Jewish people: Who is Jewish?

You are Jewish if:

Your mother is Jewish

or

You convert to Judaism

Messianics are not Jewish and most never were. A few are EX Jews - they now follow a form of Christianity, but prefer not to be called Christians.

---------------------------------------------

The same Messianics who claim to be "messianic jews" are NOW trying the same thing with ***ISLAM****:

'Radical Missionary Approach Produces 'Messianic Muslims':

SOURCE: http://www.hvk.org/articles/0204/104.html

“Thus, for instance, Churches might be called “messianic mosques” - and may be designed to look like Muslim places of worship, with worshippers being required to remove their footwear before entering.

“Worship services might be designed on the lines of Sufi zikr and sama sessions, with regular Christian Sufi orders in place. Certain Muslim festivals may be celebrated by Christians after being ****suitably adapted.***

“By thus presenting themselves as little different from Muslims in external appearance, Christian missionaries will find it easier to win Muslim friends, and, hopefully, converts.”

SOURCE: http://www.hvk.org/articles/0204/104.html

“Become like the Muslims to reach the Muslims. Be all things to all men, George suggests to potential Christian missionaries. Hence, George suggests, in their encounters with Muslims, Christian missionaries must insist that they alone are the true Muslims.

This, he says, promises to have an impact on potential converts. In order to further convince Muslims of their claims to true ‘Islamicity‘, Christian missionaries could ***formulate their own version of the Muslim Shahada.

"Christian missionaries, too, might adopt taqiya, concealing their faith when occasion demands, focussing more on what unites them with the Muslims rather than on what divides them, while at the same time trying to spread Christianity among the Muslims through subtle means. "

http://www.hvk.org/articles/0204/104.html

http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2000/04/Radical-Mi...

http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/spirituality/lighth...

A May/June 2000 issue of Watchman's Trumpet magazine explains what this new missiology really entails:

"Several international missions organizations, including Youth With a Mission (YWAM), are testing a new approach to missionary work in areas where Christianity is unwelcome. A March 24, 2000, Charisma News Service report said some missionaries are now making converts but are allowing them to "hold on to many of their traditional religious beliefs and practices" so as to refrain from offending others within their culture."

The Charisma article in which Watchman's Trumpet reports elaborates: "Messianic Muslims" who continue to read the Koran, visit the mosque and say their daily prayers but accept Christ as their Savior, are the products of the strategy, which is being tried in several countries, according to Youth With a Mission (YWAM), one of the organizations involved.

The so-called “C5 missionaries” whom Phil had met advocate that it is okay to affirm Muhammad as a genuine prophet of God; that Muslim background believers should attend the mosque perpetually; and that **********Christians should consider legally converting to Islam to win Muslims as Muslims.***********

More here: http://www.strategicnetwork.org/index.php?loc=kb&v...

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: CONTEXTUALIZATION, CONVERSION AND CHURCH PLANTING

Some of the tensions in contextualization may perhaps be reduced some by considering the differences between evangelism and church planting, and thinking through a process in which converts can be brought into the believing community. Lets think of this in terms of stages from pre-evangelism through evangelism and conversion, to incorporation in the biblical community and the visible witness of the believing community.

"To borrow a sociology term, the Gospel must come to fit within a person's "plausibility structure" if it is to be a live option."

source: http://www.xenos.org/ministries/crossroads/OnlineJ...

Firstly, to the 'wicked witch ' - you can, can you...? Interesting. I'm Jewish, and I can't tell by looking. I guess you've never met Indian Jews, or Japanese Jews, or Ethiopian Jews. You'd know if a Japanese person was also a Jew, would you...? Just by looking....? TO THE ASKER: If your maternal grandmother did *not* convert, you are still Jewish IF you want to take up your place in the Jewish family :) But - if your grandmother ***voluntarily*** became a Catholic, and lived as a Catholic, that means her daughter was not Jewish, and thus you are not Jewish - as far as I understand Halacha/Jewish law. Either way, you DO have a Jewish heritage, and it's great if you feel you want to learn more about it. For the specific question of whether *you* are Jewish, you would need to speak with a Rabbi, as they are the experts on Halacha. If your mother's great grandmother converted to Catholicism BEFORE she was born then no - your grandmother was not Jewish, nor was your mother, so you are not, again, as far as I understand it. But again - you have a Jewish heritage, so Shalom and please feel welcome to ask us anything else :) Starred for my fellow Jews.

A beit din (panel of three Orthodox rabbis) is the FORMAL way for anyone to be determined Jewish or not. Yes, even those who were BORN Jewish must be able to PROVE it if they ever want to be married or buried in ISRAEL.

Anyone can get on an anonymous internet board and SAY that they are JEWISH, but I assure you if Shuckles (whatever his name), ever went to Jerusalem, Rechovot, Ashdod, Petach Tikva, or any other kosher beit din, spouting his drivel, I assure you he would be thrown back out the door.

How do you prove you are Jewish? You must prove at the least that your mother and your mother's mother are both Jewish (or that your mother, or you, have converted). You can show a ketubah, signed by an Orthodox Rabbi/ Witnesses, along with your birth certificate, or if they converted their conversion documents, signed by a recognized Orthodox court. If your father was your mother's second husband then you MUST provide a Get signed by an Orthodox Rabbi (otherwise you could be a mamzer).

What if you don't have these documents? You can show records of a burial in a Jewish cemetery; donations or dedications they made to a synagogue.

All hearings are conducted in Hebrew; you and your witnesses are interviewed in Hebrew (you can bring a translator to help); all documents must be in Hebrew.

The court will contact people that know you and will confirm the information that you provide. They are very thorough and it is getting stricter with each passing year.

Edit to Sylvia C.

[This is your whole friggin' problem; you place being Jewish on some freaky pedestal (is it because you worship a Jew instead of G-d?)

Why are there no Xtians for Allah?? Mohammedan Xtians?

Jewish is just a fact, or for some, a choice. Either way you do not HAVE to be Jewish/ Bnei Israel/ or anything else.

If you really believe that Jesus/ Yeshua/ Yosel is the Messiah and 'died for your sins' then be a proud unadulterated Xtian].

I actually just got this email from a rabid Messianic:

From: richardatf

Subject: Messianic Jews

Message: From their own site:

Messianic Jewish Alliance of America

Information about Messianic Judaism from the largest organization of Messianic Jews in the world.

www.mjaa.org

You tell THEM they are a contradiction in terms.

You do not even understand the meaning of the word "Jew".you ignorant, farcical, cognitively diminished parody of a human.

Typical catholic, so easy to prove wrong

Clearly these people have issues.

Someone who was born to a Jewish mother (or for the Reform and Reconstructionist movements, born to a Jewish father AND raised within Judaism) or has gone through a recognized conversion under a proper beit din (panel of 3 rabbis) and made a sincere and informed commitment.

Practicing another religion and/or believing in/worshiping another god, god-concept, a man, incarnate god, etc. means that such a person has become apostate and has removed him/herself from Judaism. Such a person is no longer Jewish.

"Messianics" are clearly worshiping another god-concept and centering their religion around either a man or an incarnate god. Few were ever Jewish to begin with. Those who were have left Judaism. If they insist on being considered Jews, then they are committing idolatry, one of the three very worst sins for Jews.

Their continued refusal to understand this demonstrates how little they know of Judaism.

Jewish law is very clear on the issue: somebody is Jewish if their mother is Jewish or they have a valid conversion. It is just as clear on another issue- any Jew who converts to another religion is no longer a Jew:

The Torah (so G-d's book directly dictated to Moshe) forbids Jews converted to another religion from eating the Pesach sacrifcie- followed by the statement, from G-d, that ALL the community eat the Korban pesach- in other words- Jews that convert to other religions are no longer Jewish!

Shmot Chapter 12:

43. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the statute of the Passover sacrifice: No estranged one may partake of it. מג. וַיֹּאמֶר יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן זֹאת חֻקַּת הַפָּסַח כָּל בֶּן נֵכָר לֹא יֹאכַל בּוֹ:

47. The entire community of Israel shall make it. מז. כָּל עֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל יַעֲשׂוּ אֹתוֹ:

So, to repeat- Christian missionaries lying and deceptively claiming to be Jewish and naming their Christian denomination "messianic judaism", do NOT get to say they are Jewish. G-d has made it clear they ar enot- regardless of their status beforehand! Of course, the Christian missionaries are welcome to take their complaints to G-d and complain that they don't like what he wrote.

In my youth, when I was an atheist, if people asked if I was jewish I always said "yes". My parents were both Jewish when I was born. Also, I felt a need to see if the asker was an antisemitic. Messianics are christians that have, for want of a better term, spiritual penis envy.

Jews are those who claim the Jewish faith. There are people of Jewish descent who are Christian, but are not called Jews because of their beliefs.

Basically, your mother must be Jewish (practicing and not converted to Christianity) for you to be born a Jew or you have to convert to the faith.

I agree with the first two answers. "Messianic Jews" are not actually Jewish.

Jews are known to go berserk when you refer to them as a race. they consider themselves as belonging to the Jewish faith.

So if 'Jew" refer to a faith then why is someone whose mother is Jewish automatically becomes a Jew? This doesn't make sense.

And why are atheists considered Jewish?

According to the Jewish definition, a Jew is someone who is of the Jewish faith; an atheist do not believe in God so he wouldn't believe in the Jewish faith; so how can he be considered a Jew?

According to the definitions given by Jews here, Even Jews do not seem to know the true definition of a Jew.

A) your mother is Jewish, so so are you.

b) You convert to Judaism.

messianic Jews were the way of getting jews to convert to Christianity.

They are not considered jews in Judaisms eyes, though.