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The "Family"


Question:

I am trying to understand the deeper meaning of being a Jew. I know that a person can be born Jewish or convert to Judaism. But would say that Jews are members of a religion, nation or a race? Thank you for any insights.



AskTheRabbi.org answered:

I would opt for the definition that “Jews are a family”. And I don’t mean an extended-family, playing “Jewish genealogy” to see if we can figure out how my grandmother’s grandfather was a fourth-cousin to your grandfather’s sister-in-law. Rather, we are a single family unit. Let me try to explain why I feel we are a “family”

The Torah calls a fellow Jew “your sibling”. Not just your friend or countryman. Your sibling, your family. And we are all descended from the Patriarchs Abraham, Issac and Jacob and their wives the Matriarchs. The family and descenents of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs are the Jews who eventually received the Torah at Sinai “as one person with one heart” as our Sages teach.

A true personal story. Not long ago my wife took a fall and broke bones which hospitalized her and imposed virtual immobilty on her at home afterwards for an extended time period. Although our insurance coverage is quite good, we did not qualify for in-house assistance of any type. But a surprise was in store for us. Neighbors, friends and people we barely knew called to ask how they could help and started bring food for our family, which was preoccupied with medical issues – not to mention the pain and uncertainty resulting from the injury.

The assistance and offers became “overwhelming” to the point where one person — a good friend of my wife — took charge and ensured that all family needs would be taken care of in an orderly manner. When I thanked a person for bringing a meal for Shabbat, the reply was “What did I do special?” It was all completely natural and no one felt “pride” or “put out” to do something for someone in need. What wouldn’t a person do for another family member? A parent for a child or one sibling for another? A lesson not to soon be forgotten.

We have decided that not only will we try to be more helpful when asked for help by others, but will also actively seek to provide assistance to the needy, and not “make excuses” of being too busy or financially strapped (even if we think we are). Even small things such as reading material, taking something to the cleaners or including the person in one’s prayers can be very helpful and appreciated.

So for me, being Jewish is “all in the family” and more than just being a “member of the tribe”. Jews are often thought of as people who belong to a specific religion with that has certain beliefs and practices, and a people with a common goal and purpose (“a nation” or “a people”). And “race” is definitely not an issue since a person from any race may become a Jew.

But, my dear brother and sister, I think that we are much, much more than that.


 
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