Expert: Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner - 4/21/2010

Question
QUESTION: I was wondering if you could be a Jew be born in Israel and all, but celebrate Christmas and believe the Jesus was the messiah. I read one of your other answers to one of the questions and it said if you believe that Jesus was messiah than you are not a Jew or no longer one, what are you???


Lando

ANSWER: Dear Lando,

Thanks for writing. The rules are essentially the same for anyone born to a Jewish mother in Israel or any other location.

If anyone is born a Jew and chooses to accept Jesus as the messiah, their savior, their redeemer, etc., then they are apostates and are all but for conversion Christian believers. If they formally convert to Christianity, then they are and should be considered Christians.

There is an oddity in Jewish traditions which suggests that even if one converts out of Judaism, then "a Jew who sins=converts being one example is nonetheless a Jew." The difficulty is that if we don't recognize their right to choose to be a Christian, then should we refuse to accept a Christian's decision to renounce their baptism, etc. and become a Jew.

Under some Christian teachings, a "Christian who converts to another faith is a sinner who can't be considered another faith follower." One famous example is the secret baptism of an Italian infant by the nanny privately who then ultimately was declared by the Church to be a Christian and removed from the "sinful" environment of the child's parents who were Jews.

My own approach is to respect the decision of any human being to fulfill the requirements of conversion and recognize that they are now ....... If and when a person is born to a Christian woman who converted from Judaism to Christianity and was raised as a Christian, I would consider that mother's child to be a Christian and need to fulfill the requirements for conversion to Judaism.

Please note that some traditionalists would hold that the mother's child is Jewish by birth to a [formerly] Jewish mother [who is forbidden to leave Judaism] and would not require conversion. I disagree.

I especially see the need for anyone who has not been educated and raised in Judaism to need the education and exposure to Jewish customs, ceremonies, rituals, symbols, literature, etc. If that person - male or female - is going to raise a Jewish family and maintain a Jewish home, they need to become an informed Jewish parent and partner.

Best wishes and thanks for writing.

Rabbi Dov

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks allot for the answer, but i also have another question.

Lets say your are born in Israel, but are a Christian. Are you still called a Jew?

Answer
Dear Lando,

Anyone born in Israel to an Israeli citizen is an Israeli. A child born to an Israeli Christian is an Israeli and a Christian.

A Jew is one who identifies with Jewish beliefs, traditions, principles, participation authentically in individual and communal rituals - and who rejects any beliefs of another religion and disassociates themselves consistently from any other religion.

Is there a reason you keep pursuing this subject?

There are missionaries who have created "Jews for Jesus" or Messianic Judaism in which they propose that one indeed can believe in Jesus as do Christians and still be a "good Jew." That is impossible.

Best wishes

Rabbi Dov