Wow CE I'm sorry for your losses as well.
An Observation
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OK, very scary thing last night. Sitting in front of my once again frustrating computer last night, notice Denali, my Boston, chewing on something that was NOT a toy. Looked closer, and it was my Hydrocodone bottle of pills!!! OMG, one of the cats must have swiped it off the kitchen table, and she picked it up. Almost had it chewed through, too. I could only assume that 18 pills would have killed her, had she eaten them. Will have to be much more careful with pills in the future! Lesson learned.
Just learned from an elderly Aunt that I am .125% Jewish. I was very proud to learn of this today. In fact, during my working days numerous people thought I was from Eastern Europe due to my dark complexion and curly hair. 
Wow, I am really a mixed bowl of soup. My Patrick & Moody ancestors, collectively, include Welch, Scottish and now Jewish! Since my Mary Catherine Arnold Patrick is English and French our children have quite a diverse heritage. America is truly a melting pot of the world.
So much easier to say "American". A very proud American indeed.
Wow, I am really a mixed bowl of soup. My Patrick & Moody ancestors, collectively, include Welch, Scottish and now Jewish! Since my Mary Catherine Arnold Patrick is English and French our children have quite a diverse heritage. America is truly a melting pot of the world.So much easier to say "American". A very proud American indeed.
j.w
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Well you got me thinking Lou. I asked myself,who was the first Jew? I didn't know so wonder if this googled site has it right or not?
For the week ending 7 February 2009 / 13 Shevat 5769
The First Jew
by Rabbi Yirmiyahu Ullman - www.rabbiullman.com
From: Holly in Scotland
Dear Rabbi,
Who were the first Jews? If Adam and Eve, then all mankind is Jewish. If Abraham (or the other patriarchs and matriarchs), since they came from non-Jewish families, where do we find they converted? And if they did, then were Ishmael and Esau (and their descendents) Jewish? If the patriarchs and matriarchs were not Jewish, then how and when did the Jews become Jewish?Dear Holly,
This is a very insightful and interesting question.
Adam and Eve were not Jewish. They were mankind in its inception and they were given the right and responsibility to use all their spiritual powers to effect their own perfection by cleaving to G-d and following His ways. G-d instructed them to uphold six basic commandments alluded to in the Torah verses, if they had been done correctly, would have acquired for themselves and their progeny the desired, elevated and universal perfection of humanity.
After Adam and Eve rebelled against G-d, humanity gradually plummeted to a very low spiritual state where theft, immorality, murder and idolatry became commonplace. These events are described in the Torah, culminating in the Flood. Noah preserved the potential for perfection in man and received a seventh commandment that completed G-d’s code for mankind, and thereby came to be known as the Noahide Laws. Unfortunately, Noah’s descendents also fell short of the mark and continued the antediluvian decadence after the Flood.
Nevertheless, the Torah delineates righteous individuals throughout the generations after the Flood. While they were not Jewish per se, they did pursue G-d’s mission for man by cleaving to G-d and following His ways as mandated to Adam and Noah. One such couple was Abraham and Sarah, who despite coming from non-Jewish, idolatrous families, nevertheless made great efforts to break through the prevailing climate of impurity to regain the pre-sin purity of Adam and Eve.
Although ancient Jewish sources posit that through their great spiritual effort and intuition Abraham and Sarah each gained foreknowledge of the Torah before it was given, they did not formally convert and were therefore not formally Jewish. However, they did re-acquire for themselves and their progeny a unique potential to attain G-d’s initial intention for humanity.
While Ishmael benefited by being fathered by Abraham, born of the marginal maidservant Hagar, he and his descendents became marginal to these developments. In addition, as described in the Torah, both Ishmael and Esau excluded themselves from the process by rejecting the righteous ways of the patriarchs and matriarchs, their parents and grandparents. Therefore only Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob (Israel) and his wives and then the sons of Jacob and their wives continued the dynamic of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah.
But still no Jews. So how and when did the Jews become Jewish?
According to Torah law, a person becomes Jewish by: 1] declaring willingness to keep all the commandments, 2] by immersing oneself in a specifically defined body of water (mikveh), and 3] for men, this is preceded by circumcision. When the Children of Israel left Egypt and received the Torah at Mount Sinai these criteria were met. All males who left Egypt were circumcised, their having kept this command given by G-d to Abraham for his descendents. The Torah verses then describe the Israelites’ commitment to keep the Torah and subsequent immersion (Exodus 19):
“In the third month of the children of Israel’s departure from Egypt, on this day they arrived in the desert of Sinai...Moses ascended to G-d, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, 'So shall you say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel...‘And now, if you obey Me and keep My covenant, you shall be to Me a treasure out of all peoples, for Mine is the entire earth. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of princes and a holy nation.’ Moses came and summoned the elders of Israel and placed before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. And all the people replied in unison and said, 'All that the Lord has spoken we shall do!'...So Moses descended from the mountain to the people, and he sanctified the people [by having them immerse in the mikveh and temporarily refrain from marital contact].” The verses then go on to describe the awesome experience of the revelation of Torah at Sinai.
This event marked the mass, formal conversion of the descendants of the patriarchs and matriarchs to Judaism. Ancient sources associate it with the termination of the impurity of the original sin from off the Jewish people, which elevated them to the level of Adam and Eve before the sin. By choosing G-d, they became the Chosen People, whose mission was to be a light unto the nations, leading all of humanity back to G-d’s initial, universal plan: that all mankind should be as one nation under G-d, indivisible, with spirituality and righteousness for all.
So does this mean that Moses was the first Jew and is it the acts of following the laws that make you a Jew or blood from the first Jew? Must be the act as don't we all have the same blood (Moses included)from Adam and Eve if we believe the Bible?
For the week ending 7 February 2009 / 13 Shevat 5769
The First Jew
by Rabbi Yirmiyahu Ullman - www.rabbiullman.com
From: Holly in Scotland
Dear Rabbi,
Who were the first Jews? If Adam and Eve, then all mankind is Jewish. If Abraham (or the other patriarchs and matriarchs), since they came from non-Jewish families, where do we find they converted? And if they did, then were Ishmael and Esau (and their descendents) Jewish? If the patriarchs and matriarchs were not Jewish, then how and when did the Jews become Jewish?
This is a very insightful and interesting question.
Adam and Eve were not Jewish. They were mankind in its inception and they were given the right and responsibility to use all their spiritual powers to effect their own perfection by cleaving to G-d and following His ways. G-d instructed them to uphold six basic commandments alluded to in the Torah verses, if they had been done correctly, would have acquired for themselves and their progeny the desired, elevated and universal perfection of humanity.
After Adam and Eve rebelled against G-d, humanity gradually plummeted to a very low spiritual state where theft, immorality, murder and idolatry became commonplace. These events are described in the Torah, culminating in the Flood. Noah preserved the potential for perfection in man and received a seventh commandment that completed G-d’s code for mankind, and thereby came to be known as the Noahide Laws. Unfortunately, Noah’s descendents also fell short of the mark and continued the antediluvian decadence after the Flood.
Nevertheless, the Torah delineates righteous individuals throughout the generations after the Flood. While they were not Jewish per se, they did pursue G-d’s mission for man by cleaving to G-d and following His ways as mandated to Adam and Noah. One such couple was Abraham and Sarah, who despite coming from non-Jewish, idolatrous families, nevertheless made great efforts to break through the prevailing climate of impurity to regain the pre-sin purity of Adam and Eve.
Although ancient Jewish sources posit that through their great spiritual effort and intuition Abraham and Sarah each gained foreknowledge of the Torah before it was given, they did not formally convert and were therefore not formally Jewish. However, they did re-acquire for themselves and their progeny a unique potential to attain G-d’s initial intention for humanity.
While Ishmael benefited by being fathered by Abraham, born of the marginal maidservant Hagar, he and his descendents became marginal to these developments. In addition, as described in the Torah, both Ishmael and Esau excluded themselves from the process by rejecting the righteous ways of the patriarchs and matriarchs, their parents and grandparents. Therefore only Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob (Israel) and his wives and then the sons of Jacob and their wives continued the dynamic of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah.
But still no Jews. So how and when did the Jews become Jewish?
According to Torah law, a person becomes Jewish by: 1] declaring willingness to keep all the commandments, 2] by immersing oneself in a specifically defined body of water (mikveh), and 3] for men, this is preceded by circumcision. When the Children of Israel left Egypt and received the Torah at Mount Sinai these criteria were met. All males who left Egypt were circumcised, their having kept this command given by G-d to Abraham for his descendents. The Torah verses then describe the Israelites’ commitment to keep the Torah and subsequent immersion (Exodus 19):
“In the third month of the children of Israel’s departure from Egypt, on this day they arrived in the desert of Sinai...Moses ascended to G-d, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, 'So shall you say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel...‘And now, if you obey Me and keep My covenant, you shall be to Me a treasure out of all peoples, for Mine is the entire earth. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of princes and a holy nation.’ Moses came and summoned the elders of Israel and placed before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. And all the people replied in unison and said, 'All that the Lord has spoken we shall do!'...So Moses descended from the mountain to the people, and he sanctified the people [by having them immerse in the mikveh and temporarily refrain from marital contact].” The verses then go on to describe the awesome experience of the revelation of Torah at Sinai.
This event marked the mass, formal conversion of the descendants of the patriarchs and matriarchs to Judaism. Ancient sources associate it with the termination of the impurity of the original sin from off the Jewish people, which elevated them to the level of Adam and Eve before the sin. By choosing G-d, they became the Chosen People, whose mission was to be a light unto the nations, leading all of humanity back to G-d’s initial, universal plan: that all mankind should be as one nation under G-d, indivisible, with spirituality and righteousness for all.
So does this mean that Moses was the first Jew and is it the acts of following the laws that make you a Jew or blood from the first Jew? Must be the act as don't we all have the same blood (Moses included)from Adam and Eve if we believe the Bible?
An interesting question indeed. Of course, we all understand there are those of the Jewish faith but not of the Jewish race. It is my understanding my previously unknown heritage is of a person of the Jewish race and born to the Jewish faith. I did not mention the following previously. I was also told that when my Jewish Great Grandmother married a Gentile she was forever disowned by her family. This is not to infer such was the general practice then or today.
Thanks for commenting JW.
Thanks for commenting JW.
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It's easy with me, both sides of my family originated from Germany, so I'm 100% German. Kinda scary, huh?!
j.w
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Hubby just told me last night that Abraham was the first jew.
CE I'm not scared of you even if you are German :razz: I think I'm part Germen, French, English, Irish, Scotch in other words Heinz 57 brand. Was adopted and this is all hearsay until proven otherwise Did find my blood mother and half sister but not my father. Blood mother was schizophrenic and supposedly my sister says she was diagnosed w/ having 30 different personalities inside her head. I met her once and talked on the phone w/ her and it was an interesting and sad experience. As she got older tho she had help from a place that took care of her and made sure she took her meds so then up until she died she was much better. She was also adopted but we think it was an inside family job. So me and my sis are now trying to find out if she was blood related to the family that adopted her which would make us also blood related. Really hard for an adopted person to find out any info on their birth statistics even if both parents are dead and their parents dead also after all this time. I mean why can't I know where I came from? Not my fault for being born :sad:
CE I'm not scared of you even if you are German :razz: I think I'm part Germen, French, English, Irish, Scotch in other words Heinz 57 brand. Was adopted and this is all hearsay until proven otherwise
Did find my blood mother and half sister but not my father. Blood mother was schizophrenic and supposedly my sister says she was diagnosed w/ having 30 different personalities inside her head. I met her once and talked on the phone w/ her and it was an interesting and sad experience. As she got older tho she had help from a place that took care of her and made sure she took her meds so then up until she died she was much better. She was also adopted but we think it was an inside family job. So me and my sis are now trying to find out if she was blood related to the family that adopted her which would make us also blood related. Really hard for an adopted person to find out any info on their birth statistics even if both parents are dead and their parents dead also after all this time. I mean why can't I know where I came from? Not my fault for being born :sad:
Hubby just told me last night that Abraham was the first jew.
CE I'm not scared of you even if you are German :razz: I think I'm part Germen, French, English, Irish, Scotch in other words Heinz 57 brand. Was adopted and this is all hearsay until proven otherwise
God bless you and yours JW. In life it's not important who you are, but what you do!
Its easy for me as well German and indian (Chippewa).
HARO
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Same here. But there WAS an Irish woman about six or seven generations back on my father's side, which probably accounts for my temper! :grumble:It's easy with me, both sides of my family originated from Germany, so I'm 100% German. Kinda scary, huh?!
John
I found out at a young age I was adopted a few years ago I traced my birth family , it turned out w were Romany Gypsy horse traders who came to the UK under the Norman invasion of the UK .
Who would ever have guessed that one lol
rgrds
Dave
Who would ever have guessed that one lol
rgrds
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Haro, you're funny!!! Dave, that almost sounds like a joke, but I guess you're serious, right? I know there were gypsies in the US, but never thought about them running around other countries.
JW, I sympathize with you, especially since you know that your birth mother and her parents are deceased, who can you hurt? If you and your sister were taken from your birth mother, then sounds like the system worked in your favor, as you seem to have had a wonderful life, and now a wonderful husband. I see too often very young girls having babies (my friend's daughter had her a week ago) and they think having an infant is all fun and games, they have NO clue that the child will be their responsibility for the next 18 years, and keep them from having free rein going out on weekends, etc. This girl that just had a baby is 19, not a young teenager, and yet she is not responsible for herself, much less her baby. I'm hopeful that she will become much more responsible now that she has a child to care for. Her mother says she can live there until March or April then HAS to move out. We shall see .... I think that girl has her parents wrapped around her finger, and now the baby will be hard to let go, too.
And, the worst part is that the girl's friends are oooohing and aaaaahing about the baby and saying things like, "I wish I had a baby" and "I want a baby soooo bad" ... none of them are married or even seriously dating!
Dave, that almost sounds like a joke, but I guess you're serious, right? I know there were gypsies in the US, but never thought about them running around other countries.JW, I sympathize with you, especially since you know that your birth mother and her parents are deceased, who can you hurt? If you and your sister were taken from your birth mother, then sounds like the system worked in your favor, as you seem to have had a wonderful life, and now a wonderful husband. I see too often very young girls having babies (my friend's daughter had her a week ago) and they think having an infant is all fun and games, they have NO clue that the child will be their responsibility for the next 18 years, and keep them from having free rein going out on weekends, etc. This girl that just had a baby is 19, not a young teenager, and yet she is not responsible for herself, much less her baby. I'm hopeful that she will become much more responsible now that she has a child to care for. Her mother says she can live there until March or April then HAS to move out. We shall see .... I think that girl has her parents wrapped around her finger, and now the baby will be hard to let go, too.
And, the worst part is that the girl's friends are oooohing and aaaaahing about the baby and saying things like, "I wish I had a baby" and "I want a baby soooo bad" ... none of them are married or even seriously dating!
j.w
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CE I was the only one who was adopted out. My blood mom was 25 when she had me so not a young kid but like I said she was messed up. My sister said she could play the piano like a concert pianist and she was very intelligent. Says she thinks she was abused by whoever gave birth to her and by the time she was adopted out she was in sad shape. I was the first born and my sister came 4yrs later. She was not lucky as our birth mother did not want to lose another child. She was taken away from our mother,found wandering out on a ledge of a window sill and many other problems came about also. So my poor sister was in and out of foster families and mistreated and abused and never allowed to have a family that really would care for her and love her like I had. I did not find her till I was about 22 and she 18. That was such a great day when we finally met. She was able to find her father and all his relatives. Her dad was Hawaiian and so lots of her family is over in Maui. She hasn't gotten in contact w/ any of them yet tho.
Our blood mother told me a couple of times names of my father but w/ her mind being so messed up she gave a couple different names and those names never amounted to anything. I was told by my adopted mom that she heard he was French Canadian. I joined a site called ISRRxchange to see if I can find any people who might recognize and put together any facts from the info about my mother and then maybe I could connect to family on my fathers side if it clicks for anyone. I just feel I have a right to know.
Our blood mother told me a couple of times names of my father but w/ her mind being so messed up she gave a couple different names and those names never amounted to anything. I was told by my adopted mom that she heard he was French Canadian. I joined a site called ISRRxchange to see if I can find any people who might recognize and put together any facts from the info about my mother and then maybe I could connect to family on my fathers side if it clicks for anyone. I just feel I have a right to know.
I agree with you JW you do have a right to know who your father is. I hope some day that you will find him or that he comes looking for you.
j.w
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Thanks for hoping for me mt. Gosh I hope he doesn't come looking for me cuz he'd prolly be a ghost by now and that would be scary! I'm just trying to find out what his name was as I'm sure he's dead by now but I suppose he could be in his 90's and still alive but not likely. I would like to know his side of the family as I might have other half bro's and sis's etc.