Being told I'm jewish, is there some basis in tradition /litterature?
 

Hi,

This is a question long under ways, and it is merely our of curioustity.

Through my childhood and young adult life, it happened many times that I was treated as kin, by aquaintances, strangers and parents of friends for example. People of jewish decent and faith. (Please, what is the term to use, I heard somewhere that Jew was derogatory, but it is still on wikipedia with no mention of it. Please, enlighten me, if you can.)

That is one thing, I have a biblical name (Rakel) and I'm very dark for ascandinavian.

But today I was reminded of a man who told me that I was actually jewish; I explained where my mother was from and father and their parents in turn. I would have loved to be jewish, for sure! The welcoming I got was very warm and caring and a little mysterious, also. Anyway, this man insisted, I don't remember his argument. I just was.

And later it happened another time, with a very old jewish man who said sth like you cannot always count your parents as your parents... He too stated that I was jewish.

I never followed through with examining it because, I felt like a fraud, I didn't want to trespass.

Years ago I saw a film with Jeff Goldblum where something similar happened to him, can't remember anything but the fact that I was somehow relieved I was not the only one this had happened to.

So, my question is; is this 'a thing' in judaism? Is there some basis in tradition or literature for jewish people being born in non-jewish families, needing to 'find home', or something like that?

The man who first talked to me about it, I heard of him today for the first time in 20 years, and my sister reminded me that he had talked even to her about it back then; telling her to ask me to take it seriously. I didn't know that back then, she felt intimidated by the idea that I would not be family, and never conveyed it to me.

And I simply realized today, hat I have always wondered if there could be any truth to it somehow. If there was/is some 'magic' that I've closed the door on.

Very, very curious to hear if anyone has any insights to it!

Thank you! / Mi

"(Please, what is the term to use, I heard somewhere that Jew was derogatory, but it is still on wikipedia with no mention of it. Please, enlighten me, if you can.)"

The word "Jew" itself is not derogatory, although there are some unpleasant people who deliberately use the word in a derogatory manner.

"That is one thing, I have a biblical name (Rakel) and I'm very dark for ascandinavian."

Jews come in all colors. :)

"But today I was reminded of a man who told me that I was actually jewish; I explained where my mother was from and father and their parents in turn. I would have loved to be jewish, for sure! The welcoming I got was very warm and caring and a little mysterious, also. Anyway, this man insisted, I don't remember his argument. I just was."

Interestingly, I've encountered a number of non-Jewish people of European descent who, having taken the 23andMe or Ancestry DNA tests, discovered that they happen to have a small percentage of DNA in them that comes from the Ashkenazi Jewish population. You might want to consider sending off for a DNA test to find out whether you have a mixed ancestry.

"So, my question is; is this 'a thing' in judaism? Is there some basis in tradition or literature for jewish people being born in non-jewish families, needing to 'find home', or something like that?"

It's not unusual for people to strongly identify with an ethnic or religious group for which they feel an affinity. You could look into the possibility of converting to Judaism. Keep in mind, though, that there are different branches of Judaism, ranging from the ultra conservative to the very liberal – and their requirements for conversion can differ accordingly.

Hello again, Realm Ki. I did some research on your question, and it happens that there is a belief, that came out of medieval Jewish mysticism, that some Jewish souls are, indeed, reincarnated as gentiles in their next life. And, also, that one can tell that these gentiles were actually Jews in their previous life because they seek to convert to Judaism in order to return to their former Jewish state of existence. The Kabbalistic book that states this is called Sefer ha-Peli'ah ("Book of the Miracle") and was written in the 14th century, possibly in Spain or Italy.

Hope that helps!

Thank you so much, and appologies for not responding to earlier reply. I guess this was more sensitive than I thought... I didn't want to read a "no way, forget about it!".

Thank you for the literature reference, I will do some research. I am very moved now, and will stop here.

My mother has -

oh my. I think I've just had it all explained; I was going to write that my mother has always been interested in Jewish history and culture, and that it has felt very close and real to me. And then it dawned on me, and I asked her when her interest for judaism started, and she thought for a fraction of a second and said... "Always".

I believe my mother is the jewish person reincarnated as gentile.

She started as a very young child to inquire about it, she has a lot of jewish litterature, (a lot of all sorts o litterature, but one of her 'topics' is jewish history and culture. She then gave me a jewish name, andthrough out my life has made the jewish customs seem very approachable. To me. Not to the others so much (I have three siblings).

We will see how she feels about this when she has had time to digest it. It was I, not her, who sought information, so maybe she is not ready to receive it.

But I am fairly certain that is how it is, and I will also do some more research for myself. Not so strange that I've felt connected - if my mother is 'really' jewish... (Or rather 'might be mystically jewish').

Thanks again!

Greetings again, Realm Ki! It's been awhile, and I was curious as to whether or not you have shared this information yet with your mother, and what she thought of it.

Another thought has occurred to me: During the Middle Ages, there were thousands of Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity – particularly when the Crusaders marched through European towns on the way to the Holy Land and gave the Jews there the only choice of conversion or death. And, in later years, the Spanish Inquisition was responsible for many more forced conversions of Jews.

Who is to say whether or not one might have been born Jewish today, had not some ancestor in that person's distant past been forced to convert to Christianity?