Are the Jewish People real? Or did someone invent them?

These may seem like crazy questions. Certainly there are those out there who consider themselves Jews. And, there are people who know those who practice Judaism. So, where’s the debate?

Look no further than Shlomo Sand’s book, The Invention of the Jewish People.  A controversial bestseller in Israel for the past year, Sand’s book is hitting the U.S. with its first English printing.  In it, Sand questions historical beliefs most would consider fact. According to David Goldberg from The Jewish Community Online,

Legends about the Patriarchs, the Exodus and King David are what Sand calls “mythistories”, a word coined by the Greek writer George Sefiris to describe those embellishments with which every people seeks to glorify its origins. For the Romans it was Romulus; for the French, Charlemagne; for the Prussians, the medieval Teutonic knights.

Even with this challenge of Jewish history, Goldberg says that Sand’s book isn’t as radical as the cover implies. While I find Sand’s topic intriguing, it’s a specific argument that interests me most. In the end, Sand’s books contends that most Jews are descendants from converts, and that while large groups chose to follow Judaism, some of those once considered Jewish turned to something else.

Even if this is the case, my question is, does that make the Jewish people an invention?

Goldberg seems to be thinking along similar lines:

No one today, unless a simpleton, believes that all Jews are descended in an unbroken chain from Abraham to the present.

So, if most acknowledge the existence of converts, what’s the problem? Are they any less Jewish than those with Jewish mothers?

Don’t get me wrong, Sand’s ideas are certainly interesting, and if true, they continue to shed light to one of the oldest religions today. Still, I can’t help but wonder what point he is trying to make.

-Sarah