Israel's Law of Return, which enables any Jew immediate citizenship, upon request, to the State of Israel. The different ways of logistically determining who is a Jew do appear to be finite however, and can be brought down to four main methods. The first method of counting those who are Jewish is by the halachic criteria, i.e. matrilineal descent, or converted to the faith. The second is the poll of those that consider themselves Jewish, followed by those who believe in and keep Judaism, and finally the opinions of an outsider, either one who is merely labeling, or one who is segregating, determines who should be counted amidst this group. Each method has problems, as in each set, they all seem to allow another segment who is considered either undesirable, or is intentionally not counted by other Jews. While at the same time, the method of counting ignores a group who assumed itself to be Jewish. It seems that each new count is created to allow in the ignored groups, but ends up causing more problems.

First and foremost, is the halachic view that people are Jewish if they are born to a Jewish mother, or went through what is now considered to be an Orthodox conversion. The unwanted group here are the people who have Jewish mothers, do not believe in the Jewish traditions, often to the extant past Atheism or Agnostic, and have gone to a religion or belief that directly opposes the Jews. The example of Brother Daniel, a child survivor of the Holocaust, who had been hidden in a Monastery, converted to Christianity, became a monk, and then attempted to use his Jewish lineage to allow him in under the law, is a rather famous example. Also prominent in this regard, are Cardinal Lustiger, possibly the next pope, who has a somewhat similar story, and Reinhardt Heidrich, who was one of the leading Nazis, and had a Jewish mother. Under the Halacha, these people having "temporarily lent themselves to another faith," cannot be part of a minyon, but are still considered Jews, and Halachically were to have been allowed entry into Israel had the rule not been abridged.

This group however, does not include people who either by not converting to Judaism, or perhaps by having not undergone a complete Orthodox conversion, have not fulfilled the requirements of such a conversion, but have in their own minds, gone through the steps necessary to be a Jew. Such people as Monica Lewinsky are a the second generation results of this group. Her father is Jewish, her mother had a Reform conversion, and early on in the whole scandal, she said that she might wind up making aliya. She isn't Jewish according to halacha, but she considers herself Jewish, and due to the huge intermarriage rate is one of a very large group. Yet, as the rule stands she would not qualify as a Jew under the freedom of return act, because her mother is not really Jewish, having not gone through the Orthodox conversion, and Monica herself did not convert.

This group of people who did not do the proper conversions consists of people who live lives where they say they are Jewish, some even live in Israel, and serve in the IDF, but they aren't Jewish, Halachically. The problem with this is that Jews for Jesus and the like declare themselves to be Jews. Most of Jews for Jesus are Halachically Jews, having been born to Jewish parents, but not all. This case is brought forth however, to demonstrate further the problem with this second grouping; that it will literally allow anybody in at the mere statement that a person is in. Whereas Heidrich would probably not keep his Jewish identity if given the choice, Brother Daniel certainly tried to claim it, and Cardinal Lustiger tried to temporarily claim it, without success, to get himself allowed into Israel.

So then, what if we allow people to call themselves Jewish if they think they're Jewish, so long as they keep the laws? For example, Sir Isaac Newton, followed everything that Rambam wrote. However he could never convert to Judaism and be respected either at his time in England, or in the Renaissance in general. He followed Jewish law, but could not officially take the steps necessary to make him Jewish. However, in his mind, he declared himself a Jew.

It could easily be pointed out that no such definitive position could ever be agreed upon in Judaism. However that's not quite true, as the standards are written and used-Orthodox conversion. With few exceptions, if the Gentile is willing to become an Orthodox Jew, he can become one. There are three situations where the gentile encounters a problem. If the rabbi sees a political problem, i.e. a strong Arab supporter is willing to keep the laws in order to allow himself quick entry into Israel, and then cause problems, the rabbi will say no. Secondly, if a rabbi cannot be found, and thirdly, as in the case of Newton, is blocking him.

In the first example, it seems appropriate that this man who has come only for trouble, should not be considered part of the religion. Fine. In the second situation, the man is as "Jewish" as he can be given the circumstances, and as "Jewish" as he needs to be, for his mind. The same with the third. If they want to be Jews, accepted by the Jewish community, and follow the laws, then they're set. This is a non-issue and they convert. In other words, if somebody feels that he/she believes in the Talmud, and the Jewish religion as a whole, then he/she converts. If they don't agree to the Orthodox beliefs, then they perform a less than orthodox conversion, and find themselves in group number one.

The issue of Who Other People Consider Jews, the fourth way of counting, is almost a side point. It's not quite set what the world believes. In Nazi Germany, being one-eighth Jewish made you a Jew. In the Inquisition it was not accepting the Church, in previous times, it was studying Torah. In today's world, it's almost random. People considered Sammy Davis Jr. Jewish. He had a conservative conversion. Marylin Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor were\are not considered Jewish, but they also had a conservative conversion. It's absolutely too subjective to judge. The "others" can include or exclude anybody on a whim. In Florida, every week, in front of the State Legislature, a different religious leader is brought forward to offer the weekly prayer. A Rabbi Joseph Cohen was given the Jewish week. He is the Rabbi of the Jews for Jesus community. Society declares them Jews. At times. But, it is too subjective to work as a true definition.

However, let's take a nearly objective observer say, Webster's Dictionary. "Jewish-A member of a religion descended from the kingdom of Judah." Converts are assumed to be a part of that. This tries to sidestep how you become or became a member, and manages to create a new problematic category, inhabited by the Panthians, and others in their positions. The Panthians are two million people in India and Pakistan, who by many, are considered to be a segment of the lost tribes. The Panthians fit in the first category; they claim to have documents showing them direct descendants of Binyamin, and they do not intermarry. They fit into the second category of wanting to be Jews. According to some accounts, they actually claim to be the "real Jews." They do believe that they follow the old laws, and consider themselves to be brothers to the Jews in Israel.

The Panthians also fit in the third category. They keep halachot, as they know or remember them. According to their history, they decided to take the pretences of the Muslim faith since their actual copies of the Torah were stolen, and they were assured that Islam was Monotheistic. They fit in the fourth category. When the English conquered India, they came across these seemingly out of place people, many of whom had blue eyes, long noses, and in most case, full payot, (The locks of hair that grow down the temples of Orthodox Jew) and the English fully believed that these people were Jewish. The only category they are not fully recognized by is that of Webster's dictionary. They aren't from the two and a half tribes that comprised the kingdom of Judah, they're from the missing part. The Ethiopians, assumed to be from Shevet Dan would be here too, but they "converted." (Not the full lengthy conversion, but an abridged version, which mostly consisted of going to the mikva.)

There is no way to please all the sides. You cannot take these four circles and make a Venn diagram out of them. If you need to find out who is a Jew, then the best option is to look at each group individually, and determine whether their situation is enough to call them Jewish and would merit entrance in the freedom of return act, involving their intent, beliefs, and lineage. But it would appear that there is no absolute rule that could satisfy everybody.