Why are you only considered Jewish if--->?

Question

...if your mother was Jewish? Why not if your father was Jewish? I mean you are from his seed! I just want to know why people would be Jewish if their mothers are Jewish?

thanks all

Answer 1

in judaism, jewishness is passed through the mother, and tribal lineage is passed through the father. as you can see above there are examples from the bible which seem to indicate this. this rule became really cemented though in roman times, when the non-jews would rape jewish women. the rabbis had to make it absolutely clear to the jewish community that the children born as a result of this were still considered fully jewish and should be treated equally to every other jew.

but yes, in more liberal circles you will find more flexibility. if the mother was jewish, they are jewish, and if the father was jewish, they are jewish *as long as they had a jewish upbringing*. otherwise, they have to convert.

Answer 2

For a while, you were considered Jewish if your father was Jewish. Then it switched to the mother. However, the Cohenim and Levites (the priests) still use the father's heritage as the determining factor.

I'll take a guess and say that this issue arose because of the many exiles and persecutions perpetrated on the Jewish people. For instance, when the Assyrians were oppressing Israel, they would either kill most of the males or send them elsewhere. The women were forced to intermarry. Wanting to keep the Jewish population alive, the Jews probably decided that, although the fathers of the new children were Gentile, the maternal (Jewish) line was what was most important.

Answer 3

The concept of matrilineal descent is being re-evaluated, actually. The Reform and Reconstructionist movements, partly motivated by the rise in intermarriage and the number of children with a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother, are looking into it... don't expect any movement from Conservative Orthodoxy, though.

The idea comes from Deuteronymy in the Talmud: "Thy daughter thou shalt not give to his son, nor shalt thou take his daughter to thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods."

It may be the result of Jewish women being raped by non-Jews, after all, how could a raped Jewish woman's child be considered non-Jewish by the Jewish community in which he or she would be raised? Some believe that the matrilineal principle was borrowed from Roman law.

Answer 4

You first have to ask yourself this question.
What is the definition of a Jewish person?

A person that is of the tribe of Judah is considered to be a Jew. I don't like this term at all because it is offensive.
But, if you are a descendant from that tribe from both parents then you are a Jew.

There is however another definition.
If you live within the boundaries of the area known as Judea
then you are called a Jew.

Answer 5

Onnaconna that's the way the Jewish religion tends to determine the religion. Of course, how silly is all this anyway? Religion is not a biological event--it's a belief. The Catholics say it's the father who determines the religion. Isn't this weird? Blood is red, and yours works to help any appropriate receiver of any religion.

Answer 6

Someone else might have a better answer regarding the history of this, but I was told in the past, and it makes sense to me, that mothers have the biggest influence on the spiritual training of a child.
Dad is away from the home at work and business, mom is home and is the most influential in the area of child training, her example and influence is going to be the strongest- her beliefs , traditions and practices are going make the biggest impact and be mirrored the strongest in the childs life

Answer 7

The statement that Jewish identity is determined by the mother is found in the Mishnah (Kiddushin 3:12), which says that the child of a gentile woman is like her. The Talmud derives this from the passage in Deut. 7:3-4: "Do not intermarry with [him], do not give your daughter to his son or take his daughter for your son, for he will turn your son from Me": A child born to your daughter (fathered by a non-Jew) is called "your son", but a child born to your son (by a non-Jewish mother) is not called "your son", but "her son". The Talmud is assuming here that the "he" in Deut.7:4 is your gentile son-in-law, and that "your son" whom "he" will turn away from God is your grandson, born to him and to your daughter. The Torah calls that grandson "your son" because he is regarded as Jewish since he had a Jewish mother. In the other case, where a Jewish man marries a gentile woman, the Torah doesn't speak about the woman's influence on her children (i.e., it doesn't say "for she will turn your son from me"), because her children are non-Jewish to begin with since their mother is non-Jewish. Apparently we are more concerned about the influence of a non-Jewish spouse on the children than about the influence of a non-Jewish spouse's parents on their children-in-law. The Talmud (Kiddushin 68b) asks how we know that these laws apply to any non-Jews, since the cited verse refers to the Canaanites. The answer given there is that "he will turn your son [away from Me]" implies that all those who might turn [sons] away are included in the prohibition.

Answer 8

Jesus had easily no direct result on the Jewish community to the element that there isn't one single present day point out of him between Jewish records. He wasn't lots as a blip on the radar, assuming he truthfully existed as a actual guy or woman. the 1st oblique point out of him in Jewish records grew to become right into a dialogue of Christian harassment of Jews long after he supposedly died.

Answer 9

Because the mother is the vessel from which we enter this world,the nurturer,etc.The father may plant the seed,but it's the mother who provides that fertile vessel to receive the seed.Ref:Fecund

Answer 10

I heard it is either way. A Bloodline is a bloodline regardless.