What a crazy class F359 has been to me. Judaism. It has turned out to be one of the most complex and confusing topics that I have ever come across in my life. Before I took this class at IU, I was extremely naive on the subject. I just assumed that Judaism was one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world and that while all of its "members" may practice to various degrees, they all basically believed the same thing. I found out that I could not have been more off track. Over the past few months, I would find myself asking, "Who is a Jew?" and genuinely trying to answer it. I have not even come close to beginning to answer it. With a lot of the arguments and scenarios that we have been given in class, it almost seems like anyone can call themselves Jewish or be allowed to identify with Judaism and nobody can really say that they are not. Even among the Jewish people, members of the Orthodox sect do not see Reform Jews as being Jews at all. Some people who identify with Judaism do not even believe in God. Others practice the religious-based traditions but only do so because of the traditional and cultural aspect of the ritual. This whole concept was especially foreign to me
In the end, I do believe that there are definitely Jews and non-Jews, but there is a line so blurry between the two that it is almost hard to see that there is one. Is Jewishness inherited from ones parents (or at least one of them)? Looking at my own life, does being born from Catholic parents make me a Catholic no matter what? In the spiritual sense of identity, we all come to a crossroads in out lives when we decide on who we are spiritually. For example, I cannot just call myself Catholic because my parents were and not believe in God or the Real Presence in the Eucharist. To violate those central beliefs is to deny what a Catholic is. I feel that this is the case in all spiritual sides of religion. What makes the issue of Judaism even more complex though is the whole issue of the Jewish heritage and the biological factors that take place. Here the questions get brought in about race and Judaism. Despite everything though, I think the idea of Jewishness and how much one has within them to a large extent comes down to where the heart is of each individual. Who am I to say whether something is Jewish or not? In then end, I believe that who we are can only fully be known by the One who made us and our mature selves.
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Shane,
I think it is awesome that you took this class. Your question "Who is a Jew?" is one that even Jewish people struggle with. As a Jew who is affiliated with the Reform Movement, I hate it that there are Orthodox Jews who do not see me as Jewish however I don't see Messianic Jews as Jewish. While I do think that within Judaism there are many issues because of the fact that one group dosen't recognize the other and so on but I think ultimately it comes down to connection with G-D and the culture.
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