Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 21:24:38 -0400 (EDT)
From: Russell Hendel <  rhendel@mcs.drexel.edu>
Subject: Re: Ethnic Or Race

QUESTION:
<  <  What evidence do you have of Judaism being more than just a religion and
maybe a race or ethnicity. Where does the common ancestry stem from and can
you give me a brief summary of the Jewish blood lines and history
explaining why we are more than just a religion. Thank you very much.>  >

ANSWER:
Judaism is not a race, it is a religion. The mishnahs on the order of torts
concludes with the statement that "An illegitimate scholar takes precedence
over an ignoramus high priest". The Jewish religion has always judged
people by their level of Torah Knowledge and practice of acts of Charity,
not their past.

A chilling story tells how a prophet, Zecharia, was murdered in the Temple.
When Jerusalem was conquered the conqueror sought to appease his blood
which miraculously never evaporated from the Temple floor. Over 100000
children were slaughtered until the blood evaporated (by a miracle). When
these generals and war-lords saw how much even one life meant to G-d they
all repented. And the Talmud concludes "From these war-lords that conquered
Israel and killed over 100,000 children, came great scholars-- in fact
some of the Emoraim and Tanaaim that finalized the Talmud came from them".

How many cultures can BOAST of praising great people that descended from
Murderers!!!! Even America which is relatively advanced and respects people
for WHAT they are, nevertheless does not remember what they WERE. By
contrast we respect people for what they are DESPITE their past which we do
remember. There is no doubt---Judaism is a religion not a race.

Russell Jay Hendel