Who is a Jew?

Michael Kadish
Writing Assignment #3, choice II

With the question of "who is a Jew?" once again becoming a crucial issue, now to the point that it has caused fights throughout both the Jewish religion, and the State of Israel, HaRav Yehuda Avital offers uselessly, a quote taken out of context from the Rambam. Rambam explained that all those who were born Jews, but did not accept it, were still expected to keep the mitzvot, with Miamonadies's quote being , "A Jew is commanded by the Torah. The mere fact of his being commanded makes him a Jew, even if he does not observe." Rav Amital takes this, and turns it into his useless two cents, by answering the question of, who is a Jew, with "one who is commanded by the Torah law, whether he keeps it or not."

This answer is completely useless. Quite obviously, one cannot, after stepping into Lod Airport, and applying for immediate citizenship, demonstrate that he is a Jew because God has commanded him to do a great deal of mitzvot. Short of direct communication with Hashem, there is no way to determine whom he has, or has not commanded.

If this essay was intended as a veiled attempt to inform the secular Jews of the world to repent, as they too "[are] commanded by the Torah," then this essay again does a poor job. It does little more than tell a Chiloni that the reason that he and the Jews are in existence is because of the Torah, and they should follow it, because they are commanded to. Rav Amital quite clearly does not appreciate chilonim, and of them, he believes that, "his failure to observe makes him subject by temporal, or divine court."

The Rav offers no other reasons that could be considered even a bit sympathetic. If this essay is to bring the chilonim back to the fold, it is only brought out in a method reminiscent of the Christian Missionaries, by informing them that they too have been ordered to do these commandments, and they will suffer for having ignored the orders.

The premise of the essay can be faulted in another rather subtle way, as well. Although the essay does not mention it, seven of the 613 mitzvot, the Laws of Noach, are intended for all of the peoples of the world. If a Gentile follows these laws, then he respects the Torah. But, it does no good, because "Gentiles are not under the command [of the Torah.]" i.e., the Torah provides a rule over those it has no authority, and therefore has wasted material, which is contrary to one of the central beliefs of Judaism.

If Yehuda Amital wrote "A Jewish Perspective on the Status of Secular Jews Today," as a means to identify who was Jew, he offered no real help. If he wrote it to influence the secular Jews, he offered no real help. He attempts to exalt the Torah, but inadvertently discredits it. He wrote an essay that offers no tangible help, and nothing to offer insight into the dilemma.