What is a Jew?

In order to answer these questions, we must explain another basic concept: What is a Jew? What distinguishes a Jew from his non-Jewish neighbor? Please note that I am not asking here ‘Who is a Jew?’ but ‘What is a Jew?’ because the answer to the question ‘Who is a Jew?’ is very clear: one who was born to a Jewish mother or has converted to Judaism according to the laws stipulated in the Torah. This does not, however, answer the question ‘What is a Jew?’

People often answer this question by saying that being Jewish means ‘feeling a sense of belonging to the Jewish people’. This is a not a satisfactory answer. It simply transfers the question of identity away from the individual. What, then, is the Jewish People? A Nation composed of individuals that have no other identity other than belonging to a People that has no definition? It is like saying that the definition of ‘tree’ is: ‘part of a forest’. The reasoning is the other way around. Once I know what a tree is, I can then define what a forest is by saying ‘a group of trees’. I cannot define what a tree is simply by saying: ‘part of a forest’!

It is also obvious that I cannot define what a Jew is based on his or her fulfillment of the Mitzvos, because here, too, the reasoning goes the other way around: One has the obligation to do Mitzvos because he or she is Jewish. I cannot say that one is Jewish because he or she fulfills the Mitzvos. Consider: a recently born baby is Jewish even though he or she has not fulfilled a single Mitzvah and has no conscious awareness of faith! A Jewish baby boy is circumcised because he is Jewish; he is not Jewish because he is circumcised.

What, then, is a Jew?

After studying the matter for many years and having countless conversations with Jews of every degree of observance and belief, I think that the most convincing and coherent answer is that the distinguishing element of the Jew is the Neshamah (soul) that every Jew possesses. The soul of the Jew is different than the soul of the non-Jew. They have different characteristics, potentials and needs. Every Jew has essentially the same type of soul as any other Jew. This Jewish soul is inherited from his or her mother. It is the common denominator that connects the Russian Jew with the Syrian, Yemenite, Canadian or Uruguayan Jew, even though they do not speak the same language and may have different customs and habits. The only meaningful difference between one Jew and another is the level and intensity of expression of this common essence. In some, this essence manifests itself constantly, while in others, it expresses itself once a year and in others it may express itself once in their lifetime.

This definition of ‘What is a Jew?’ does not contradict the aspiration that one may have to be a ‘citizen of the universe’, because in order to really be a ‘citizen of the universe’, one must fulfill his or her specific role within the universal community. Being a ‘citizen of the universe’ does not imply denying the particular role that one has, but, rather, inserting oneself into society with a clear identity and purpose.