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So who is Jewish?
When people across the world think of a typical Jew,
they usually think of a traditional religious person with Ashkenazi origins,
that wears clothes from the 19th century.
He believes in God, knows the Talmud, and sometimes even quotes the Bible, with Rashi's interpretation.
Chances are he speaks Yiddish, keeps kosher and the feasts, doesn't work on the Sabbath, or not at all.
He has a large family, one wife, and many children.
Ok, we got it, this is usually the image we have of Jews.
But hold on a minute, we have all sorts of people in the Land, aren't they also Jews?
Today, there are different defintions to a persons belonging to the nation of Israel.
A legal defintion that relates to the law of return and population registration,
and a religious defintion that was adopted by a minority group
that labeled it's members as especially kosher Jews
....according to the rules that they themselves set.
One, the legal definition.
According to the law, a person's "Jewishness" is dependant on the law of return.
According to this rule, a Jew is anyone who was born to a Jewish mother, or converted to Judaism.
The law of return applies also to his children and grandchildren.
With this, it's important to note that not everyone with the right of return is identified as a Jew
and as a result, such a person receives an identity that is not completely defined.
This leads us to the religious definition that was set in the middle ages
that contradicts the defintion found in the Jewish holy book
the Talmud...
the Siddur...
The Tanakh!
It's important to note that in today's religious defintion there is no mention of a person's faith,
their knowledge of Judaism, or the level of commitment to the Jewish nation,
the God of Israel, or any other religious or national symbol.
Defintions that are rooted in ideas of the flesh bring forth results of the flesh.
But what's the truth? What is the correct defintion of Judaism? What does it mean to be Jewish?
God chose the nation of Israel in order to dwell among His people and be revealed to all men.
That is the reason we were chosen, in order to be a part of what God is doing.
Nevertheless, there are those that decide to turn Jewishness into a members only private club.
They use Judaism as a means of control over others.
There are also those that are certain that being Jewish brings them more harm than blessing.
But what is God's plan for the nation of Israel?
Medabrim, because God is worth a conversation.