The Hebrew noun "Yehudi" (plural Yehudim) originally referred to the tribe of Judah. Later, when the Northern Kingdom of Israel split from the Southern Kingdom of Israel, the Southern Kingdom of Israel began to refer to itself by the name of its predominant tribe, or as the Kingdom of Judah. The term originally referred to the people of the southern kingdom, although the term B'nei Yisrael (Israelites) was still used for both groups. After the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom leaving the southern kingdom as the only Israelite state, the word Yehudim gradually came to refer to people of the Jewish faith as a whole, rather than those specifically from the tribe or Kingdom of Judah. The English word Jew is ultimately derived from Yehudi (see Etymology). Its first use in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) to refer to the Jewish people as a whole is in the Book of Esther.
Judaism
Jewish Beliefs
The Holocaust
Who are the Jews? Jews (Yehudim)
The origin of the Jews is traditionally dated to around the second millennium BCE to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Merneptah Stele, dated to 1200 BCE, is one of the earliest archaeological records of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where Judaism, possibly the first monotheistic religion, developed over a period of thousands of years. According to Biblical accounts, the Jews enjoyed periods of self-determination first under the Biblical judges from Othniel Ben Kenaz through Samson, then circa 1000 BCE King David established Jerusalem as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah, also known as the United Monarchy, and from there ruled the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
The origin of the Jews is traditionally dated to around the second millennium BCE to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Merneptah Stele, dated to 1200 BCE, is one of the earliest archaeological records of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where Judaism, possibly the first monotheistic religion, developed over a period of thousands of years. According to Biblical accounts, the Jews enjoyed periods of self-determination first under the Biblical judges from Othniel Ben Kenaz through Samson, then circa 1000 BCE King David established Jerusalem as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah, also known as the United Monarchy, and from there ruled the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Jews
Book of the Month
Type in the word or words to look for
Jewish Life in America
In 1654, 23 Jews arrived in New Amsterdam, then a Dutch-owned colony that later became New York. Forced to flee to this new land, this small group found themselves in a place where there was no Jewish community.
More
In 1654, 23 Jews arrived in New Amsterdam, then a Dutch-owned colony that later became New York. Forced to flee to this new land, this small group found themselves in a place where there was no Jewish community.
More
Yehudi
A great site to learn all you about Jews, Judaism 101 an encyclopedia of information about Judaism, Jewish practices, holidays, people and beliefs. For beginners, intermediate or advanced readers.
Any person whose religion is Judaism. In a wider sense the term refers to any member of a worldwide ethnic and cultural group descended from the ancient Hebrews who traditionally practiced the Jewish religion. The Hebrew term Yehudi, translated as Judaeus in Latin and Jew in English, originally referred to a member of the tribe of Judah. In Jewish tradition, any child born of a Jewish mother is considered a Jew; in Reform Judaism a child is considered a Jew if either parent is Jewish.
Judaism is the religion of the Jews. There are an estimated 14 million followers of the Jewish religion around the world. Most of the world's Jews are concentrated in three countries: the United States (six million), Israel (3.7 million), and the Soviet Union (2.5 million). Other nations with significant Jewish populations are France (650 thousand), Great Britain (400 thousand), Canada (300 thousand), Argentina (300 thousand), and Brazil (150 thousand).
Judaism was the first religion based on monotheism, the belief in one God. All of the major Western religions found their roots in Judaism.
Any person whose religion is Judaism. In a wider sense the term refers to any member of a worldwide ethnic and cultural group descended from the ancient Hebrews who traditionally practiced the Jewish religion. The Hebrew term Yehudi, translated as Judaeus in Latin and Jew in English, originally referred to a member of the tribe of Judah. In Jewish tradition, any child born of a Jewish mother is considered a Jew; in Reform Judaism a child is considered a Jew if either parent is Jewish.
Judaism is the religion of the Jews. There are an estimated 14 million followers of the Jewish religion around the world. Most of the world's Jews are concentrated in three countries: the United States (six million), Israel (3.7 million), and the Soviet Union (2.5 million). Other nations with significant Jewish populations are France (650 thousand), Great Britain (400 thousand), Canada (300 thousand), Argentina (300 thousand), and Brazil (150 thousand).
Judaism was the first religion based on monotheism, the belief in one God. All of the major Western religions found their roots in Judaism.
"Who is a Jew?" Mihu Yehudi? is a basic question about Jewish identity. The question gained particular prominence in connection with several high-profile legal cases in Israel since the founding of the Jewish state in 1948.
The definition of who is a Jew varies according to whether it is being considered by Jews for self-identification or by non-Jews for their own particular purposes. As Jewish identity can include characteristics of an ethnicity and of a religion, the definition of who is a Jew has varied, depending on whether a religious, sociological, or ethnic aspect was being considered. This article is concerned with Jewish self-identification issues.
According to the simplest definition used by Jews for self-identification, a person is a Jew by birth, or becomes one through religious conversion.
However, a debate has arisen among various branches of Judaism on these issues:
Mixed parentage: i.e. whether a person of mixed Jewish and non-Jewish parentage should be considered Jewish.
Conversion: i.e. what process of religious conversion should be considered valid.
Life circumstances issues: i.e. whether a person's actions (such as conversion to a different religion) or circumstances in their lives (such as being unaware of Jewish parentage) should affect their Jewish status.
The definition of who is a Jew varies according to whether it is being considered by Jews for self-identification or by non-Jews for their own particular purposes. As Jewish identity can include characteristics of an ethnicity and of a religion, the definition of who is a Jew has varied, depending on whether a religious, sociological, or ethnic aspect was being considered. This article is concerned with Jewish self-identification issues.
According to the simplest definition used by Jews for self-identification, a person is a Jew by birth, or becomes one through religious conversion.
However, a debate has arisen among various branches of Judaism on these issues:
Mixed parentage: i.e. whether a person of mixed Jewish and non-Jewish parentage should be considered Jewish.
Conversion: i.e. what process of religious conversion should be considered valid.
Life circumstances issues: i.e. whether a person's actions (such as conversion to a different religion) or circumstances in their lives (such as being unaware of Jewish parentage) should affect their Jewish status.