What Is A Jew?

Book excerpt: A guide to the beliefs, traditions and practices of Judaism that answers questions for both Jew and Gentile. Rabbi Kertzer answers over 100 of the most commonly asked questions about Jewish life and customs, including: What is the Jewish attitude toward intermarriage? Toward birth control? Do Jews believe in equality between the sexes? Are Jews forbidden to read the New Testament? What is the basis for the Dietary Laws? For non-Jews who want to learn about the Jewish way of life. For Jews who wish to rediscover forgotten traditions and beliefs. “This portrayal of the Jewish way of looking at things attempts to convey some of the warmth, the glow and the serenity of Judaism: the enchantment of fine books; the captivating color of Hasidism;...the mirthful spirit of scholars more than sixteen centuries ago; and the abiding sense of compassion that permeates our tradition. It is in this way—and only in this way that anyone can give a meaningful answer to the question, ‘What is a Jew?’”—Rabbi Morris N. Kertzer