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Jewish Social Life and Customs: Difference between revisions
Jewish Social Life and Customs (view source)
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A Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew or any person who has gone through the formal<br>process of conversion to Judaism. Being a Jew is not a matter of belief. According to Jewish law,<br>even if a person believes everything that Orthodox Jews believe and observes every law and custom<br>of Judaism, he or she is not considered a Jew unless he or she meets the requirement of a Jewish<br>mother or formal conversion. A person born to a Jewish mother who is atheist and does not<br>practice the Jewish religion is still a Jew. In this sense, being Jewish is more like a nationality than<br>a religion. | A Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew or any person who has gone through the formal<br>process of conversion to Judaism. Being a Jew is not a matter of belief. According to Jewish law,<br>even if a person believes everything that Orthodox Jews believe and observes every law and custom<br>of Judaism, he or she is not considered a Jew unless he or she meets the requirement of a Jewish<br>mother or formal conversion. A person born to a Jewish mother who is atheist and does not<br>practice the Jewish religion is still a Jew. In this sense, being Jewish is more like a nationality than<br>a religion. | ||
Effective family research requires some understanding of the society your ancestor lived<br>in. Learning about everyday life, religious practices, customs, and traditions will help you<br>appreciate your ancestor and the time he or she lived in. This information is particularly helpful if<br>you choose to write a history of your family. Research procedures may be affected by local<br>customs and traditions, including marriage customs. Jews sometimes married close relatives,<br>marriage among first cousins being legal among the Jews. Such marriage unions were more<br>common among Sephardic Jews than among the Ashkenazic. Until the 20th century Jews<br>commonly married early: young men between 15 and 18 and young women between 14 and 18.<br>Marriages were often arranged by the families, even across the ocean.<br>Naming customs can also affect your research. These varied between Sephardic and Ashkenazic<br>Jews. See “Names, Personal” in this outline for specific details about naming traditions.<br>The Family History Library has collected a few sources which discuss a variety of subjects related<br>to Jewish social life and customs. Check for these records in the Family History Library Catalog.<br>Books on this topic are also available through most Jewish publishers and bookstores. | |||
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