So if my great-granfather was a Jew then, Am I partly Jewish even though I don't

[KateKingsley]

practice Judaism?
How about if it is my great-grandfather on my mother's side, which would be my mother's grandfather

 

[BorisCafeteriaCatholic]

Technically not, since Judaism is passed down from mother to child.

 

[MarieQ]

you are but its ok not to,you're a mix

 

[andie]

Ethnically, yes. Religiously, no. There is a difference between being an ethnic Jew and religiously a Jew.

 

[ArtemisAdmetus]

Well, it's also an ethnicity not just a religion. So... ethnically speaking you can be partly Jewish, but your religion not necessarily.

 

[EricK1]

No.

Judaism is a matrilinear faith, it passes through the mother's line. So unless you convert, you aren't a Jews.

 

[JonMdnmpmssmm+]

Jewishness is passed down through your mother's line. If your mother's grandfather was Jewish, then you are part Jewish (ethnically, if not religiously).

 

[RachelFriedman]

No - under Jewish law, one is only considered Jewish if ones mother is Jewish. In other words, if your mother's mother's mother was Jewish, then you would be Jewish.

 

[NatashaWatson]

No, religion is about what YOU think, not about your family.

 

[EddieJ1]

You can accurately say your great-grandfather was Jewish.

 

[paulathome]

Are you sure you do not mean gramps was a Hebrew because on the whole the Term Jew is usually falsely used as a real Jew would come from Judea or a descendant of the same and these were only One of the Tribes of Israel, and as a general rule there are not so many real Jews, and many many that are falsely called Jews as these Hussars that adopted the name Jew to escape persecution deserved at that! they even memorized and practiced the religious aspects of Hebrews to blend in, and so the term Judaism is a borderline Oxymoron!.

 

[Godwhatdouwantofme]

good question. i wondered this too.
my man got excited when my mom said a name that i couldn't remember was in my baby book she has and i remembered recently on tv it said names with -ski sound on the end of them mean you are jewish. it ended with that sound...

 

[Oops]

No,Judaism is a religion, not a race.