JFJ Forums

How little Jewish blood can you have and still be Jewish?

As far as I've read, up to 1/8 Jewish is still Jewish. Yitzchak was fully Jewish and the first Jewish man, because he was the son of the promise; Rivkah was a goyah, so Ya'akov and Esav were patrilineally Jewish; Ya'akov's wives and concubines were goyim, so the 12 sons of Ya'akov were patrilineally Jewish; and by the time that Y'hudah and Yosef each married goyim and had sons, each son was 1/8 Jewish. Yosef's sons, Menashe and Ephraim, became "half tribes".

According to Judaism, 100% either via a Jewish mother
or via a halachic conversion.

From what I have seen on line, there does not seem to be any
standards for Messianics.

Are you looking around in your family tree?

No offense, Sheitl Queen; but I think that at least in regards to Jewishness by descent, chow_woman doesn't follow Kiddushin 68b.

*L* No, Sheitl, I'm 25% Italian and Heinz 57 after that *L* I see a lot of this blood quota thing among Native American wannabees. Usually the line goes, "I have native blood but I can't prove it." While on vacation I saw a T-shirt in a shop near a rez that said, "I'm part white, but I can't prove it." *LOL*

Having said all that, I do totally understand the "desire" people have to identify with this group or that group. I personally most closely identify with Southerners of which I am 100% *L*

Shalom Ya'll

I am Irish scottish Indiana  germany and welish.





I come from all over the place lol

Maybe some people just want to be part of who are possibly Bnei-Gad.

Oh, that is too funny!

Yes, is does seem that people often want to belong to some
group that they deem gives them a special "status" of some
kind.

Seems like the same would hold true (except for the halachic part)...

It's probably the ethnic Jewish vs the Biblically Jewish/faith part that is confusing to the rabbinic group like yourself.

When I asked the question I was talking about blood quota, but from a spiritual side, I could claim to be 100% Jewish spiritually being a part of the tribe of Abraham (stars of the sky etc). I don't because I believe that would be deceptive to the ethnic community. I could say to the other gentile believers that I'm a Messianic believer, but they would most certainly not "get it." Most of them anyway.

So I tell people I'm a kosher-hearted gentile believer in the Messiah of Israel. Would you consider that to be honest enough, howbeit, long answer, Sheitl, in your opinion?

Just my own 2 cents.

The idea of a certain percent Jewish or a certain percent of Jewish blood making a person Jewish doesn't make sense to Jewish people and Jewish thought. Jewishness isn't defined by 'blood' percentage.

If a person says they are 1/4, or 3/16 Jewish, what that usually means in Jewish thought is that person might possibly have Jewish ancestors but they, themselves, are not Jewish. In Jewish thought a person is either 100% Jewish or not Jewish at all.

Judaism thought is that a person has a Jewish soul, not blood, and a soul isn't divided into percentages. The desire or attraction to Jewishness doesn't mean the person has a Jewish soul.