Matrilinear Halacha in Judaism is a 2nd Century Concept.

According to rabbinic law, from the second century to the present, the offspring of a gentile mother and a Jewish father is a gentile, while the offspring of a Jewish mother and a gentile father is a Jew (albeit, according to the Mishnah, a mamzer, a Jew of impaired status).

The conservative and orthodox Jews are matrilineal while reform Jews are much more liberal and will include a person born of a gentile father as a Jew.

Torah Judaism tells us that Levites could only pass on their identity through the father,

Cohen found that matrilineal descent evolved from an original policy of patrilineal descent. In the , a person’s status as a Jew seems to come from his father. Joseph was married to a non-Jewish woman, and his children were considered Jewish. The same was the case for Moses and King Solomon. The change to a policy of matrilineal descent came in late antiquity.

It seems that in Jesus' time it may still have been okay to be called a Jew with a Jewish dad as His lineage is through the fathers all the way back as we know.

Matthew 1:This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David.

...and so on.

Is it Mom or is it Dad? Depends on the time and place. The Fall of the Second Temple and the subsequent two thousand years of "displacement" was a cataclysm to the extent of having to crawl, speak and walk all over again. The Jews were sent back to kindergarten. They even had to reinvent Hebrew. That is how serious it was.

I think a lot of the modern problems of maintaining a Jewish population and identity is everything to do with the adoption of the Mishna. The Diaspora are having real generating problems now Israel is back and so many have gone back home. The intermarriage rates are huge.

The Haredim are maintaining a healthy population, but is is very small. It is only a few million across the whole globe. In Israel they are likely to outnumber the reform and liberal Jews. The Haredim are very procreativity focused and their child bearing emphasis on the woman's identity forces some success by social technique alone. In the States the Catholics are taking over. They are the biggest growing identity. Christianity will survive with them it seems. Christ saying that St Peter would endure to the end is proving quite correct. Again they focus on birth and are not big on contraceptives and abortion. Seems like the meek are inheriting the earth in a whole new guise.

The orthodox and conservative Jews are severely limiting the club membership by being matrilinear. They would have five times as many kids if they were like the Catholics and their "country would grow".

Judaism, by its own elite standards of inclusion and exclusion based on matrilinear descent of its identity is limiting its numbers to a tiny and ever threatened minority. The return of Israel has not been all good news. There has been a huge loss in global network structures as there are far fewer Diaspora to represent the "family business" in places merchant ships sail to. It is fragmenting.

This is why I tried to tell them they need friends and outside help. The days of division and distrust need to come to an end, particularly between Judaism and Christianity. Make friends with the Catholics, quickly, and all the Christians. It is the West that knows you best and where you have relevance. In my Christian faith Judaism is ultra relevant. The Story never ended. After Christ St John and Paul were quoting extensively from the Old Testament to teach us. Both were very Jewish indeed as was their Rabbi.

I sense there is an important need for Judaism and Christianity to unite once and for all in our time and to understand that they are the Boaz and Jachin of the Temple that is expressed as Judeo-Christian civilization. There is only wailing and gnashing of teeth in the outer darkness of a fallen empire. All we would have is a sad song to sing by shores of strange rivers where alien kings decide the metaphorical tithes upon our lives and how heavy our chains are that bind us, be it by upper hand in bonds, business and commerce or technological and military superiority. The race needs to be run and won to suit our corner. John even says that Jews and Christians will be the mightiest force on earth for a thousand years. I believe we are capable of it if we are in synchronicity.

Sources evidenced:

www.myjewishlearning.com...


Unable to link, so quote:

The Origins of the Matrilineal Principle in Rabbinic Law

According to rabbinic law, from the second century to the present, the offspring of a gentile mother and a Jewish father is a gentile, while the offspring of a Jewish mother and a gentile father is a Jew (albeit, according to the Mishnah, a mamzer, a Jew of impaired status). Each of these two rulings has its own history,

So even the Jews are racist against fellow Jews.....hunh. Something, something 'pure race' something....

a reply to: Merman

Then King David was not a Jew, as he was descended from Rahab (a Caananite resident in Jericho) and Salmon, a Hebrew of the tribe of Judah, and also from Ruth, a Moabite who married Boaz, a Hebrew from the Tribe of Judah.