Nadene Goldfoot
The story in the bible of Jacob and his 12 sons that became the 12 tribes of Israel happens to come out of history itself, names and all. This one story is surely the base of truth of what the bible relates. From there, the rabbis could go back in time tracing Jacob's family as well as go forward. Judah is the tribe we get "Jewish" from. People have also heard of Judea and Samaria... This tale showing our early development is my favorite, and was just the right explanation Moses was able to give 4,000 years ago to people without today's knowledge we have stored in our brains. This they could understand, and we can, too. "In Jewish tradition, the Patriarch Jacob is a foundational figure whose journey from a shrewd, calculating youth to a mature, spiritual leader (Israel) represents the core ethical evolution of the Jewish people."
Jews use the 5 books of Moses by following it and the rest of scriptures in what is called the "Old Testament." My personal book is called a Tanach which includes the Torah or 5 books, the prophets, and writings...the 24 books of the Bible translated and annotated. The annotations are so informative, explaining the setting, often by the Rambam and Rashi, who I have found is one of my distant relatives, rabbis of the Middle Ages.
There are people who do not believe anything in the bible is of value and is only a fairy tale. Usually they are atheists. Atheists are individuals who do not believe in the existence of a god or any gods. The term originates from the Greek word atheos, meaning "without God". Rather than being a set of doctrines, it is primarily a single characteristic: the absence of a belief in deities.
DNA is the best way along with the Bible to understand our beginnings. Middle Eastern Roots: Genome-wide scans show that global Jewish diaspora groups share common ancestral ties to the Middle East, tracing back over 2,000 years. Their ancient DNA frequently shows high affinity with historical populations from the Levant. Ashkenazi Jewish Profile: For Jews of Central and Eastern European descent, DNA is typically an admixture of roughly \(40\% - 50\%\) Middle Eastern (Levantine) and \(50\% - 60\%\) European ancestry. Paternal lines typically trace back to the Middle East, while maternal lines often show Southern or Eastern European origins.
Autosomal DNA studies show high levels of genetic relatedness among Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi Jews, corresponding to a shared Middle Eastern ancestry with variations in regional admixture. Autosomal DNA evidence supports the historical narrative of Jewish populations originating from the ancient Levant, with genetic diversity shaped by migrations, admixture, and isolation over millennia We can take tests with several companies on our autosomal DNA and go back quite far and find 5th cousins easily today. Those men with J1 and J2 can see their Jewish line, which is where the Cohens come from.
Population Bottlenecks: Ancient DNA studies (like those examining medieval Ashkenazi remains in Erfurt, Germany) show that today's large Ashkenazi population descended from a very small founding group. This bottleneck amplified specific genetic mutations found within the community. This is why we are distantly related with 20%-30% connection to our many cousins we didn't know we have. Supposedly there are 4 women who were our base of origin, but not necessarily our own outstanding women of Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca, and Leah.
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson born October 5, 1958) is an outstanding American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator, and thinks well of our 5 books explaining the development of man and our planet. An astrophysicist is a scientist who applies the laws of physics and mathematics to understand how the universe works. They study the birth, life, and death of celestial bodies like stars, planets, and galaxies, as well as complex phenomena such as dark matter and black holes.
He thought, as do I, that our beginning history as shown is a metaphor of the scientific facts. I found him on You tube being interviewed and he explained his findings. Though he has a Catholic background, he may not have found Jacob being the anchor to our history.
Although there is Thomas Cahill's book, The Gifts of the Jews--how a tribe of desert nomads changed the way everyone thinks and feels..which may be talking about the fact that when Judaism, given to Moses, a descendant of Jacob, came about when the world had gone for polytheism, and Jews staunchly stuck with Judaism and hasn't even accepted Jesus as the son of G-d. ". He argued that ancient Israelites radically altered the trajectory of human history by introducing concepts like linear time, individual destiny, and ethical responsibility to the powerless.
When asked during a question session at the University at Buffalo if he believed in a higher power, Tyson responded: "Every account of a higher power that I've seen described, of all religions that I've seen, include many statements with regard to the benevolence of that power. When I look at the universe and all the ways the universe wants to kill us, I find it hard to reconcile that with statements of beneficence. Beneficence is the ethical principle of acting in the best interest of others. It involves taking positive steps to prevent harm, remove harm, and improve the welfare of others. The word originates from the Latin benefactum, which literally translates to "good deed."
So here we go. This happens to be a BIG principle in Judaism, though with the war at hand, Tyson may not accept that, and he may not be alone. We have the MITZVAH in our belief system of trying to keep all of us from harm, to improve the welfare of others, even those who were our enemy. We visit the sick, which is a mitzvah, and do many good deeds in our lives. So does our army. It so happens that our enemy, Iran and their terrorists of the moment, are fighting in a new way, that of destroying our good reputation. Being anti-Semitism has been with us since the Hellenistic days, most people are now believing lies about us. They allow their own people to be victims just to damage our good name. So such opinions may have come to Tyson as well, and that would be very sad.
In an interview with Big Think, he said: "So, what people are really after is what is my stance on religion or spirituality or God, and I would say if I find a word that came closest, it would be 'agnostic'... at the end of the day I'd rather not be any category at all." Additionally, in the same interview with Big Think, Tyson mentioned that he edited Wikipedia's entry on him to include the fact that he is an agnostic: An agnostic is a person who believes that nothing is known (or can be known) about the existence of God. Unlike atheists, who assert that God does not exist, or theists, who believe in God, agnostics suspend judgment because they believe the truth is currently unknown or inherently un
knowable.
So I'm trying to show that in Judaism, there is worth in our story of Creation and development of our tribes that led to Judaism, and that it doesn't have to be believed word by word....until,....that is, when you get to Jacob. and how he was father of the 12 tribes.
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