Jewish religion: How is this logical?

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Whoo!

Aww... well, I see you as Jewish as I am (except my mother is Jewish).

rosends

If you are looking for a sociological reason why the maternal line rule was adopted then one could argue the certainty of the maternal link versus the possibility of not knowing the father and therefore not knowing the father's religion, but the important point is that halacha does not have to suit your logic to be binding.

We keep kosher because we are told to. We say the parah adumah confers tahara (and tum'ah) because we are told to. And we have black letter torah law (codified in the shulchan aruch but sourced in the torah, itself) which tells us that what atters is the religion of the mother. Once we start demanding ta'amei hamitzvos, then we put every aspect of the religion on trial, requiring it prove itself to our liking before we feel bound by it. Everything is subject to compromise. And that's when the religion loses itself.

samsproudmommy

bc, in the old days, it was the mother who stayed home and taught the children, so wtvr religion she followed, the children would be taught that, so religion goes through the mother. we jews do not change ancient laws drastically these days, so it stands. (on some extent its still true that the mom teaches the religion. i understrnad that your mother raised you jewish, but she wasnt, so therefore neither are you. im sorry.
i just have a question: are u a boy or girl, bc you have a boys avatar, but your name is a girls name

mr. roo .JPA.

Kismet has it right. Those are the traditional rules by which Orthodox and Conservative Judaism operate. (And no, it's not in the Torah, it's in the Talmud and Shulkhan Arukh.)

The Reform movement has adopted different rules that would be more to your liking.

heatherette

Hey if Madonna can be jewish so can you. Both my parents are jewish but I pretty much am an atheist.

Gamla Joe

I can sympathize with your situation, and I agree with you that it dose not seem fair, but I can give you a logical reason why that law was put in place.

The origins of ones mother is very often a clear and definite fact. While what someone believes is highly subjective. As a result it becomes very difficult to draw a line what is acceptable and what is not. It becomes even more murky if someone changes their mind along the way.

Who your parents are is very clear and cut, even more so for your mother because it did happen that the father was sometimes unknown.

The same goes for a conversion. The act of the bet din takes the belief and turns it into a fact.

Your mother decided to practice Judaism without going though the process of changing her belief into fact. That was her choice, and she has every right to chose.

The same is true for you.

Gator

Does religion always have to be logical?

Ask "Native Americans" how come they can be 7/8 of specific tribe live part of their life on Reservation, Be a professor in Native American Studies - and still not be considered a member of the tribe - because they no longer leave in reservation. - True story (although i no longer remember the tribe name. Anyways its more common than 1 tribe with respect to Native American official recognition)

Religion is based on set of rules (traditions), beliefs that are not always rational in a logical sense.

paperback writer

I've read all your posts and have to conclude that one of two things is happening here:

1 - you genuinely are in this situation and you feel angry and frustrated. You are clinging to a belief that if you can JUST find that one 'get out clause' you can be declared 'jewish' without converting.

Well, that is not going to happen. It doesn't really matter if it seems illogical. It doesn't matter that you resent it. It doesn't matter how much you stamp your feet and protest. You're not going to change some 4000 years of Jewish tradition, however much you would like to.

So - either convert, or be quiet :)

2 - it's possible that you've fabricated this entire 'issue' in some absurd bid to try and find 'holes' in Jewish religious law.

If this is the case - and if not, apologies - but if it is, then in fact you've done us a favour, because through these posts anyone with any queries about Judaism and conversion has probably learned a hell of a lot.

The Ultimate Radical

Hmmmm...interesting set of dilemmas. To me it seems that the first person is more spiritually and culturally Jewish but technically under Orthodox Jewish law, the first person is not Jewish but the second person is because the mother is Jewish.

G-d said in the Torah that a Jew is from the maternal line or through conversion. If you have a problem with that, take it up with G-d and let the Jews follow there beliefs. It dousnt have to make sense. G-d said it and that is it.

If you hate Judaism so much why do you want to be one?

Rebbecca Shmal-Goldstein(Purim!)

Because Person A, or we will just say you, arent jewish because you have to have a Jewish mother to be Jewish. So no you aren't a conservative Jew. You should be ashamed to lie to the whole Yahoo Answers Israel section for even saying you are Conservative or Shomer Shabbat in any form. You are not Jewish. Stop pretending because your mom isn't Jewish. Person B, Is Jewish and i would accept him as a jew because he has a Jewish mother and he is just a non-ng observant jew. So stop wasting your -15 points and answer some questions that don't involve Judaism. Because you are not Jewish but just a lier.

Shalom(I already explained to you what Shalom means),
Rebbecca Shmal-Goldstein

Witness to Palestine

It is just tradition. No logical reason for it.

nazof

I don't want to answer your question bcz I don't know the answer.But I caught a line in your question where you said don't insult my mother.So you get offended when someone insults your mother? ofcourse you do its only natural but if someone insults someone's religion or prophet why do people say that they have the freedom of opinion.Doesn't this freedom come with any responsibility.

brainless banana

I understand but go and see the Rabbi.

vansemmanuel

Because in Judaism a person has to have a Jewish mother. If he doesn't have a Jewish Mother then he isn't Jewish.So Person A, Isnt jewish because you dont have a jewish mother. You have a christian mother. Person B, is a Jew because he has a Jewish mother but isnt observant.

Stimpson J. Cat

No religion is logical. If you want logic, look to science and even that isn't always logical.

Abiyah TORAH FTW

It makes no sense.

a-mac

OMG. You really think a lot.

Just embrace YOUR beliefs and don't worry about the rest.

Put that mind to good use. Go study and get good grades and go to college.

PhilistineTheArtLover

"Why does it make SENSE that the person raised as a non-Jew with a Jewish mother is "Jewish," whereas a person raised Jewish with a Jewish father is "not Jewish?"

Because there's no god which means the human mind is an irrational being that just makes things up as it goes along like someone playing a game of Dungeon and Dragons where anything goes.
And then they get attached to that reality as if it was written before the universe existed.
The human mind is an organic matter that can be manipulated since it doesn't have a guiding mechanism in it due to the fact that it was never meant to be.
In short, we're all a freak accident of nature.

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