Notes on Terminology
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There is raging debate among the Jewish community as to
exactly "who is a Jew." Is being a Jew a matter of nationality?
Ethnicity? Religion? Does being a Jew mean being a part of "Israel" in
the sense of being a part of God's people? In considering this
question, the following definitions must be kept in mind:
Hebrews
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a northern
Semitic people descended, like the Arabs, from Noah's son, Shem, whence
comes the word "Semite"
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Israelites
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descendants of
Abraham through his grandson, Jacob, whose name was changed to
"Israel," and those who entered into their covenant with God. The
Israelites were divided into 12 Tribes, each first led by one of
Jacob's 12 sons: Reuben, Gad, Aser, Judah, Nephthalim, Simeon, Levi
(the priestly tribe), Issachar, Zabulon, Joseph (Manasses, Ephraim),
Dan, and Benjamin (the Tribe of Paul).
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Judean
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Someone who:
- was a member of
the Tribe of of Judah, or
- lived in Judea
I.e., all
members of the Tribe of Judah were Israelites, but not all Israelites
were Judeans. Not all who lived in Judea were practitioners of the Old
Testament religion or were of the Tribe of Judah. Judah is a subset of
ancient Israel, not a synonym for it.
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Jew
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comes from the
word "Judean" and today is used to describe any or all of the
below in most any combination:
- per a religious
standard, anyone who practices Judaism (the modern name for rabbinic
Talmudism)
- per the Talmud
and other racist standards, such as Nazism, anyone whose mother is a
Jew (which begs the question)
- per eretz
Israel's "Law of Return," someone whose mother is a Jew and who does
not practice a religion other than Judaism (i.e., a "Jew" can be an
atheist and can still be called a "Jew") or someone who converts to
Judaism
- after the
Babylonian Captivity: those of the blended House of Judah (members of
the Tribes of Juda, Levi, and Benjamin)
- per the New
Testament, all Christians (Romans 2:28-29)
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Israel
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- The people of
God. In Old Testament times, these were the Hebrews and converted
"strangers" (those of other nations) who honored the Covenant made
through Abraham's son, Jacob. It was after Jacob was renamed "Israel"
that the faithful came to be known as "Israelites."
In the Church age, it refers to all those who honor the New Covenant in
Jesus Christ. That line from Adam to Christ, the New Adam, is straight:
the tree of Israel is and will always be one tree, with some branches
broken off and some grafted in.
- a political
state more properly and fully called "Eretz Israel," and whose
inhabitants are called "Israelis" -- most of whom are ethnic Jews, many
of whom are not (note, too, that not all Palestinians are Muslims; many
are Christians, for example), and most of whom do not practice Judaism
(neither the Old Testament religion nor Talmudism). After the Temple
fell in 70 A.D., the land now known as Israel was named by the Romans
"Palestine."
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Judaism
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Commonly but
inaccurately used to refer to the Old Testament religion based on Torah
and priestly authority (Malachi 2:7), which most people assume is the
same religion practiced by those called Jews today. However, after the
Babylonian Captivity, Torah-based religion practiced by the Israelite
Tribe of Judah became Pharisaic Judaism, or "Phariseeism," which later
became rabbinic Judaism, based in varying degrees on Torah and:
- Mishnah:
(230 A.D.) Originally Oral Law, but written down in 200 A.D.The Mishnah
consists of:
- Zera'im
("Seeds"): 11 tractates on crops, foods, and land-related regulations
- Mo'ed
("Festivals"): 12 tractates on the Sabbath and the liturgical year
- Nashim
("Women"): 7 tractates on marriage, divorce, and oaths
- Neziqin
("Torts"): 10 tractates on criminal and civil law
- Qodashim
("Sacred Things"): 11 tractates about sacrifices and the Temple
- Tohorot
("Purity"): 12 tractates about purity laws and rituals
- Yerushalmi
or "Palestinian Talmud":
(400 A.D.)
- Midrash:
(ca 400-500 A.D.) Consists of sermons, Biblical commentary, parables,
etc.
- Bavli or the
"Babylonian Talmud":
(compiled ca. 430-560 A.D.) Contains around half of the Mishnah and
commentary called Gemara (the word "Gemara" is often used
interchangeably with "Talmud"). It is the Babylonian Talmud that is
most often referred to when one speaks of "the Talmud." This is the
most important literature in modern Judaism, even more important
than Torah.
- Kabbalah:
(codified ca early 14th c.) Claimed to be a part of Torah given to
Adam, the Kabbalah (the word means "tradition") is a mystical system
that concerns itself with the process of creation. Because of its
esoteric, gnostic elitist nature and its emphasis on magic, the
conjuring of supernatural forces, numerology, astrology, reincarnation,
etc., watered-down Kabbalah has become a trendy, New Age fashion.
True Kabbalah, however, is for initiates and is not supposed to be
studied until one is firmly grounded in basic Judaic principles
(usually around the age of 40 among the non-Hassidic). Parts of
Kabbalah are in print (the Zohar --"Book of Splendor"-- by
Moses de Leon, for example), but other parts are a matter of orally
transmitted, deeply secret tradition. Kabbalah has played a great role
in the development of many diverse movements, including Masonry,
Rosicrucianism, Renaissance-era secular and Christian thought, Aleister
Crowley's Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (and other Hermetic
systems), and Mormonism.
- Tosefta:
(12th c.) another compilation of Oral
Law, like the Mishnah, but treated with less authority and as a
supplement, a practical guide to the Mishnah
The rabbi is not
the equivalent of the Israelite priest, for they offer no sacrifices
and the Temple is no more. The equivalent of the Israelite priest is
the Catholic priest who is ordained after the order of Melchizedek and
who re-presents the once and for all Sacrifice of Christ on Calvary.
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Jewish
subcultures
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- Ashkenazi
Jews:
the Central and Eastern European Jews. Most of the Eastern European
Jews are descended from the Turkish Kingdom of Khazaria (an area of
land known to the Greeks as "Scythia"; to the Church Fathers as
"Magog"; and to moderns as various Eastern European and Southern
Russian States) which converted to Judaism in the 8th and 9th
centuries. The vast majority of modern Jews fall into this category.
The Jewish historian, Josephus, writes that the people of this area
descended genetically from Japheth, son of Noah and brother of Shem,
the father of the Semites. Shem's descendant, Eber, gave his name to
the Hebrews.)
- Sephardic
Jews:
Jews who settled in the Mediterranean area and are mostly associated
with Spain.
- Arab and
Yemenite Jews:
Jews who descend from a Jewish kingdom in Yemen in the early Middle
Ages under the rule of Dhu Nuwas
- Ethiopian
Jews:
African Jews who claim origin from the Tribe of Dan
- Karaite Jews:
Sect, begun in the 8th century, that rejects rabbinical authority
There are also
Jews of many "races," as it were, in other parts of Africa, China,
India, and other places.
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Dispensationalism, Israel, the Church, and the Jews
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