First and foremost, I must clarify that I am writing this article as a Jew by birth as well as by choice. Over the years, my understanding—and consequently, my definition—of what it means to be Jewish has expanded significantly.
According to the modern rabbinical definition, a Jew is someone born of a Jewish mother (regardless of the father’s religion). A person who converts to the Jewish religion is also considered Jewish.
However, the term can also be analyzed from another perspective. Let’s delve into the Scriptures, as the term Yehudi (Jew) carries broader connotations and deeper meanings than those we normally attribute to it. In some ways, it can be compared to the term Ivri (Hebrew) or the name Israel.
History and Geography
Two thousand years ago, a Yehudi was anyone who lived in the area of Y’hudah, in addition to practicing the Jewish religion. That area was called Yehudáh because, when the land was divided in the time of Joshua, it was originally the land belonging to the tribe of Y’hudah.
The borders of this land expanded in the times following Solomon, when there were two main areas in Israel: the Kingdom of Judah (in the south) and the Kingdom of Israel (in the lands of Samaria and Galilee, in the north).
The Origin of the Name
If we go back to the person from whom this name originates, we must return to the time of Ya’akov, our patriarch. His fourth son was named Y’hudah by his mother, Leah, when she said:
“This time I will praise (‘odé’, from the same root as Y’hudah) Yehovah.” (Genesis 29:35)
A Spiritual Perspective: A Change of Heart
Another verse that helps us with the context of what we are examining today comes from another Yehudi, Shaul (Paul), who shares his view at the end of the second chapter of the epistle to the Romans:
“For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”
Shaul was a Pharisee, and this passage must be understood in context. There is no doubt that he believed—as did the Jewish religion of his time—that if a child was born to Jewish parents, he was Jewish. But he is implying a deeper meaning here to what it means to be a Yehudi. Being born to certain parents does not determine how we will act in this world. Shaul uses the term Yehudi for those who “earn it,” so to speak.
In this context, a Yehudi would be “one who praises God through their works.”
Therefore, yes, a Yehudi is someone born of Jewish parents, like Shaul or myself; and a Yehudi is also someone who converts to the Jewish religion. But above all else, a Yehudi is one who acts in a righteous and just manner, with a heart transformed to please the Creator.