What Does It Mean To Be Jewish?

Question

Good early morning,

I recently did a DNA check and found out I am 58% Jewish. Interestingly, my parents always told me I was Irish.

Anyway, what does it mean to be Jewish? I was never involved with religions. Needless to say, I don’t know anything about being Jewish.

Thank you in advance

Peter

0

Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    First, please allow me to explain that whether a person is Jewish is not is defined by their mother. If a person’s mother was Jewish, then they are Jewish. If their mother was not Jewish, they are not Jewish either. When defining one’s Jewishness according to Jewish Law, DNA is not considered to be a proof or factor. The only proof that is accepted is any kind of incontrovertible evidence that there is an unbroken Jewish maternal Jewish line. Or conversion to Judaism according to Jewish Religious Law.

    In general, Judaism is hard to define and even harder to describe. Personally, I would suggest that you try looking at some of the Jewish websites that are chock-a-block full of Jewish information. For example, sites such as: aish.com and ohr.edu and, of course, asktherabbi.org !

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team