1. Is the essence of being Jewish physical-bodily or spiritual?
In other words, if the soul remains after the body’s death, is it a Jewish soul?
Or are the two bound together, and a Jewish soul is automatically attached to a Jewish body (whose source is a Jewish egg)?

Or is Judaism a matter of choice, and whoever accepts the yoke of commandments is Jewish, and whoever doesn’t is not Jewish?
And suppose I don’t accept the commandments—then am I not Jewish even though my parents are Jewish? Am I exempt in God’s eyes from the commandments like gentiles are?

2. Why is it obvious to you that you prefer to be Jewish? Because that’s what you’re familiar with?

The second. Judaism is a religion, and whoever holds that religion is a Jew. I don’t believe in any sort of unique essential quality (it’s not even defined at all, since almost every people has some typical cultural uniqueness).
You are Jewish in the ethnic definition, but if you don’t observe commandments then you do not behave as a Jew. One could say that you are not Jewish in any sense other than the ethnic and biological one, the unimportant dimensions (they can be bypassed through conversion).
I wrote a booklet that deals with exactly this, published by Ivrit. https://www.e-vrit.co.il/Product/34730/%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%95%D7%A2_%D7%90%D7%99%D7%9F_%D7%93%D7%91%D7%A8_%D7%9B%D7%96%D7%94_%D7%99%D7%94%D7%93%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%97%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%AA

I prefer to be Jewish because in my view this is the right path, and it’s what gives meaning to my life.

Thanks for the link

Do you think that someone who doesn’t choose to be Jewish is going down the wrong path? Whether it’s an ethnic Jew who is a heretic or a gentile who chose not to convert?

When I die, should I be buried in a Jewish cemetery even though I’m not really Jewish except biologically? (I don’t have a problem with not being, by the way; it’s just strange to me how much emphasis the burial society places on the mother’s Jewishness, even when there’s no difference in lifestyle between me and a Russian whose only Jewish parent is his father and whose mother is a gentile.)

Can it be said that Jewish law does not apply to me any more than it applies to ethnic gentiles? Is being Jewish purely a matter of choice?

If Judaism is the right path and everyone somehow comes to understand that and converts, will the world be able to function without work on the Sabbath?
Or was God’s plan from the outset that only a few would be able to understand that this is the right path?

Before asking about the world, you could ask about the State of Israel. How will it function if nobody works on the Sabbath?

You can always employ gentiles as foreign workers and then they can keep things running on the Sabbath… but if the whole world converts, that option won’t exist.

A Jew who does not observe commandments is mistaken. A gentile is not obligated in this.
According to Jewish law, an ethnic Jew is obligated in the commandments and the rules of Jewish law apply to him, including burial.

The world will be perfectly able to function. It will even function better. If there is something that doesn’t allow the world to function, it is permitted on the Sabbath.

But we said that the biological/ethnic aspect of Judaism is negligible… because of something negligible I’m obligated in the commandments and a gentile isn’t?
Because I came from a Jewish egg? And if I had come only from Jewish sperm and not from a Jewish egg, I’d be exempt?
Maybe there’s a contradiction here?
If the biological aspect is negligible, it follows that it doesn’t have broad effects.
If it does have broad effects (like obligating a person in commandments), then that means it isn’t negligible (in the eyes of Jewish law)?
Maybe Jewish law is mistaken on this point?

Is the logical structure this:
Choosing to observe commandments — that is a necessary condition for Judaism
Biological Jewish descent from the egg — that is a sufficient condition for Judaism
?

In the above booklet I dealt with this in great detail. One has to distinguish between the question of whether someone is Jewish and the question of whether his way is Jewish (in fact, what I dealt with there was the relation between a secular Jew—which certainly exists—and secular Judaism—there’s no such thing).
Characterizing a person as Jewish is ethnic-biological, but his way is not Jewish unless he is committed to the Torah. Therefore the ethnic dimension is not relevant when discussing whether there is Judaism here (though only regarding an ethnic Jew is there room to discuss whether his way is Jewish, since only he is obligated in it). But the ethnic dimension is the basis, because Judaism addresses the ethnic Jew and imposes obligations on him. The ethnic Jew has an obligation to conduct himself in a Jewish way.
So there is no point discussing here what is primary and what is secondary. These are different planes of discussion.

Got it, thanks!

But how are you pleased with that?
If Judaism is true, then being born Jewish is like being born with a genetic disease.
You have restrictions that people who weren’t born with this thing don’t have (like, for example, the prohibition on eating sugar for people with juvenile diabetes).
What’s exactly joyful about that?

Why? It’s like saying that I am miserable because I have the restrictions of being bound by moral values. Is it preferable to be a murderous Nazi or a murdered Jew? These are right and elevating restrictions, and I pity anyone who is unaware of them and not committed to them.
By the way, I didn’t speak about joy but about meaning and truth. But now I’ll add that it really does make me happy as well. If you read up on it, you’ll find that many studies show that what gives people the most happiness is meaning—much more than wealth, health, and other happiness factors.

But Jewish law is not necessarily moral and not necessarily logical.
If I understood correctly, it has no real benefit for us in reality, only benefit for some creator who doesn’t even bother to protect us in return.
And people do find meaning, or don’t find it, even without being religious…

By the way, not all Nazis were identical and not all Jews are identical…
There were Nazis who also saved Jews, and there were Jews who also sold out their own people.

Jewish law is very logical, except that its logic is not clear to us. These acts have purposes and benefits—perhaps for us, perhaps for the world, and probably for the Holy One, blessed be He.
You don’t understand the concept of meaning. It doesn’t have the slightest connection to utility. Nor is it something a person finds for himself. See Column 159 on this.

I didn’t understand your remark about the Nazis and the Jews. That’s obvious. So what?

That means there isn’t necessarily moral superiority in a Nazi or a Jew; it depends more on the individual’s actions.
But yes—that’s obvious.

How can you say that Jewish law is logical if we can’t manage to understand the logic?
By that reasoning, you could also say it’s evil, even if we don’t understand the evil in it.

Do you think the theory of relativity is correct/logical? I assume yes. Do you understand it? I assume not (because you haven’t studied it). You probably rely on experts who do understand it. So I rely on the Holy One, blessed be He, and therefore even without understanding, I trust that it is logical and correct.

But I have proof that the experts exist, and I accept that they can also make mistakes and update their theories according to developments in human knowledge. There’s no fixed faith here. I know they’re human like me, so I can trust them because some of their conclusions are correct and some are mistaken and others will correct them, just as happens with me.

I don’t know the nature of God, even if He exists, so I have no way of saying whether what He does is logical/correct/evil/intentional/random/any other adjective.

That’s just stubbornness. You can argue whether God exists or not. But according to my view, that He does exist and that there is good evidence for it, there is no problem at all in believing that what He says is beneficial and logical. As far as I’m concerned, for this purpose God is something like a doctor or a physicist. If you don’t believe in Him, that’s a different argument that isn’t relevant here.
And in general, there are also people who deny physics, so what? Because of that you won’t believe physicists?

But isn’t saying that God’s words are beneficial/logical a kind of anthropomorphism?

No. And even if it is, then I anthropomorphize. Saying that He commands me to keep the Sabbath or eat kosher is also a kind of anthropomorphism.

But is it proper to anthropomorphize God? Isn’t that a kind of lowering His status? A kind of reduction?

“Proper” isn’t the right word. “Correct” instead.

I’ve written my view.