Zionism’s Stated Goal It was a stated goal of Zionism that once Jews are defined as a people rather than a religion, atheist Jews would remain regular Jews.
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Zionism’s Stated Goal
It was a stated goal of Zionism that once Jews are defined as a people rather than a religion, atheist Jews would remain regular Jews.
Peretz Smolenskin wrote:
“If national sentiment is made the basis of our existence … the super-pious and the hypocrites will no longer dare to exclude from the people any Jew tainted with religious liberalism. No matter what his sins against religion, every Jew belongs to his people as long as he does not betray it—this is the principle we must succeed in establishing. It is the logical conclusion to be derived from the proposition that we are a people.”
(It Is Time to Plant, in Arthur Hertzberg, The Zionist Idea, pp. 145–146)
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Before Zionism, everyone understood:
FAQ: If Judaism is a religion, how are there atheist Jews?
Answer:
In Judaism, every human is obligated to follow G-d’s commandments, but not the same set.
The Noahide covenant (Genesis 9) gave humanity 7 laws. At Sinai, G-d offered a different covenant, consisting of 613 commandments (the Torah) to the descendants of those who left Egypt, who accepted it (Exodus 19).
Jewish tradition holds that not only those present, but also the souls of their unborn descendants—identifiable by being born to Jewish mothers—accepted it as well. Anyone else may accept it voluntarily.
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This covenant created both a relationship with G-d and a collective bond among the acceptors: they became Jewish people (umah).
Being Jewish means being obligated to the 613 commandments.
Those obligated only to the 7 Noahide laws are non-Jews.
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This is why Judaism does not proselytize: you do not need to be Jewish to serve G-d and earn reward in the Afterlife.
Non-Jews who keep the Noahide laws are rewarded (though reward is commensurate with responsibility).
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Thus, the primary meaning of “Jew” in Judaism refers to obligation.
A person obligated to the 613 commandments is a Jew even if he violates or denies the obligation.
Atheist Jews and Jews who convert out are still called Jews because the Torah still obligates them to 613 commandments.
To that extent and to that extent only they are Jews.
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There is, however, a secondary classification of standing:
* צדיק (righteous)
* רשע (wicked)
* כופר (kofer - denier)
A kofer denies the Torah’s binding nature.
Such a person, while still technically obligated (and therefore Jewish), is treated for most practical purposes as outside the community, similar to a non-Jew, until he repents.
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Caveat:
Many modern kofrim do not even know what Judaism is (for example, some think it is Zionism), so their denial is unwitting and their status sometimes more complex.
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This is a concise explanation of why atheist Jews are still called Jews in traditional Judaism.
Source
posted by Satish Sharma at
10:40
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