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In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I tackle one of the most frequently asked questions about Jewish identity: Is Judaism a religion, an ethnicity, or a race? This question became particularly relevant during the Whoopi Goldberg controversy and continues to confuse many people trying to understand what Judaism actually is. The answer is more complex and fascinating than you might think. I explain that Judaism predates all of these modern conceptions and categories. When we think about religion today, we're thinking about modern religious systems. But Judaism has been around for over a thousand years before the most recent of those religions emerged.
The entire concept of categorizing something as purely a "religion," "ethnicity," or "race" is a relatively modern framework that we use to put things into neat boxes and make them fit our contemporary understanding - especially as Americans who like everything to make logical sense based on our own cultural conceptions. But here's the key insight: Judaism is older than all of those classification systems, and therefore it doesn't really fit neatly into any single one of those boxes. Judaism is actually all of the above and more. It's not just a religion, because even if a person doesn't believe in God, they're still considered Jewish. It's not just an ethnicity, because a person can be born into a completely different religion or no religion at all and choose to convert to Judaism, becoming fully Jewish. I explain that Judaism is more accurately described as a family, a tribe, or a covenant community - a group of people bound together by both genetics and sometimes by conscious choice.
We have an entire podcast called "Zero Percent" where we spent a whole year exploring stories of Jews by choice - people who chose a Jewish way of life despite having no genetic Jewish ancestry. This is a completely valid Jewish experience, and some of the greatest Jews who ever lived were Jews by choice, including Ruth (King David's ancestor) and many prominent rabbis throughout history. This episode covers why modern categories don't fit Judaism, the difference between religion, ethnicity, and race, how someone can be Jewish without believing in God, the process and validity of conversion to Judaism, Jews by choice and their place in Jewish history, the concept of Judaism as a covenant community, and why Judaism defies simple categorization.
Whether you're curious about Jewish identity, confused about how Judaism works as both a religion and ethnicity, interested in conversion to Judaism, exploring your own Jewish identity, seeking to understand the Whoopi Goldberg controversy about Jews and race, or simply wondering what makes someone Jewish, this episode offers clarity on one of the most misunderstood aspects of Jewish life and identity.
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