Who Wants To Be A Jew?

There are approximately 15 million Jews in the world, out of more than 7 billion people. This means that Jews comprise approximately 0.2% of the world’s population. That doesn’t sound like a lot.

 

Any yet, three times, God promises that He will make Abraham’s descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. The first two times, the promise is made directly to Abraham and the third time, the promise is made to his son Isaac.

 

And He took him outside, and He said, "Please look heavenward and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So will be your seed." - Genesis 15:5

 

That I will surely bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand that is on the seashore, and your descendants will inherit the cities of their enemies. – Genesis 22:17

 

And I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens, and I will give your seed all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will bless themselves by your seed, - Genesis 26:4

 

Scientists estimate that there are about a billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. If God promised that the Jewish descendants of Abraham and Isaac will eventually be as many as the stars of heaven and the Jews only number 15 million, does that mean God’s promise will not be kept?

 

Today, there are dozens of groups who, although not recognized as Jews by most rabbinic authorities, claim a connection to the Jewish people. History, intermarriage, distance from Israel and the effects of anti-Semitism have weakened the connection between tens or perhaps hundreds of millions of descendants of Jews, and the core of the Jewish people.

 

Organizations like Shavei Israel have identified tens of communities all over the world who believe they have Jewish roots. The most well-known are the Ethiopian Jews who believe they are descended from the Biblical tribe of Dan. The Bnei Menashe from India believe they are descended from the Biblical tribe of Menashe.

 

The Bnei Anousim are those descended from the Jews who were forced to convert to Catholicism in Spain, Portugal and South America during the 14^th and 15^th centuries. According to estimates, there are between 100 and 150 million descendants of the original forced converts.

Another group claiming to be descended from Jews are the Igbo tribe of Nigeria who have retained Jewish cultural practices such as circumcision on the eighth day and marriage under a chuppah. Altogether, there are 40 million Igbos. Today, 5,000 of them have begun to practice a form of rabbinic Judaism that would be familiar to western Jews.

 

Across the world, there are tens of thousands, maybe millions of people, who are actively reconnecting to their Jewish roots. Many are just beginning to learn about mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. In order to officially join the Jewish people, most authorities believe they will have to go through a formal conversion process though there are those who advocate for the less-rigorous giyur l’chumrah (a pro-forma conversion for those whose Jewish status is unclear).

 

In addition to all of these groups who are looking for a greater connection to the core of the Jewish people, there is also the worldwide Hebrew Roots movement, comprised of Christians who believe in returning to the Biblical practices they believe that Jesus (whom they call Yeshua) kept. These include observing Saturday as their Sabbath rather than Sunday, visiting Jerusalem three times a year for the Pilgrimage festivals (Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot), wearing tzitzit attached to their belt loops (different than the Jewish custom of a separate garment) and avoiding Biblically-prohibited foods such as shellfish and pork.

Most of these non-Jews generally don’t have any interest in converting to Judaism. They believe their path is to live more like Jesus/Yeshua did. Nevertheless, they represent a growing number of people who are interested in learning more about Torah and Judaism and in building relationships with Jews.

 

We are living in an extraordinary time, when people all over the world are looking for a greater connection to the Jewish people. Should they officially join us, it becomes easy to see how God’s promises to Abraham and to Isaac could be fulfilled in our lifetimes.