What Makes a Jew a Jew, the Religion or His Blood?

Direct Answer

Blood, not religion, is what makes a Jew a Jew.

Les Feldick teaches that a Jew is first and foremost a unique race of people, and that God gave the religious system—the law—to that race after it already existed. Jewish identity comes through the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not through keeping the law or the worship system.

Key Scriptures

Genesis 12:2 — God’s promise to make Abraham a great nation is the origin of the Jewish people as a separated race.

Genesis 12:3 — The covenant blessings are placed on Abraham’s descendants as a specific bloodline.

Genesis 15:5 — God ties the identity of Abraham’s offspring to his physical seed, reinforcing the national bloodline.

What Does the Bible Say?

In Genesis 12:1-3, God called Abraham out of his country and kindred and promised to make of him a great nation: “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.” In Genesis 15:5, God pointed to Abraham’s own seed, saying, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” The nation that grew from this covenant was the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the twelve tribes of Israel. The law and the religious system were given later through Moses to a people who already existed by blood and covenant.

What Does Les Feldick Teach About Jewish Identity?

Les Feldick teaches that “a Jew first and foremost is a unique race of people,” and God gave a unique religion—the law—to that race. It was never the keeping of the law or the system of worship that made them Jews; it was their birth and bloodline (Clip 1). He defines a Jew as anyone who comes from the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the twelve patriarchs, while everyone else is a Gentile (Clip 4). Abraham was one man among the Gentile families until God “put the finger on him” in Ur of the Chaldees and separated him out of the mainstream of humanity to become the father of a whole new race, the nation of Israel (Clip 6). Les also stresses the supernatural preservation of the Jewish race: after nearly 3,000 years among the nations, a Jew is still a Jew, and God knows what tribe each one comes from even if men do not (Clips 2, 3, 5, 7).

Did the Religion Come Before the Jewish People?

No. Les explains that God gave the law to the nation of Israel after the Jewish people already existed. The religious system did not create the Jews; it was given to the people who had come from the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was their birth, not the practice of the law, that made them Jews (Clip 1).

Why Has the Jewish Race Stayed Distinct for Thousands of Years?

Les points out that the Jew has been dispersed among all nations for almost 2,700 years yet remains a Jew. Unlike Americans, who have intermarried and lost their original national identity, the Jewish people have not been amalgamated. God has seen to it that they remained a relatively pure race, so the promises God gave to this nation in Genesis 12 are still valid because the Jew is still a Jew (Clips 2, 3, 5, 7).

How Does Les Feldick Define a Gentile?

Les defines a Gentile as everybody else—anyone not of the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Arabs, Orientals, Africans, Europeans, and Americans are all Gentiles unless they are from that bloodline. The nation of Israel was separated out of the mainstream of humanity, so the line between Jew and Gentile is a bloodline (Clips 4 and 6).

Are Today’s Jews the Same Jews as the Jews of the Bible?

Les says yes. He objects to those who claim the present-day Jew in Israel has nothing to do with the Jew of the Old Testament. After almost 3,000 years of dispersion among non-Jews, “a Jew is a Jew is a Jew,” and the Jew in Israel tonight is still the same Jew of the Bible (Clip 7).

From the Teaching

From Adam to Tribulation: God's Biblical Timeline Explained

When He says in verse 5, "...and surely your blood of your lives I will require at the hand of every beast I will require, at the hand of man, at the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man." And then verse 6, "...whoso now sheddeth man's blood," in other words, kills, murders by man.

Jewish identity is blood, not religion

Les explains that God gave the law to the Jewish race, but neither the law nor the worship system made them Jews—birth and bloodline did.

The still-Jewish nation validates God’s promises

Les uses the continuing existence of the Jewish people as evidence the promises of Genesis 12 are still valid, because the Jew has never lost his national identity.

Preserved as a pure race

Unlike Americans who have intermarried and lost their national identity, the Jew has remained a relatively pure race through centuries of dispersion.

Bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Les defines a Jew as anyone from the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the twelve patriarchs, and a Gentile as everyone else.

Dispersion did not erase Jewish identity

Even after nearly 2,700 years among all the nations, the dispersed descendants of Israel are still Jews, and God alone knows each one’s tribe.

Abraham separated to father a new race

God separated Abraham out of the mainstream of humanity in Ur of the Chaldees to become the father of a new race, the nation of Israel, so Jewishness is racial separation, not religious conversion.

A Jew is a Jew is a Jew

Les insists the present-day Jew in Israel is the same Jew of the Bible; after almost 3,000 years of dispersion, the Jew has not lost his identity.

Bible Verses

Genesis 12:2: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

This is the foundational promise that Abraham’s descendants would become a distinct nation.

Genesis 12:3: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

The covenant promises are attached to Abraham’s physical line, proving that identity follows the bloodline.

Genesis 15:5: And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

God connects the promised nation to Abraham’s own biological seed, reinforcing the racial line.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does practicing the Jewish religion make someone a Jew?

No. Les Feldick teaches that the law and the system of worship were given to the Jewish race, but keeping them did not make anyone a Jew. Jewish identity comes from birth and bloodline through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

How does Les Feldick define a Jew?

He defines a Jew as anyone who comes from the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the twelve patriarchs. Everyone else in the world is a Gentile.

Why did God give the law only to Israel?

God first separated Abraham out of humanity and made him the father of the nation of Israel. Later, about 500 years after Abraham, God gave the law specifically to that nation of people, giving them what Les Feldick calls a unique religion.

Has the Jewish race lost its identity through intermarriage?

Les says no. Although the Jews have been dispersed among virtually every nation for almost 2,700 years, God has preserved the Jew as a relatively pure race, so a Jew is still a Jew.

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Source Video

Watch the Teaching: From Adam to Tribulation: God's Biblical Timeline Explained