I was rather surprised to read this news item:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8325901.stm

Where the JFS (Jewish Free School) is appealing against a court decision that entry should be granted on belief not birth. Evidently the school wants to bar access to a child because of doubts about the Jewishness of his mother, despite the fact that according to her husband "[She] keeps a kosher Jewish home, we go to synagogue as a family, my daughter teaches in the Hebrew classes."

This seems to contradict what many Jewish posters here have said. Is the school wrong, or is there some other explanation?

The problem is simple – there are diverse viewpoints regarding this.

See:

Who is a Jew?
A Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew or any person who has gone through the formal process of conversion to Judaism.

It is important to note that being a Jew has nothing to do with what you believe or what you do. A person born to non-Jewish parents who has not undergone the formal process of conversion but who believes everything that Orthodox Jews believe and observes every law and custom of Judaism is still a non-Jew, even in the eyes of the most liberal movements of Judaism, and a person born to a Jewish mother who is an atheist and never practices the Jewish religion is still a Jew, even in the eyes of the ultra-Orthodox. In this sense, Judaism is more like a nationality than like other religions, and being Jewish is like a citizenship. See What Is judaism?

This has been established since the earliest days of Judaism. In the Torah, you will see many references to "the strangers who dwell among you" or "righteous proselytes" or "righteous strangers." These are various classifications of non-Jews who lived among Jews, adopting some or all of the beliefs and practices of Judaism without going through the formal process of conversion and becoming Jews. Once a person has converted to Judaism, he is not referred to by any special term; he is as much a Jew as anyone born Jewish.

Although all Jewish movements agree on these general principles, there are occasional disputes as to whether a particular individual is a Jew. Most of these disputes fall into one of two categories.

First, traditional Judaism maintains that a person is a Jew if his mother is a Jew, regardless of who his father is. The liberal movements, on the other hand, consider a person to be Jewish if either of his parents was Jewish and the child was raised Jewish. Thus, if the child of a Jewish father and a Christian mother is raised jewish, the child is a Jew according to the Reform movement, but not according to the Orthodox movement. On the other hand, if the child of a Christian father and a Jewish mother is not raised Jewish, the child is a Jew according to the Orthodox movement, but not according to the Reform movement! The matter becomes even more complicated, because the status of that children’s children also comes into question.

Second, the more traditional movements do not always acknowledge the validity of conversions by the more liberal movements. The more modern movements do not always follow the procedures required by the more traditional movements, thereby invalidating the conversion. In addition, Orthodoxy does not accept the authority of Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis to perform conversions, and the Conservative movement has debated whether to accept the authority of Reform rabbis.

More here:

http://www.jewfaq.org/whoisjew.htm

I also liked "Marc Chagall" by Jonathan Wilson, which is about the Jewish painter of the title’s name.

Of course, "The Diary of Anne Frank" is also a wonderful, very profound book.

There are many other books I’ve read with Jewish protagonists, but they don’t really go into depth about the religion. I’m pasting a link below to Jewish fiction for teens.

I think it’s awesome that you want to learn more about jewish laws and customs. I’m a Christian, and love learning about other faiths, and I think it’s wise for everyone to so because it makes you a more knowledgeable, empathetic person. Please disregard the completely absurd and unintelligent first answer.

~ Pax / Peace : )

EDIT
I think since you’re 14 you might want to read "The Diary of Anne Frank" or one of the books listed in the link below, which are specifically for teen readers and all seem to be very interesting.. "Schindler’s List" and "Marc Chagall" are somewhat intense and better for a 16+ reader.

And yes, you should definitely ignore ignorant comments from people like "Jump to the Moon."

Hmmm, I see the thumbs-down fairy has waved his ugly wand over our answers. Meh.

http://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae47/ELECTR05PH3R3/omg.png

And this photo appears in an article called "15 hottest jewish women"

here is a link to the article

http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/12/16/worldwide-wednesday-the-15-hottest-jewish-women/

But when I cycle through the photos in the article, I can’t figure out which one of them is her as the photo is only in the header.

Moran Atias

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=moran+atias&form=QBIR&qs=n#

"…John in the second chapter of his book speaks of a wedding at which not only Jesus was present, but also his mother, who would have had to have traveled all the way from Nazareth especially to be there. At this event Jesus was in charge of the wine, a duty usually set aside for the groom, and if this does not make it obvious enough that it was his own wedding he was present at, we have in the sacred record that he was referred to as the bridegroom on this occasion (John 2:1-10).
"The association Jesus had with certain women would have been wholly inappropriate for a single man, but perfectly normal and accepted for a husband (Matt. 27:55, Mark 15:40-41, Luke 23:27-28). In the Greek language there is little distinction between the word woman and wife, and so therefore any (if not all) of those females who accompanied him quite possibly could have been married to him. Martha called him "Master", a title a wife would use to address her husband, and when Mary her sister was in mourning over the death of their brother, Lazarus, she sat in her home until Jesus called her out, just as was the custom that only a husband could call a woman out of her home at such a time (John 11:28). Not only did Christ fulfill the traditions and duties of a typical Jewish husband, but so did his wives, when they anointed him prior to his burial (Luke 24:1,10)"

So I’m wondering, does this really, accurately explain things from Jesus’ time? Was there a specific age by which men had to be married or else? Would Mary really not have gone to the wedding ceremony if it wasn’t to marry off Jesus? Did women really call their husbands "Master"? Were husbands really the only ones who would call women out of their houses like Jesus did to Martha after Lazarus died?

Thanks for indulging my curiosity.

Oh, the website the excerpt is taken from is:
http://gcje.net/married.htm
Thanks for these points. I’m asking because I don’t know, so I was curious. I’m always curious to get cultural background when someone makes claims about a culture that I have no understanding of. Were the Essenes Rabbis too? Because the claim I’ve seen is that a Rabbi should especially be married.

Thanks again.
Jim, thanks for that link — very interesting reading that clarifies a few things.
Thank you, Michelle, a very informative answer. Can you tell me about the Essenes? And was there an expectation that a man be married by a certain age?

I am not too familiar with the Christian Bible, so I can only go from what you wrote and my knowledge of judaism. All Jewish men are obligated to fulfill the commandment of "pru urvu" – be fruitful and multiply. So while all jewish men do not get married – not all are lucky enough to find a wife – all are obligated to try, and not allowed to remain single if they are able to get married. It would be practically unheard-of for a rabbi to be unmarried. Not only because they would be flaunting one of the commandments, but because the role of a rabbi is to adjudicate in matters of Jewish law, and many of those matters can involve family relations. An unmarried man would not be considered qualified to judge in those situations.

Having said all that, there were no rabbis in the time of the Temples. It was a job/role that did not come about until many years later, after the Temple was destroyed. So anyone who claims that Jesus – or anyone else alive during his time – was a rabbi, is misinformed. The word "rabbi" means teacher, and perhaps that’s what the Christian account means. But it would not be the same role performed by rabbis today – and wouldn’t let Jesus off the hook if he actively chose to be a bachelor, which would be going directly against Jewish law.

As far as women calling their husbands "master," that’s a cultural thing and I don’t think we have enough information to know whether that blanket statement is true. There just aren’t that many surviving texts from the time period, and those we have rarely quote the words of women.

* Peshat, the plain (simple) or literal reading;
* Remez, the allegorical reading through text’s hint or allusion
* Derash, the metaphorical reading through a (rabbinic sermon’s) comparison/illustration (midrash)
* Sod, the hidden meaning reading through text’s secret or mystery

One level of meaning doesn’t negate any other.
The "stories" matter, however you choose to interpret them.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AswsvEAhs_Jb2C28CsLJXBc0DX1G;_ylv=3?qid=20090729074818AAHifwN

He thinks he is half jewish. Same goes for this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G256H_Q0bI

How does this work? Is it like being half-christian half-bhuddist or something?

Theres no such thing. In Judaism, if you have a Jewish mother or if you converted, then your Jewish. If you have a Jewish father and your observant, then in Reform and Reconstructionist judaism, your still Jewish. Nothing about being "half", "quarter" or "part" jewish. Your Jewish or not. End of story.

The same point cannot be said about Jesus (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh); that both have a high status in all three religions. judaism believes that Marry the mother of Jesus committed adultery thus making Jesus (pbuh) a bastard (Allah for bids us from saying such things). Christians take Muhammad (pbuh) as a liar, as the Quran contains direct refutations towards the lordship or ’sonship’ of Jesus (pbuh) (Quran 5:75).

Just some additional informations from the Muslim’s prespective:

It is only Islam that has taken its position as a middle ground between Judaism and Christianity to accept and respect all the prophets and to worship the one and only God and not to associate Him in worship with other deities and resort back to the religion of Ibrahim (Quran 16:123). The Quran says that Ibrahim was not a Jew nor a Christian (how could he be? he lived before the tribe of Judah and before the Christ). rather he was a ‘Muslim’ (in the sense of the literal meaning of the word: one who submits himself to God alone) (Quran 3:67).

*pbuh: peace be upon him (the prayer of the muslims upon mentioning the names of the prophets.

Yes, Chanukah acknowledgements are nice, though I wouldn’t call it an important holiday. It’s still nice to be included in the winter happenings either way.

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and should definitely be recognized.

As for other important holidays, try joining her in celebration on Succot, perhaps, when we make parties inside a crazy shed/tent, or for Shavuot when we eat all dairy meals (ooooh, the cheesecake!).

hope this helps

EDIT

Marcuss: ***You still have an Irish heritage but you are now an American. To claim you are Irish is a lie.***

Obviously, you don’t know what it is like to be Irish either.