“Who Is a Jew?” A Case Study in Tensions Between Jewish Thought and Law

In contemporary Jewish thought, scholars often identify two broad philosophical approaches to Jewish identity: »essentialist,« which views Jewishness as inherent and unchangeable and »anti-essentialist,« which regards it as grounded in belief or practice. Both face challenges when confronted with a core halakhic reality: according to Jewish law, one can become Jewish through conversion, but can never cease to be Jewish. Essentialism struggles to explain conversion; anti-essentialism, the permanence of Jewish status. This study analyzes various explicit and implicit responses to this tension from thinkers of both camps and explores their broader religious, metaphysical, ethical and political implications.