Expert: Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner - 10/31/2007

Question
Hello Rabbi,
I am in a sort of identity crisis. My father is Jewish as well as all members of his family. My mother is Christian but went halfway through conversion classes. She never finished. Even so, upon my birth I was circumcised by a mohel and given a Hebrew name. I have been around both faiths my entire life however I never had a bar mitzvah. My question is can I still consider myself Jewish? Also, if I can not consider myself Jewish based upon religion, is it possible to consider myself Jewish based upon race or heritage? Thank you for your response.

Answer
Dear Marcus,

Thank you for writing, and your situation is not unusual - for several reasons.

First of all, the most traditional answer according to Jewish law and custom, one needs to be born of a Jewish mother or converted [thorough education, academic examination before a religious court of three, ritual circumcision, ritual bath=mikveh]. That should answer your question according to tradition.

Secondly, the more liberal "streams" of Judaism such as Reform will accept patrilineal descent, where the father is Jewish but not the mother, with the condition that the child only observes and identifies as a Jew, has an affiliation with a congregation and the most thorough Jewish education possible. The individual Reform Rabbi most often will expect a ritual circumcision. This is not accepted in the traditional movements, Orthodoxy and Conservative.

Thirdly, there is absolutely no such thing as a Jewish race. There are people who identify themselves as Jews because they identify with Jewish values, but that is a self serving definition, not a traditional definition.

However, since you asked me, I would as a Rabbi not accept race or heritage as valid, should I be asked to perform a wedding, for example, where both need to be "legally" Jewish.

If you or anyone wishes to become Jewish and were not born to a Jewish mother, conversion is always possible - and preferred IMHO. Adults learning what it is they are accepting is far superior to a Jew by birth being raised without a Jewishly observant home and without synagogue and Jewish education.

Best wishes

Rabbi Dov