So, nu, who's a Jew ? (part 2)

A. Back to the Bible

Let's first go back to origins. One thing that everyone agrees on is that all Jews can trace their origins back to the Patriarch, Abraham, about 4000 years ago. I bet you didn't know that he came from a family of Iraqi idol-worshippers - though, of course, the country wasn't called Iraq in those days. He came from a city called Ur in the region known as Mesopotamia. Ur is one of the oldest recorded cities and its ruins are still visible today, though you'll need to travel to the edge of the al-Hajar Desert in Iraq to see it.

Abraham, then known as Abram, according to the Bible, had a divine calling and left his home city and moved to the area of Canaan, now modern day Israel. Abram was the first man to be called a Hebrew, a name coming from Eber, an ancestor and a descendant of Shem (from whom we get the name 'Semite', a term usually used for anyone of Middle-Eastern origin, and 'Antisemitic', a term curiously only used in relation to Jews), who, in turn, was a son of Noah.

Shem, who spent all that time in the Ark with Noah and his family, was still living at the time of Abram. Mind you, he was 465 years old at that time and probably the oldest man alive. What conversations they could have had together!

So God called Abram and, because Abram responded in the right way, even so far as being willing to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice, he was granted certain promises. He was granted, on behalf of his descendants, the title deeds to not only the land he now lived in but to a much larger area (more about that later).

As mentioned earlier, his name was changed from Abram to Abraham, which means 'father of many'. This title makes sense now as Abraham is revered not only by Jews, but also by Muslims, who also trace their origins back to him, through his son Ishmael. Christians also see him as a sort of 'spiritual' father, and he is spoken about in glowing terms at various places in their scriptures.

But there is no such thing as a free lunch! Much squealing must have been heard in camp on the day Abraham and his son were circumcised. They didn't have the benefit of anaesthetic or the trusting nature of a 8 day old baby! Abraham was 99 years old when he was snipped. And no men in his household escaped from this ordeal, even foreign servants. They were all put to the blade.

You see, Abraham and his descendants had to visibly show their acceptance of these promises by God, and through the rite of circumcision, we had a physical reminder of this 'covenant' between God and his people. And this rite has continued through the ages to modern times, for all Jews, whether religious or 'traditional Jews'.

Of course circumcision has now broadened its appeal, whether out of health (possible prevention of cancer) or fashion (e.g. English upper classes), but the Jews had it first! Although for many Jews it has become just one facet of the various rituals that have come to us as 'Jewish traditions', one must not forget that its origins are very much religious origins.

Abraham had two sons. The first was Ishmael, the 'forefather' of today's Arabs. God told Abraham that Ishmael was to be a wild donkey of a man who will live in hostility with all his brothers, a fairly accurate prediction when we consider that the second son was to be the 'forefather' of the Jewish nation.

This man was Isaac, who's name means 'he laughs'. You may say that he had little to laugh about in his early years, having been almost frazzled on Abraham's altar as a burnt offering. But things got better. He got to marry Rebekah, who was very beautiful and a distant relative. He also had twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau became the manly one, the oldest and the strongest, a hunter by profession. Jacob, the youngest by a few minutes, was the weak girlie one. He was quiet and preferred to hang around at camp. He was mummy's little favourite! Today he would be the accountant or estate agent (no offence intended!).

He was such a weed that he was betrothed to the beautiful daughter but was tricked into marrying the ugly daughter and only found out in the morning, presumably because he was so drunk the night before to notice! Now, with Woody Allen in mind, rather than Kirk Douglas, which one became the descendant of the Jewish people? Why, Jacob of course. To get the full story you'll need to read the Bible, but needless to say Jacob lived up to his name (one translation of 'Jacob' is 'he deceives') and cheated Esau out of his inheritance as the first-born. But Jacob was still the chosen one of God and even had a wrestling match with him!

Could this be the same man whose wife hired him out to his first wife for a night of passion in return for a bunch of vegetables? Yes, it was and we can only presume that his life of hardship strengthened him mentally and physically. Jacob survived the bout with the Almighty (three rounds, one submission) resulting in, for him, a new name.

His name was now Israel, which means 'He struggles with God'. This is the origin of the name, Israel, and, as we'll see later, this new name was to be very apt. The Jewish people have, at certain times, been known as the 'Children of Israel'. We can look at this literally and we discover that Jacob (or 'Israel') had twelve sons. The ten boring ones were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin. The two interesting sons were Joseph and Judah.

Joseph is interesting not only because Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote a musical about him but because his story is so extensively documented in the pages of the Bible. It is also a great story (why do you think a musical was made about it?) Judah was the fourth son of Jacob and it is from his name that we get the name, Jew. Just as Jacob received the blessing that rightly belonged to his elder brother, Esau, here we see Judah leapfrogging over three elder brothers.

Reuben, the eldest, forfeited his blessing by sleeping with his stepmother and the other two, Simeon and Levi, had too violent a nature, ( they slaughtered all the men in a city in vengeance for the rape of their sister) to be trusted with a divine mandate.

So, that's where the word Jew comes from, like it or not. You may or may not believe in God or the Bible, but the fact remains that Jewish origins are religious in their nature, all early Jewish history comes from the pages of the Bible. Jewish history started with these men, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Judah and as time passed, beliefs, attitudes and traditions were handed down and built upon.

By this means a Jewish identity was strengthened and a sense of 'jewishness' was the binding force that kept this people separate. Every man knew who he was and where he came from. Although genealogies, or family histories, were kept, tracing one's ancestors through the male line (i.e. Solly begat Hymie who begat Moishe and so on), the understanding was that you were only Jewish if you had a Jewish mother, i.e. through the female line.

That is the Biblical tradition and it is implied in the Book of Nehemiah, when Ezra encourages the Israelites to boot out their foreign wives, as they were disrupting the Jewish line. These genealogies were meticulously recorded and stored. One reason was because the Messiah of Israel, when he was to come, would need to have an impeccable pedigree and there would need to be proof of his royal lineage.

Of course people then ( as now) were allowed to convert and join the Jewish community with full rights, the only provision being circumcision (more squealing!) for the men. These people were known as proselytes and have always been welcomed with open arms by the Jewish community.