Q&A: Who Is a Jew?
Who Is a Jew?
Question
Hello Rabbi/Dr. Michael Abraham. I’d be glad to share with you a conversation I had with a friend about the issue of “who is a Jew.” My friend, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, lives his life as completely secular (though he believes in a deistic God) and does not observe anything uniquely Jewish. The conversation came up because I too struggle with the question of who is a Jew, since I also believe in God, but not in a personal God who gave the Torah at Sinai, and therefore I do not observe one thing and a half of Jewish law, and I have the feeling that much of a Jew I am not. So in what sense am I a Jew? My friend claims that religiously speaking he is not a Jew, and that he sees Judaism as a people and a nation, not only as a religion. According to the definition of Judaism as a religion, he is indeed Jewish and belongs to that people, and therefore he argues that it is fitting that he be called a Jew. I find it hard to call myself a Jew, because “Judaism,” as I understand it, is commitment to Torah and commandments (particularistic ones) {(I am formerly Haredi)}—as you once wrote/said: a Jew is a gentile who keeps Torah and commandments. It follows from this definition you proposed that someone who does not keep Torah and commandments is just a gentile. So I wanted to ask: what is your opinion about Judaism as a people or a nation, and is religion a more refined expression of Judaism or a necessary condition for Judaism? Assuming your answer is that Judaism is purely a religion—what people do I belong to as an Israeli Hebrew-speaker and the son of Jewish parents (believers and committed to Torah and commandments)? And further, what do you think of the definition that a Jew is someone born to a Jewish mother (regardless of his beliefs)? I’d appreciate it if you could shed light on this and help me formulate a more informed conclusion about my definitional status. Many thanks.
Answer
I’ve written about this more than once, and I’ll repeat it briefly. Definitions of nationality are vague and amorphous, so there is no point in getting into them. One can define Jewish nationality in any way one likes. Today it is customary to define this nationality the way other nationalities are defined (through language, culture, shared history), and in that sense a Jew without religious commitment is possible. But Judaism in its accepted sense, from time immemorial, is a religion, and therefore the term “a Jew who is not religious” has no meaning.
On the level of value, belonging to a nation has no significance at all. It is a fact and nothing more. So there is no point in arguing over definitions of nationality. There is a value dimension to belonging to a religion, because religion contains norms of do and do not do.
As far as I’m concerned, the concept of secular Judaism is rather empty of content, certainly of value content. Speaking Hebrew, serving in the army, and paying taxes also exist among gentiles (Druze, or non-Jewish Russians who came to the country, and the like). That fits “Israeli” more than “Jew.” The same goes for engagement with the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), which is found among Christians no less than among us. Moral values are not connected to Judaism, because they are universal.
Therefore these arguments/discussions are futile. What practical difference does it make?! Call him a Jew, Yankele, or “May the Redeemer of Israel arise,” if that makes him happy. In my view, there is nothing Jewish in him (or in you) except for a few incidental and meaningless cultural characteristics, and of course ethnic origin (which is a kind of family connection in a broader sense, and therefore I do have an obligation to those who belong to my national circle). Clearly, ethnically a Jew is someone born to a Jewish mother, but culturally anyone can define whatever he wants. I see no difference between an Israeli Druze who serves in the army and pays taxes and speaks Hebrew, and a secular Jew who does those same things.
In other words, one must distinguish between the question of whether you are a Jew and whether your way of life/culture is Jewish (or between Judaism and Jewishness). The first question is ethnic and the second is cultural/religious.
Discussion on Answer
In my opinion, yes, for two reasons: 1. I’m not the owner here, and at the moment most Jews here think differently from me. 2. He is Jewish in the ethnic sense, even if not in the cultural one (his culture is not Judaism, but he is Jewish), and therefore he is obligated to observe Jewish law. As far as I’m concerned, he is family and ought to be here with me. “A Jew, even though he has sinned, is still a Jew.”
Thank you for the response. Do you think this should also have practical implications? For example, should a person who denies the religious dimension of his Judaism (seeing it only as a nationality) be allowed to immigrate to the Jewish state? Seemingly, you should agree that a person who is not religious and not committed to Torah and commandments should not be brought to the Land at all, since according to your definition he is not Jewish. Is that really so? If so, then this has practical implications and is not just some meaningless factual matter.