JEWISH OUTREACH Lesson 4 Where Are the Jewish People? Who Are the Jewish People? I. Where are the Jewish People in the World? It is important to understand and appreciate how the Jewish people have been dispersed over the whole world, to fully grasp the meaning of the word diaspora or dispersion. Here is a list of the 15 countries with the largest Jewish population as of 2010. Country Jews % of World Jewish Population 1. Israel 5,703,300 42.5% 2. United States 5,275,000 39.3% 3. France 483,500 3.6% 4. Canada 375,000 2.8% 5. United Kingdom 292,000 2.2% 6. Russia 205,000 1.5% 7. Argentina 182,300 1.4% 8. Germany 119,000 0.9% 9. Australia 107,500 0.8% 10. Brazil 95,600 0.7% 11. Ukraine 71,500 0.5% 12. South Africa 70,800 0.5% 13. Hungary 48,600 0.4% 14. Mexico 39,400 0.3% 15. Belgium 30,300 0.2% The top five countries on this list contain 90% of the world Jewish population with over 80% just between Israel and the United States. The former USSR used to hold third place ahead of France until they were dismantled. Another interesting set of statistics is this chart about the world Jewish population from 1882 to 2010. It shows the steady growth interrupted by a big dip between 1939 and 1
1948. Additionally, a chart of the Jewish people in the United States from 1654 to 2010 can be found at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/us-israel/usjewpop1.html Year Estimated Jewish Population 1 1882 7,800,000 1900 10,600,000 1914 13,500,000 1922 14,400,000 1925 14,800,000 1939 16,728,000 1945 11,000,000 1948 11,500,000 1950 11,297,000 1955 11,800,000 1960 12,079,000 1970 12,585,000 1980 12,819,000 1990 12,868,000 2000 12,900,000 2005 13,032,600 2006 13,102,100 2007 13,261,700 2008 13,261,700 2009 13,348,000 2010 13,428,300 1 http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/?mival=cw_usr_view_folder&id=141 http://www.jewishdatabank.org/ 2
II. Where are the Jewish People in the United States? Beyond understanding the distribution of the Jewish people worldwide, it is important to see how the Jewish people are spread out throughout the different states of the union. Over 5 million Jewish people live in the United States of America; still considered today by many to be, The Land of Opportunity, where freedom of religion among other freedoms can still be expressed. Jewish people are divided into different categories from ultra-orthodox to secular. Here are the top ten states: 1. New York 1,624,720 2. California 1,219,740 3. Florida 613,235 4. New Jersey 504,500 5. Pennsylvania 295,050 6. Massachusetts 282,455 7. Illinois 278,420 8. Maryland 241,050 9. Ohio 148,355 10. Texas 130,170 For a complete detailed list of all 50 states, visit: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/us-israel/usjewpop.html III. Where are the Jewish People in the United States? Over 1,200,000 Jewish people live in California; about 800,000 living in Southern California; 360,000 in Northern California and the remainder being scattered throughout the state. Los Angeles is still the growing home of nearly 685,000 Jewish people. 3
Finally, we also need to look at a breakdown of the top 20 worldwide metropolitan areas with largest Jewish population. 2 1 Tel Aviv, Israel 2,979,900 2 New York, U.S. 2,007,850 3 Jerusalem, Israel 703,600 4 Los Angeles, U.S. 684,950 5 Haifa, Israel 671,400 6 South Florida, U.S. 485,850 7 Be'er Sheva, Israel 367,600 8 San Francisco, U.S. 345,700 9 Paris, France 284,000 10 Chicago, U.S. 270,500 11 Philadelphia, U.S. 263,800 12 Boston, U.S. 229,100 13 Washington, DC, U.S. 215,600 14 London, U.K. 195,000 15 Toronto, Canada 180,000 16 Buenos Aires, Argentina 165,000 17 Atlanta, U.S. 119,800 18 Moscow, Russian Federation 95,000 19 Baltimore, U.S. 91,400 20 San Diego, U.S. 89,000 III. Who are the Jewish People? In order to understand how to properly relate to the Jewish people, we must first understand what is meant by: Jew, Gentile, Christian, messianic Jew and spiritual Jew. Whenever possible, our definitions should be drawn from the Word of God. 2 http://www.jewishdatabank.org/populationstatistics.asp 4
Who is a Jew? 1. Rabbinic Definition a. Orthodox Judaism will tell you that your Jewishness is traced through the mother only. b. Conservative Judaism will accept lineage from either the mother or the father. c. Reformed and more liberal Judaism sometimes accepts lineage from one grand parent. d. All 3 branches of Judaism believe that regardless of your approach to ancestry, your Jewishness is always determined apart from believing in Yeshua. e. Rabbinic Judaism sees Jewishness through the mother when the Bible sees Jewishness through the father, i.e. King David s great grandmother Ruth & great-great grandmother Rahab. 2. Biblical Definition a. The biblical definition of who is a Jew lies in the Abrahamic Covenant first mentioned in Gen. 12:1-3 and further detailed in Gen. 13:15-16 & 15:4-5. Later it is confirmed through Isaac in Gen. 26:2-5, 24; then again though Jacob in Gen. 28:13-15, 46:2-4. b. A NATION WILL COME THROUGH THE LINE OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB and THROUGH ONE OF THE TWELVE TRIBES. 3. A Jew is a Physical Descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob a. Nationality is still valid today in the Diaspora. b. Nothing you do or don t do can make you a Jew or non-jew. Often people confuse Jewishness and Judaism. 5
Jewishness is an ethnic condition you are born Jewish. Judaism is a religion you practice it. Who is a Gentile? a. Based on the Bible, a Gentile is simply anyone who is not a Jew. b. A Gentile who decides to convert to Judaism becomes a proselyte, not a Jew (Matthew 23:15, Acts 13:43). Matt. 23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Acts 13:43 Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God. c. They simply remain Gentiles who have put themselves under the authority of the Mosaic Law or Torah. A good example of a proselyte in the Old Testament is Ruth. Before and after putting herself under the Mosaic Law, by her own choice, was never referred to as a Jew; but always called a Moabitess. (Ruth 1:22; 2:2,6,21; 4:5,10) Ruth 1:22 So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. 6
Ruth 2:2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor. And she said to her, Go, my daughter. Ruth 2:6 And the servant in charge of the reapers answered and said, She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. Ruth 2:21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, Furthermore, he said to me, You should stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest. Ruth 4:5 Then Boaz said, On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance. Ruth 4:10 Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased may not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today. Who is a Christian? a. The New Testament divides the world into 3 categories of people: Jewish people, Gentiles & Christian (1Cor. 10:32). 1Cor. 10:32 Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God. b. A Christian is a person, Jew or Gentile, who has put their faith in Yeshua alone thus becoming a part of the Body of Messiah. 7
What one must believe to become a Christian is found in 1Cor. 15:1-4 in relation with Eph. 2:8-9. 1Cor. 15:1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 1Cor. 15:2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 1Cor. 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 1Cor. 15:4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; Eph. 2:9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. Who is a Hebrew-Christian or a Messianic Jew? A Hebrew- Christian or Messianic Jew is a descendant of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob who has accepted God s FREE gift of salvation (Eph 2:8-9) through G-d s only begotten son (John 3:16) the Messiah of Israel & Savior of the world who died for our sins, was buried and rose again after the third day. Who is a Spiritual Jew? The key to understanding who is a spiritual Jew, is to understand what it means to be spiritual. 8
SPIRITUALITY REQUIRES REGENERATION, THE HOLY SPIRIT & TIME. According to Dr. Charles Ryrie, Spirituality is a grown-up relation to the Holy Spirit. IT IS NOT some kind of national of racial transformation of a Gentile into a Jew. Thus, A spiritual Jew is a Jewish Believer in Messiah or a Messianic Jew who happens to have a grown-up relationship with the Holy Spirit. THE JEWISH PEOPLE, THE GENTILES AND THE CHURCH 9
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