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Jewishness according to the mother

The Rav Name: Rabbis of the Da’at Institute
  • Question

Why is a person’s Jewishness decided according to who the mother is, while the twelve tribes, and the status of Cohen, Levi, or Yisrael, go according to the father?

  • Answer

  1. A person’s Jewishness goes according to the mother because there is no doubt that she is the mother, according to the Zohar. Also, since the baby’s development and thereafter nursing/nurturing are through the mother, her nature becomes impressed on him, according to the Radak and Rabeinu Bechaye.

  2. A woman’s Jewishness is manifest in a more internal manner, and Judaism is determined by the essential part of the G-dly soul which is more revealed in a woman than in a man, according to the Rebbe, in Likkutei Sichot, Vol 1.

Sources