Who is a Jew?
What is the definition of a Jew? After all, if according to rabbinic law, a Jew is someone born to a Jewish mother, then the question arises again: what caused the mother to be defined as Jewish? What defines us as Jews? The language? The Torah? The nationality? The religion?
This is a recursive definition (in a backward chain), and as is the case with such definitions, an initial condition is required. Therefore, the full definition is: Sarah was Jewish, and anyone born to a Jewish mother or who converted properly is Jewish. (I have of course ignored the question of whether before the giving of the Torah they followed the mother. If you wish, define all women at the giving of the Torah as an initial condition.)
The question is what defines us as Jews culturally? I have written about this a great deal. Search here on the ‘Jewish Identity’ website. In short, what defines Judaism is a commitment to Halacha. And that is not all. One can offer different ethnic and cultural definitions (by language, etc.), but none of these are essential and uninteresting to me. Ethnicity is a question of fact (although defined in a very loose and vague way) and not of values.
In fact, is someone who does not observe Torah and commandments not a Jew?
clear.
So why is it forbidden to convict him of a crime if he is not Jewish?
Or to be more precise, why does the global consideration of preventing a Jew from committing a crime also apply to him?
First of all, who said it was forbidden?
Second, it is forbidden to offend a Gentile as well.
And third, I was talking about his Judaism, not his Jewishness. Judaism is halakha. A Jew is anyone who was born to a Jewish mother or converted.
It is clear that he is obligated to the commandments even if he does not understand it.
Certainly, Haredim who disdainfully disregard the commandment of Ezrat Yisrael from a narrow path are not Jews.
In fact, there are only three Jews left in the entire world
To which law exactly should one be committed? No two Jews are exactly the same
Are Yemenites considered Jews even though they are committed to different laws? Is a Muslim who is committed to Shia considered a Jew?
Nehemiah the Amasoni,
Are you asking seriously?
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