SATISH SHARMA - not just Rotigraphy.: Judaism is not an “ethno-religion,” nor did it begin as a land-based identity 4,000 years ago.

https://x.com/voiceofrabbis/status/2051429163907645668

This framing gets a fundamental point wrong.  

Judaism is not an “ethno-religion,” nor did it begin as a land-based identity 4,000 years ago.  

The Jewish people were formed at Sinai, in the desert, before entering any land: “And today you have become a people” (Deuteronomy 27:9). 

Our covenant is rooted in the Torah, not in geography.  

Our sages emphasize that the Torah was given without a land to demonstrate that Jewish identity is defined by divine law and commitment, not by territory or ethnicity alone.  

Reducing Judaism to an “ethno-religion” tied to land overlooks the very foundation of what makes us a people.

Quote

Noa Tishby

@noatishby

What Is Judaism?

Judaism is one of the world’s oldest faiths — an “ethno-religion” combining shared ethnicity, beliefs, and traditions that have evolved over thousands of years. It began around 4,000 years ago in the land of Israel, rooted in the belief in one God and a covenant