What is Judaism? The answer is not as simple as the question.

For most of us, the first and instinctive answer would be to consider Judaism as a religion. Clearly, there is a religion called Judaism, a set of ideas about the world and the way we should live our lives that is called "Judaism." However, many people who call themselves Jews do not believe in that religion at all! More than half of all Jews in Israel today call themselves "secular," and don't believe in G-d or any of the religious beliefs of Judaism.

The second most common answer to what is Judaism is to consider Jews as somehow members of a common race or distinct ethnic group. In western Christian societies Jews are still frequently stereotyped this way as somehow sharing some common racial background. Yet, the indisputable scientific fact is that people who follow the Jewish religion share every possible skin colour and genetic diversity exactly the same as every other member of society and cities around the world. Just because certain orthodox members of the Jewish faith choose to dress in a similar style and method does not mean they belong to the same race.

The third most common answer to what is Judaism is that to be Jewish is to be somehow a member of a distinct cultural and ethnic group. When most people think of Jewish culture, they think of the food, of the Yiddish language, of some limited holiday observances, and of cultural values like the emphasis on education.

The fourth most cited answer to what is Judaism is that it is the belief in a common nation, or “goy” (as described in the Torah, the Jewish holy scripture). While the original meaning as written was in the context of a group of people with a common history and mutual destiny, there is no evidence that the idea of Judaism being a “nation” implied a specific goal of global domination. Unfortunately, the idea of the “nation” of Judaism has become polluted both by zealous religious leaders within the Jewish community as well as anti-Jewish aggresors who use this idea as a means of falsely accusing Jews as having a secret agenda and being disloyal to their natural places of birth.

Finally, it is clear from what has been outlined, that there exists a certain amount of truth in the claims that it is a religion, a race, or an ethnic group. Yet, none of these descriptions is entirely adequate to describe what connects Jews to other Jews. And yet, almost all Jews feel a sense of connectedness to each other that many find hard to explain, define, or even understand. Traditionally, this interconnectedness was understood as "nationhood" or "peoplehood," but those terms have become so distorted over time that they are no longer accurate.

What is Judaism? It is a family. Like a family, Jews don't always agree with each other. But like a family, it is the differences that make us unique and all the more stronger.