I hate dealing with ignorant people who want you to confirm their stupid prejudices. One category in this obnoxious set are unlearned Christians who have all sorts of unfounded beliefs about Jews.
One such man called in to Dennis Prager’s radio show today. Dennis was far more gracious than I would have been.
Eric in Littleton calls: “There’s a question I’ve always wondered about and I’ve wanted to ask you this for years.”
If it is a question you’ve always wondered about, why haven’t you Googled it?
Eric: “As you know, all present day Jews are descended from the original 12 tribes of Israel as revealed in the Bible.”
Well, I’m a present-day Jew and I’m not (knowingly) descended from any of these tribes. I’m a convert to Judaism. There are millions of Jews out there who are either converts or descended from converts or the descendants of non-Jews who raped Jewish women.
I guess it is the certitude in Eric’s voice as he spews his ignorance on the air that I find so annoying. It’s just so familiar to me. I grew up a preacher’s kid. My dad specialized in apocalyptic and he drew all sorts of weirdos who had these loony views they forced us to listen to. I hate being stuck listening to idiots.
Eric: “It is my understanding that all of those records have been lost to history so that no Jews these days knows that detail of his heritage. Is it common in today’s world for Jews to be curious about which tribe they come from and do you give any thought to that?”
Dennis: “I come from the tribe that consisted of the most troublemakers.”
“It never once arose [in my upbringing]. There’s no question that Christians are more interested in that [the 12 tribes] than Jews are. Religious Jews are more preoccupied with living what God wants from them than the question you posed. It’s probably not knowable.”
“The one group of Jews who know which tribe they come from are the priests. The Cohens.”
I’ve never met a Jew who was concerned with the tribe he came from (aside from the Levites and Cohens).
