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Pekude

Exodus 38:21-40:38

I Kings 7:51-8:21

A description of the regal vestments worn by Aaron and his descendants, who constitute the priestly class known as Kohanim, is a central feature of Parashat Pekude. Distinctive clothing and special status marked the elevation of this group of Israelites over all the rest. While necessary for the functioning of the priestly cult, such class distinction may inadvertently have set the tone for contentiousness in Jewish communities for centuries.

It is seen today in the struggle among various religious and secular Israelis over "Who is a Jew?" and in discussions of who has the right to make such a determination.

However, the question of "Who is a Jew?" has become increasingly more difficult to determine today, not because of this wearying conflict between Jews of different movements, but because of unexpected groups that claim Jewish ancestry. In various places throughout the world, people who seem least likely to be clamoring to go to Israel and claim citizenship under the Law of Return present a dilemma for Israeli government officials and religious authorities.

Israeli officials fear, now that Israel is prospering and making peace with its neighbors, that residents of poorer countries will claim Jewish ancestry to take advantage of Israel's higher quality of life. This is not a far-fetched concern. For example, since 1989, the Interior Ministry has granted temporary-resident status and even citizenship to limited numbers of the Shinlung communities of northeastern India, Burma, Thailand and Bangladesh. The Shinlung trace their ancestry to the biblical tribe of Manasseh, call their deity Yíwa, and have their own Exodus story and feast days corresponding to Jewish holidays.

They are not alone in claiming a link to Judaism. Some 30 families of the Indian village of Kottareddipalem have converted to Judaism, believing that their ancestors hailed from the lost tribe of Ephraim. Of the 15 million Pathans, Sunni Muslims who comprise about 40 percent of Afghans, a significant number call themselves "Bani Israel" and consider themselves to be descendants of ancient Israelites. It is ironic that there is no shortage of groups claiming Jewish heritage or believing that they are descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes, especially when, for centuries, Jews were considered pariahs by most of the world.

Among those least expected to hail from ancient Israel are the 50,000 African Lemba who occupy the Southpansberg Mountains in the northern region of South Africa. According to their oral tradition, they claim to be descendants of Abraham, members of a lost tribe that emigrated to Yemen some 2,500 years ago and then moved down the east coast of Africa, settling in what is today Zimbabwe and South Africa. They have been part of a test group that has allowed American and British scientists to study their chromosomes. Among Jews who claim descent from the Kohanim, the priests of the ancient Temple, at least 70 percent have a common set of markers on their Y chromosome. Among the general Lemba population the incidence of the Kohen chromosome is 8.8 percent, a frequency similar to that found among the general Jewish population. But among the senior Lemba clan, the Buba, the incidence of the chromosome is 53.8 percent.

While most Lemba do not express an interest in settling in Israel, Israeli authorities worry about hoards of "long-lost Jews," mainly from Third World countries, descending on Israel. The accuracy and reliability of genetic testing raises the question of whether such biological analysis could become the basis for determining Jewish status and whether that would be acceptable to Israeli authorities.

Israel has always encouraged immigration of Western Jews; whether Israelis can do the same for Third World people claiming Jewish ancestry remains to be seen. However, Israeli and world Jewish leaders need to examine this issue very carefully — not asking whether we should admit Jews from far-flung places on the globe, but rather, by asking whether we can afford not to. The answer to this question may well shape Jewish destiny.