What Is a Jew?

Recently I became an adjunct professor at Drew University Theological School and began teaching a course on Judaism, Theology, and Law to graduate students studying for the Christian ministry.  
My first class was devoted to the essence of Judaism and what it means to be a member of the “Tribe” (a.k.a. Tribe of Israel). I told my students that truth be told, there is no single definition of a Jew. 
A Jew is one who accepts the faith of Judaism and is born of a Jewish mother. That is the traditional religious definition.
A Jew is also one who seeks a spiritual base in the modern world by living the life of prayer, study and a daily routine dedicated to the proposition that Jewish wisdom through the ages will answer life’s important questions, questions such as Why do people suffer? and What is life’s purpose? That is the spiritual definition.
Judaism has also been called a “civilization,” so that Jews are a cultural group, primarily religious, but not exclusively so, linked to a common history, language of prayer, a vast literature, folkways, and a sense of common destiny. Judaism is this people’s way of life.
An important part of any valid definition is what a Jew is not. To begin with, the Jews are not a race. There are dark Jews and blond, tall Jews and short. There are black African Jews from Ethiopia and African-American Jews in the United States. There are Jewish communities in various places on the subcontinent of India.
It would be equally misleading to speak of the Jews as a nation, though in antiquity they were. Today, Jewish, Muslim and Christian citizens of Israel do constitute a nation, with Jews the majority and Jewish culture predominant. But there are no national ties that unite all Jews throughout the world.
One of the professors at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America where I received ordination was Rabbi Saul Lieberman, one of the giants of Jewish scholarship.
Once a reporter from The New York Times was sent to interview him. The reporter came to Professor Lieberman’s office, and he saw a Talmud (book of the so-called Oral Law) open on his desk.
The reporter pointed to the dark print in the middle of the page and asked him what that was. Dr.  Lieberman said that this was the Mishnah, which is a Second-century commentary on the Five Books of Moses. The reporter then asked Dr. Lieberman what the writing below the Mishnah was. Dr. Lieberman explained that this was the Gemara, which is a commentary on the Mishnah edited in the Fifth century.
The reporter then asked what the writing on the side of the page was. Dr. Lieberman explained that this was the commentary of Rashi a sage who lived in France in the 11th century.
The reporter then asked what the writing in the column on the other side of the page was. Dr. Lieberman explained that this was the commentary of the Tosofists, who lived in Germany several generations after Rashi. And so it went, as the professor patiently explained what the commentaries in the back of the Talmudic tractate were and where and when they were written.
Finally, the reporter said: “Now I get it! Judaism is a conversation between the generations!”
Dr.  Lieberman said afterward that that was the shortest and the simplest definition of Judaism that he had ever heard and that he was especially impressed because it came from a non-Jew.
I look forward to your questions and invite you to dialogue with me and submit your questions.
And as always, I want to thank Managing Editor Al Campbell for the opportunity of allowing my voice each month to be heard in this most informative newspaper. 
Ron Isaacs, Rabbi of Beth Judah Temple
www.rabbiron.com