Race definition: 4
an arbitrary classification of modern humans, sometimes, especially formerly, based on any or a combination of various physical characteristics, as skin color, facial form, or eye shape, and now frequently based on such genetic markers as blood group
Race definitions: 1 - 3
- a contest of speed, as in running, riding, driving, or sailing
- a series of races, usually of horses or dogs, run at a set time over a regular course
- urgent need, responsibility, effort, etc., as when time is short or a solution is imperative
Ethnicity Definition
An ethnic group or ethnicity is a socially defined category of people who identify with each other based on common ancestral, social, cultural or national experience.
(32) And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, that did eat with him, by themselves; because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. (33) And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth; and the men marvelled one with another. (34) And portions were taken unto them from before him; but Benjamin’s portion was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.
ויתמהו האנשים, “the men (Joseph’s brothers) were astounded;” their amazement did not concern the order in which they had been seated- as might be understood- but it concerned the separation of Egyptians, themselves and Joseph, the Torah indicating this to us when stating that the separation had to do with the different eating habits of the Egyptians on the one hand and the Hebrews on the other. They wondered which race Joseph belonged to, seeing that he appeared to be neither Hebrew nor Egyptian.
(17) Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way as ye came forth out of Egypt; (18) how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, all that were enfeebled in thy rear, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. (19) Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget.
"The Torah tells us to remember the nation of Amalek that attacked the Israelites after they left Egypt. Specifically, we are told to “blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (Deut 25:19). Traditionally, this was understood–in a morally complicated way–to mean that Jews had an obligation to kill all Amalekites: men, women, and children.
But since no one walks around these days claiming Amalekite as their ethnicity, it’s tough to know who we should be blotting out, or even what that blotting out would entail.
This is an ancient problem. Already by the time the Talmud was being written the rabbis taught that the nations of the world had intermingled to the extent that it was no longer possible to tell who was an Amalekite, and who was not (Berakhot 28a). Thus, the mitzvah of wiping out Amalek was effectively nullified." - MJL Source
"The commandment to destroy the Amalekites extends to the descendants of these attackers, and so ultimately could be considered genetic or racial (although later rabbinic thinkers characterized anybody particularly violent or evil to the Jews as a spiritual descendant of the Amalekites)." MJL Source 2
Definition of Religion
a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
Text for the Pew Study can be found on the next page
The Pew Study Text
American Jews overwhelmingly say they are proud to be Jewish and have a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people, according to a major new survey by the Pew Research Center. But the survey also suggests that Jewish identity is changing in America, where one-in-five Jews (22%) now describe themselves as having no religion.
The percentage of U.S. adults who say they are Jewish when asked about their religion has declined by about half since the late 1950s and currently is a little less than 2%. Meanwhile, the number of Americans with direct Jewish ancestry or upbringing who consider themselves Jewish, yet describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or having no particular religion, appears to be rising and is now about 0.5% of the U.S. adult population.1
The changing nature of Jewish identity stands out sharply when the survey’s results are analyzed by generation. Fully 93% of Jews in the aging Greatest Generation identify as Jewish on the basis of religion (called “Jews by religion” in this report); just 7% describe themselves as having no religion (“Jews of no religion”). By contrast, among Jews in the youngest generation of U.S. adults – the Millennials – 68% identify as Jews by religion, while 32% describe themselves as having no religion and identify as Jewish on the basis of ancestry, ethnicity or culture.
This shift in Jewish self-identification reflects broader changes in the U.S. public. Americans as a whole – not just Jews – increasingly eschew any religious affiliation. Indeed, the share of U.S. Jews who say they have no religion (22%) is similar to the share of religious “nones” in the general public (20%), and religious disaffiliation is as common among all U.S. adults ages 18-29 as among Jewish Millennials (32% of each).2
Secularism has a long tradition in Jewish life in America, and most U.S. Jews seem to recognize this: 62% say being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture, while just 15% say it is mainly a matter of religion. Even among Jews by religion, more than half (55%) say being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture, and two-thirds say it is not necessary to believe in God to be Jewish.
(21) And Miriam sang unto them: Sing ye to the LORD, for He is highly exalted: The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. (22) And Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. (23) And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. (24) And the people murmured against Moses, saying: ‘What shall we drink?’ (25) And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD showed him a tree, and he cast it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them;
ושם נסהו אם יקבל החק והמשפט אשר שם לו, ולא יחזור לסורו, וזה הנסיון היה כי אמנם אמר לישראל (כו) אם שמוע תשמע לקול ה' אלהיך. לקבל עליו אותו חק ששם לך, ומכאן ואילך הישר בעיניו תעשה והאזנת כו' אז תמלט מכל מדוי מצרים. אבל אם תקבל עליך עתה ואחר תבגוד ישים עליך כהנה וכהנה בלי ספק. וזה היה כענין אמרם ז''ל גר הבא להתגייר אומרים לו הוי יודע שעד שלא באת למדה זו אכלת חלב אינך ענוש כרת חללת שבת אינך חייב סקילה, אבל משבאת למדה זו אכלת חלב אתה ענוש כרת וכו':
The Pew Study Text
Despite the changes in Jewish identity in America, 94% of U.S. Jews (including 97% of Jews by religion and 83% of Jews of no religion) say they are proud to be Jewish. Three-quarters of U.S. Jews (including 85% of Jews by religion and 42% of Jews of no religion) also say they have “a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people.” And emotional attachment to Israel has not waned discernibly among American Jews in the past decade, though it is markedly stronger among Jews by religion (and older Jews in general) than among Jews of no religion (and younger Jews in general).5
The Big Question:
Why does it matter?