Judaism Response Paper 1

Judaism is a religion, a culture, and a race, and these characteristics are not mutually exclusive. A person can be one but not another, or they can be all three. The definition of Judaism is so broad that it encompasses all three in different aspects. For example if someone converts to Judaism they are Jewish, or someone born Jewish can still be Jewish and be secular. However, the degree that someone is Jewish varies, but on the most basic level anyone who wants to be Jewish can be as long as they follow or meet any of the guidelines of Judaism.

Judaism is perhaps most well known as a religion. People who practice Judaism are by definition Jewish. They follow the 613 rules in the Torah, the 10 Commandments, and kosher guidelines. The males have gone through Bris, and perhaps most importantly they believe they are decedents of Abraham, and believe in the covenant with God. Judaism is a culture because if someone is an Orthodox Jew then his or her life is steeped in the religious aspects of Judaism. People form a culture from their religion. In Judaism their culture brings them closer together with places like kosher delis where Jews do not have to worry about kosher rules because it is a kosher deli, and celebrating religious holidays together. Judaism is a race because originally Judaism was an ethnic group. Also, Judaism is a race because if the mother of a baby is Jewish, then the baby is too whether or not that baby chooses to practice Judaism. The baby will still be Jewish because Judaism is passed maternally.