jerry@... (Prof. G. L. Esterson) opined:
----------snip-------------

It is also necessary to define several broad categories of Jews over
the centuries: Religious, Cultural, Secular, and Converted (Jews who
convert to Christianity are still considered formally to
be Jews). In general, there has been a steady flow of Jews >from the
left categories to the right one, and this has led to "Jewish genes"
being found among today's Christians.

----------snip-------------

Several assertions in Prof. Esterson's generally valuable discussion
are not above challenge, or are subjective. The one egregious one that
caught my eye is that quoted above. In Halakha, onee who has accepted
voluntarily another religion has cut himself off >from the Jewish
People, and is no longer considered a Jew. There are groups, e.g. the
Reform stream and "Jews for Jesus", that do not accept this
limitation, simply because they do not accept Halakha altogether; if
they are what Prof. Esterson meant, he should have said so. For Jews
who subscribe to the idea that a people, like any other social entity,
makes rules to define itself, and that Halakha embodies those rules,
the assertion is false.

Stan Goodman, Qiryat Tiv'on, Israel

Searching:
NEACHOWICZ/NOACHOWICZ, NEJMAN/NAJMAN, ROKITA: >from Lomza Gubernia
ISMACH: >from Lomza Gubernia, Galicia, and Ukraina
HERTANU, ABRAMOVICI, LAUER: >from Dorohoi District, Romania
GRISARU, VATARU: >from Iasi, Romania

See my interactive family tree (requires Java 1.1.6 or better):
http://www.hashkedim.com

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MODERATOR NOTE: Discussion of Jewish law and religion, except as they
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