What is the exact definition of "Jewish"?

Question

is it someone who's from Israel or someone who is of religion or a little bit of both??


like can a chinese person be Jewish?

or like person from Israel be a Hindu? (not realistic i know but im saying what if someone from Israel accepts hinduism you know?)

Answer 1

Judiasm is a religion, so anyone with intention can join, however in some respects its an ethnicity, descended from the Judeans of the Roman diaspora, or as many claim, descended from one of the lost tribes of Israel.

at the same time, the religion was one shared only by those descended from the ancient state, so the religion and ethnicity can be confused.

Israeli on the other hand is a modern nationality, so anyone can be anything, such as a Christian Israeli.

Answer 2

Not all Jews are from Israel, and not all Israelis are Jews.
Judaism is not a race either; Jews come in all colors. Judaism is a way of life.
You are Jewish if your mother is Jewish, or if you convert to Judaism.
This is how Wikipedia defines Jews:

ews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים, Yehudim; Ladino: ג׳ודיוס, Djudios; Yiddish: ייִדן, Yidn)[1] are members of the Jewish people, an ethnic group originating in the Israelites of the ancient Middle East and others who converted to Judaism throughout the millennia. The ethnicity and the religion of Judaism are strongly interrelated, and converts are both included and have been absorbed within the Jewish people.

The Jews have suffered a long history of persecution in many different lands, and their population and distribution per region has fluctuated throughout the centuries. Today, most authorities place the number of known Jewish people between 12 and 14 million,[2] the largest number of whom live in the United States (40.5% in 2002) and Israel (34.4% in 2002), with the remainder distributed in communities of varying sizes in almost every country. The total world Jewish population, however, is difficult to measure and is subject to the controversy of secular, halakhic or other parameters of defining who is a Jew.

Answer 3

udaism is a religion- not a race or ethnicity.

How is a Jew defined by the different sects?
Reform: Jewish parent (either) or conversion to Judaism
Conservative: Jewish parent (either) or conversion by Conservative or Orthodox
Orthodox (the bunch of us that still keep the entire Torah and Oral law): Jewish Mother or Orthodox conversion

Jews can be from anywhere and of any race- there are black Jews (such as from Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen), Chinese Jews (there used to be a Synagogue in Singapore, but the Jews left and it is maintained as a historic site but is no longer functional, there is a synagogue in Hong Kong, but that mainly services visitors), Indian Jews (mostof whom have moved to Israel), Arabic Jews (fromIran, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Morocco- the majority of whom (over a million) were forced to flee their native countries in 1948 and now reside in Israel) and so on. Thus there are multiple cultures (Jews from different areas tend to have different types of food, customs, styles of dress etc) though they all adhere to the halachah (Jewish law)

Judaism does not recognise other religions. What does that mean? Essentially Judaism says once a Jew, always a Jew- you cannot go back from it. So you can practice any religion you want (and in democratic countries, including Israel) nobody is going to stop you, but in the World to Come you will be judged as a Jew. What this also means is that if a Jew should err, and convert to another religion, they do not need to convert back to Judaism (in Orthodox, reform is actually stricter in this; since they do not follow the Halachah, they see conversion as leaving Judaism- and thus the need to convert back), but just need to repent and come back to Judaism- some Rabbis also require them to immerse in a mikveh (ritual bath)

Answer 4

Being a Jew is exclusively defined by Judaism and has nothing to do with Israel.
A Jew is anyone who has a Jewish mother or who has converted properly to Judaism.
Those who are not descended from converts can thus be viewed as descendants of the original 12 tribes of the Israelites of the Bible.
A majority today (but not all) are from the tribe of Judah, thus the term "Jew".

So, yes, a Chinese person can be Jewish since a Chinese person can convert to Judaism (and yes, it has happened).

Answer 5

a person is a jew if he or she is born to a jewish woman or one converts under the proper auspices. Therefore, a person born in Israel is not necessarily a Jew....ie arab muslims and christians there. Conversely, a chinese person can certainly convert to Judaism.

Incidentally, a community of chinese jews existed until the early to mid part of the 20th century and were indistinguishable from other chinese based on appearance. Due to the political upheaval, wars and revolutions, they either fled, assimilated or were killed.

Answer 6

members of the Jewish people, an ethnic group originating in the Israelites of the ancient Middle East and others who converted to Judaism throughout the millennia. The ethnicity and the religion of Judaism are strongly interrelated, and converts are both included and have been absorbed within the Jewish people.

Judaism, the religion, has also been referred to as jewish

Answer 7

Right now, I am too lazy to make the distinctions regarding freedom that need to be made. For instance, there is political freedom which differs from volitional freedom. By "political freedom," I mean that form of liberty which governments permit citizens to have. Volitional freedom refers to what is commonly called free will, which can be further distinguished by means of the categories "freedom of indifference" and "freedom of spontaneity." Then we have spiritual freedom. This is where I locate authentic liberty. Freedom is that figurative locus wherein the spirit of God resides; for where God's spirit is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Answer 8

A Jew is someone who is decedent from a convert to Judaism at mount Sinai when the Torah was revealed or any period after as long as it is from the female line. Also anyone who converts to orthodox Judaism. Jew is rooted to the Judean tribe, which is not one of the lost tribes.

Answer 9

Jewish=wearing a hat all the time

Answer 10

Jewish can refer to the tribe of Judah or to the Judaic religion.

One of my friends is Jewish (of the tribe of Judah) but is a practicing Mormon.