What does Jewish mean?

Answer 1

A person is Jewish if: their mother is Jewish or they convert to the Jewish religion. If a person doesn't fall into one of these two groups they are not Jewish. Jews are part of the religion Judaism, but Jews are also a family and a people. The Jewish homeland is Israel.

If a person is born to a Jewish mother, then that person remains Jewish *unless* they join another religion. At that point, they are an apostate, an ex- Jew, and cannot call themselves Jewish any longer.

Answer 2

The word Jew (Hebrew: Yehudi) is used in a number of ways, but specifically refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes.

Answer 2

Answer 1

Halachically (by Jewish law), in order to be Jewish, your mother must be a descendant of Jacob, or have converted to Judaism.

But you are only really behaving Jewish when you accept this and live by the Jewish laws.

Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism also recognize someone as Jewish if they have a Jewish father AND are raised Jewish. There is debate within the Conservative movement whether to add this definition as well, since Judaism was patrilineal in the Torah; but at the moment, this view doesn't have any support.

Answer 2

There are two questions you could be asking. I will endeavor to answer both.

1) What does the term "Jewish" mean? or When somebody says that they are "Jewish", what are they saying?

Judaism typically has two definitions: the first one is religious. An adherent of the Jewish religion is a Jew. The second definition is cultural. People born to Jewish families will still consider themselves Jewish even if they do not perform the rituals associated with Judaism, because they may speak Hebrew, Yiddish, or other Jewish languages, their home cuisine is a Jewish cuisine, or they take pride in Jewish history.

2) How do Jews view being Jewish? or What does it mean for a Jew to be Jewish?

Each person has a different response to this question. Several include: pride, contentment, shame, fear, excitement, and as if they are privy to a very special secret.

Answer 3 According to Torah tradition, if you are Jewish it means that you're a member of the people who have a relationship with God which is based upon the covenant that He made with us. The significance of this can be explored by learning about the traditions of your people.

Answer 3

Jew refers to any member of the Jewish people, who are a nation, an ethnic group, and a religion based on ethical monotheism.

Jews originated in Israel, but now live in most countries of the world. The largest Jewish community outside of Israel is in North America.

Answer 4

Historically speaking, the 4th son of Jacob (Israel) was called Judah - the bearer of the 'Sceptre' Promise. Somewhere around 586 BC when the Southern Kingdom of Judah was made captive by the Babylonians, the term 'Jew' and Jewish began to be used to describe these descendants.

Today, to be 'Jewish' means to have been born of a Jewish mother or to be one who converts to the Jewish faith. These peoples can be from any country/land throughout the world. The largest concentrations of those identified as 'Jewish' live in the modern nation-state called Israel and also in the United States.

Answer 5

Jewish - pertaining to: # Judaism (the Jewish religion). # An adherent of the Jewish religion. # A former adherent of the Jewish religion. # A person descended from 1. or 2. Notethat this is what is usually meant in ordinary, everyday linguistic usage. It would not necessarily be accepted by Jews.

Answer 6

Jewish tradition states that a Jew is any person whose mother was Jewish (Talmud, Kidushin 68b), or any person who has gone through a proper conversion to Judaism (Talmud, Yevamot 47a).
The Jewish people are descendants of Abraham, whose Semitic ancestors lived in the Fertile Crescent and who lived most of his life in the Middle Eastern country of Israel (Canaan) 3800 years ago.

Hebrews, Israelites, Jews - the same people in successive eras:

• Hebrews
  

Abraham is called a Hebrew (Genesis ch.14) because "Hebrews" (Ivrim) means descendants of Eber (Ever). Ever was a Western Semite and an ancestor of Abraham (Genesis ch.10-11), and the early Hebrews were Abraham's uncles and cousins for several generations back. They lived in the Fertile Crescent, in northern Mesopotamia, west of the Euphrates river. Abraham was born in the city of Ur (in Mesopotamia; now Iraq).In 1934-39, excavations were conducted at ancient Mari on the Euphrates River. They found that ancient towns were named after the ancestors (Genesis ch.11) of Abraham:
The "city of Nahor" was found near the city of Haran which exists to this day. Equally clear signs of early Hebrew residence appear in the names of other towns nearby: Serug (Assyrian Sarugi), Terah (Til Turakhi, "Mound of Terah"), and Peleg (Paliga, on the Euphrates near the mouth of the Habur). All these names are found in Genesis ch.11.

In Ur, Abraham first repudiated idolatry. He then sojourned in Harran (Syria) for several years, and then lived most of his life in Canaan (Israel). It was in Canaan that Abraham lived most of his life, made a covenant with God (Genesis ch.15), and raised a family to be the center of carrying on his traditions (Genesis 18:19).

• Israelites
  

Abraham's chosen son was Isaac (Genesis ch.21). Isaac's son Jacob was blessed by God, who renamed him, calling him Israel (Genesis ch.35), which is why Jews are also called Israelites.

Abraham's family carried on his teachings voluntarily. Judaism as a binding, permanent entity, was set forth between God and the Israelite nation descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at Mount Sinai in the time of Moses (Exodus ch.19, ch.24, and 34:27).All of the above places are in the ancient Fertile Crescent.

Link: Abraham's biography

• Jews
  

Jacob had 12 sons, who fathered the 12 Israelite tribes. The Israelites worshiped One God.

One thousand years after Jacob, ten of the tribes were exiled by the Assyrians, to points unknown. The only complete tribes left were Judah and Benjamin; plus part of Levi. The few thousands who remained from the other tribes joined the Tribe of Judah; and modern Jews are mostly descendants of Judah (hence the word "Jew").

This tradition has been substantiated by DNA analysis of Jewish communities all over the world, showing them to be inter-related and of Middle Eastern origin. The Cohanim, a family of the tribe of Levi, also share common genetics.

We possess the names and dates of our ancestors and leaders in an unbroken chain for 3800 years.

In 2000, Nicholas Wade concluded that his DNA study "provided genetic witness that Jewish communities have, to a remarkable extent, retained their biological identity separate from their host populations, evidence of relatively little intermarriage or conversion into Judaism over the centuries. The results accord with Jewish history and tradition."

Abraham was a historical person, as recorded in the Book of Genesis; and his gravesite is known to this day, in the Machpelah at Hebron, Israel. He is revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, comprising over three billion people. The Jewish people have attested to his existence for 3800 years, and his name is mentioned by several ancient non-Jewish historians as far back as 2,300 years ago.

See also the other Related Links.

Link: What race were the Israelites?

Link: Jewish ancestry

Link: Archaeology

Answer 7

According to Torah tradition, if you are Jewish it means that you're a member of the people who have a relationship with God which is based upon the covenant that He made with us. The significance of this can be explored by learning about the traditions of your people.See also the Related Links.

Link: The Covenant

Link: Jewish traditions

Answer 8

Any person whose mother was Jewish (Talmud, Kidushin 68b), or any person who has gone through a proper conversion to Judaism (Talmud, Yevamot 47a).
The word "Jew" (in Hebrew, "Yehudi") is derived from the name of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and one of the Twelve Tribes of the Israelites. After the Ten Tribes went lost some 2600 years ago, the Tribe of Judah constituted the majority of the remaining Israelites; so since then we have simply been called "Jews" (people of Judah), even for those of us who may be from the other Israelite tribes.

Answer 9

Having a Jewish mother is the only criteria for being Jewish (unless the person was converted correctly)!

Answer 10

It means they're part of the Jewish people with its 14,000,000 adherents and its Torah and 3,300-year traditions. There's a lot to learn.