What is a Jew
Frank Silbermann
>
>Well, actually I would like to get into this "what is a Jew"
>discussion. Of course not for discussion sake but in search of
>identity. I grew up in Russia. Until I left for the USA, I had been
>inside a synagogue only once. I had read nothing (or almost nothing)
>about Judaism. My late mother was a member of the Communist party.
>But my internal passport stated "Jewish" and for everybody I was
>Jewish.
>
>Sure, from my grandmother and father (who was born in 1908) I knew a
>little about life in Jewish villages before the Bolshevick
>Revolution. And only over my last few years in Moscow I began to look
>for books (forbidden by the authorities) on Jewish subjects.
>
>But all my life I knew that I was Jewish. I feel Jewish whatever it
>might mean. Inspite of the fact that I was atheist, Russian speaking
>only, brainwashed by Communist propaganda, I was Jewish.
>
>So, What Is a Jew?
Basically, a Jew is a follower of Jewish law. Most practicing Jews
consider this law to include the Talmud and Rabbinical commentaries.
This law serves not only to regulate our interpersonal behavior,
but also develops a certain character, a set of values, an outlook
on life among its followers.
Communism is a competing idealogy that tolerates no competitiors.
Your ancestors, willingly or not, replaced Judaism with communism
as the ideological basis for their way of life.
Nevertheless, the residue of your Jewish background is hard to erase.
Just as a chicken without its head may continue to run and jump
around for a while, a Jew without Judaism may continue to maintain
his Jewish character and values for a surprisingly long time.
The main question is: do you like this part of yourself or not?
Do you want to re-establish roots in Judaism to reinforce and develop
this side of your personality that makes you different from others
(at the risk of enraging those following competing ideologies),
or will you allow its eventual atrophy?
Frank Silbermann