Jerusalem Science Contest החידון המדע הירושלמי Mitochondrial DNA and Jewish Identity

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1 Jerusalem Science Contest החידון המדע הירושלמי Mitochondrial DNA and Jewish Identity

2 2012 The Eretz Hemdah Institute issues a halachik decision in its BaMar eh HaBazak publication regarding Jewish identification based upon the Mitochondrial DNA research performed by the research lab of Dr. Doron Behar Rabbi Yosef Carmel Rabbi Moshe Ehrenreich

4 Bayes Law European Gentiles without markers Europeans with markers Thomas Bayes g/wiki/thomas_bayes Gentile Jewish The rectangle = the entire world population

5 R. Shaul Yisraeli z l wiki/shaul_yisraeli

The Case: 1. The subject is a Russian emigre to Israel, married to a gentile. 2.

The subject claims that she is Jewish and desires to be recognized halachically as Jewish by the

Nor does the responsa state whether the grandmother makes any claim concerning Jewish identity. 5.

There are no other family members alive who could provide any testimony or evidence of the subject

The test results revealed that she has the mtdna markers pointing towards Ashkenazic Jewish

6 The Case: 1. The subject is a Russian emigre to Israel, married to a gentile. 2. Surviving grandmother is a Holocaust survivor. 3. The subject claims that she is Jewish and desires to be recognized halachically as Jewish by the State of Israel. 4. The responsa does not state whether the grandmother is maternal or paternal. Nor does the responsa state whether the grandmother makes any claim concerning Jewish identity. 5. Subject s grandmother is hiding any documentation that could corroborate the subject being Jewish. There are no other family members alive who could provide any testimony or evidence of the subject s Jewishness. 6. The subject underwent mitochondrial (mtdna) testing. The test results revealed that she has the mtdna markers pointing towards Ashkenazic Jewish families of European extraction. 7. The subject is unable to perform a conversion process. The Issue Are the results of the mtdna testing a satisfactory basis to declare the subject halachically Jewish?

Rov Leta Kaman (aram. = not completely contained for quantification or Unbounded ) A fact that is presumed to be global Examples: 1. Most kosher animals do not have a terefa blemish. 2.

7 Rov Leta Kaman (aram. = not completely contained for quantification or Unbounded ) A fact that is presumed to be global Examples: 1. Most kosher animals do not have a terefa blemish. 2. Most human gestation periods are 9 months. 3. Most humans are born healthy. An object or a person can be attributed to a Rov that is Leta Kaman Rov, Leta Kaman Most people do not die of heart failure.

8 Rov Ita Kaman (aram. = completely contained for quantification or Bounded ) A fact that is presumed to be global Example: A pile of steaks had 100 kosher steaks and 3 unkosher steaks mixed in; one steak falls off. Kosher or tref? There is a difference of opinion whether or not an object or a person can be attributed to a Rov that is Ita Kaman.

Gage (1823 1860) was an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his improbable survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven

9 Siman Muvhak An extraordinary identification sign A unique body mark identification by which the a person is positively identified. A Siman Muvhak is exclusive to the one bearing it Phineas P. Gage ( ) was an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his improbable survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behavior over the remaining 12 years of his life effects sufficiently profound (for a time at least) that friends saw him as "no longer Gage".

10 NOT Sarah, Rivka, Rachel and Leah. The Four Founding Mothers of Ahkenazi Jews of European extraction

11 NOT Sarah, Rivka, Rachel and Leah. The Four Founding Mothers of Ahkenazi Jews of European extraction

The ancestors of both populations underwent a bottleneck sometime between 85,000 and 91,000 years ago, which was likely coincident with an Out-of-Africa event.

12 Behar, et al computed about 3.5m preholocaust The consortium s model of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry suggests that the population s history was shaped by three critical bottleneck events. The ancestors of both populations underwent a bottleneck sometime between 85,000 and 91,000 years ago, which was likely coincident with an Out-of-Africa event. The founding European population underwent a bottleneck at approximately 21,000 years ago, beginning a period of interbreeding between individuals of European and Middle Eastern ancestry. A severe bottleneck occurred in the Middle Ages, reducing the population to under 350 individuals. The modern-day Ashkenazi community emerged from this group.

Ernst Mayr 1904 2005 https://en.wikipedia.

population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population.

[2] As a result of the loss of genetic variation, the new population may be distinctively different, both genotypically

13 Ernst Mayr Ernst_Mayr In population genetics, the founder effect is the loss of genetic variation that occurs when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population. It was first fully outlined by Ernst Mayr in 1942, [1] using existing theoretical work by those such as Sewall Wright. [2] As a result of the loss of genetic variation, the new population may be distinctively different, both genotypically and phenotypically, from the parent population from which it is derived. In extreme cases, the founder effect is thought to lead to the speciation and subsequent evolution of new species.

The Psak Halachahik decision of Eretz Hemda 1. Jewish identity can surely be established by Siman Muvhak and Rov Leta Kaman. There is debate regarding Rov Ita Kaman 2.

14 The Psak Halachahik decision of Eretz Hemda 1. Jewish identity can surely be established by Siman Muvhak and Rov Leta Kaman. There is debate regarding Rov Ita Kaman 2. For some applications, DNA matching can qualify as a Siman Muvhak if the tests have a high confidence level and are performed by qualified and certified researchers. 3. mtdna identification does not qualify as a Siman Muvhak. 4. mtdna identification to Ashkenazic Jewry of European extraction is acceptable provided that there is corroborating evidence (yet insufficient) to place the subject within the definition of Ashkenazic Jewry of European extraction. Per Bayes Law. 5. Because of the enormous destruction of the Holocaust and the repressive Soviet regime, the State of Israel has a responsibility to work to find effective ways to identify survivors of the holocaust and refugees of repressive regimes, as Jews. 6. The State of Israel is called upon to dedicate staff for the purpose of performing mtdna testing to help Jews be identified halachically as such. 7. Approbation from Rabbi Zalman N. Goldberg Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg is a rabbi, posek, and Rosh Yeshiva in Israel. The scion of a Lithuanian Jewish family, Rabbi Goldberg is also a son-in-law of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach

15 ב ש ב ע ים נ פ ש י ר ד ו א ב ת י ך מ צ ר י מ ה ו ע ת ה ש מ ך ה' א- לה י ך כ כ וכ ב י ה ש מ י ם ל ר ב (דברים י:כב) Your ancestors descended to Mitzrayim with seventy souls. And now, Hashem your God has multiplied you as the stars of the heavens (Deut.10:23)

ALEPH-TAU Hebrew School Lesson 204 (Nouns & Verbs-Masculine)

ALEPH-TAU Hebrew School Lesson 204 (Nouns & Verbs-Masculine) Each chapter from now on includes a vocabulary list. Each word in the vocabulary lists has been selected because it appears frequently in the Bible. Memorize the vocabulary words. Vocabulary * 1 ז כ ר