II.

Who Are the Jews?

The word Jew came into existence in the 5th century bc to refer to the inhabitants of the province of Judea (now part of Israel). It derives from the Hebrew word, yehudi, and the Greek, ioudaios, for Judeans. In time it was also applied to people who originated in Judea but moved elsewhere. The Judeans were descended from the Israelites, an ancient people whose origins are shrouded in mystery.

A.

The First Jews

Historians know little about the early history of the Israelites, but they do know that at some point the Israelites came to see themselves as bearers of a unique covenant with a single God whom they called by many names, most importantly, Yahweh. Yahweh provided them with a law and way of life, as well as with a territory—the land of Israel—in which to carry out that way of life. Acceptance of this covenant and monotheism (belief in a single God) distinguished the Israelites from most of their contemporaries, who believed in multiple gods, a practice known as polytheism, and worshiped idols, a practice known as idolatry. Israelites often separated themselves from people who did not share in this covenant with their one God.

In the 6th century bc, the Neo-Babylonian Empire conquered the land of the Israelites and sent much of the population of its southern province, Judea, to Babylonia. The Israelite exiles appear to be the most direct ancestors of the Jewish people. During their exile the nature of the Israelites’ identity changed as they came to see themselves primarily as a religious group rather than simply as an exiled group with a common ethnic background.

Sometime after the 5th century bc it was possible to become a Jew, although what conversion meant at that time or how it was done remains unclear. Ancient sources speak of individual Persians, Greeks, Romans, and members of Arab tribes becoming Jews during the centuries that followed the Babylonian Captivity.

B.

Maintaining Jewish Identity

Religion, ethnic identity, and language have all played important roles in maintaining Jewish identity. Because Judaism related to so many aspects of life, including those considered secular in other cultures, being a Jew led to a strong group or ethnic identity. For example, the Hebrew Bible (known to Christians as the Old Testament) laid down dietary laws and indicated which foods were considered kosher (fit) for consumption. Jews also had their own written language, Hebrew, and distinct spoken languages developed. The best known of these spoken languages is Yiddish, which is based on the German language.

C.

Jewish Identity Today

What constitutes Jewish identity came into question during the 19th and 20th centuries, however. Some Jews today, especially in Israel, reject the Jewish religion but insist that they belong to a distinct ethnic or national community. Other Jews, especially in the West, reject the ethnic component of Jewish identity while claiming they follow a distinct religion. Still others in the West define themselves as cultural Jews, meaning that they lack a religious affiliation and feel part of some other ethnic group, but they believe there is a distinctive Jewish culture in which they participate. And in all parts of the world there are Jews who insist that Jews are both an ethnic and a religious group. Finally, there are those who insist that Jewish religious law defines Jewish identity. In this view, anyone born to a Jewish mother, or anyone who has properly converted to the Jewish faith, is a full-fledged member of the Jewish people and religion. Thus, today there is no consensus on the definition of a Jew.

The multiplicity of Jewish identities makes it difficult to provide reliable population figures. Most contemporary estimates place the population of Jews worldwide at about 14 million. The two largest communities of Jews are in the United States and Israel. About 5.9 million Jews live in the United States, and about 4.6 million live in Israel. About 350,000 Jews live in Canada, primarily in Toronto and Montréal. Sizable Jewish communities are found in Argentina, Australia, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, and Western Europe. In every country other than Israel, the Jewish population is stagnant or shrinking, primarily as a result of low birth rates but also because of migration and assimilation into the dominant culture.