beta-gershom.org

בית גרשום

...that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the LORD stood beside him and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Genesis 28:12-15

Do you have Jewish and Gentile ancestry?

If so, you have surely wondered "I am a Jew?", or "To what nation does my cultural identity belong to?"

On the one hand, the different Jewish denominations disagree regarding "who is born a Jew?". But, ironically, they use the SAME passages from the Written Torah to sustain their opposite positions! How can this be? The answer is that the texts in question do not actually exclude a child of intermarriage from the assembly of Israel, however each denomination has interpreted the language to suit their historical, social, and political experience.

The silver lining is that because opposite positions are taken using the SAME Torah passages, the issue is not one where the Torah says one thing in one place and something different elsewhere. Rather, human beings have landed on traditional interpretations, and these are biases, not absolutes. The passages utilized by the denominations to exclude one group or another are actually neutral on the subject !
Furthermore, Genesis 28 is clear that the promise of Sinai is open to all offspring of Jacob, no matter how remote your Israelite ancestry might be.

This is why
at Beta Gershom we welcome all offspring of Jacob, and we honor how each person self-identifies, without imposing denominational interpretations or pre-requisites.

If you "feel in your bones" that you are a part of Israel, know this: the Sinai Covenant with Israel is a relationship that is indeed open to you, with no barriers or obstructions. It is your God-given right to partake in the assembly of Israel.
If you, on the other hand, feel a connection with Israel, yet your primary identity is with a Gentile nation, know this: the Torah of Israel also contains a legacy for all nations, for it speaks of the general Covenant given through Noach after the Flood. All nations, Jews and non-Jews, are bound by that eternal Sacred Covenant, and THAT is already yours.

The mission of the Beta Gershom community is:
to enable all people who have Jewish & Gentile ancestry to fulfill their role as a Jew (if that's how they self-identify) or as a Noahide (if they self-identify as a Gentile).

Sometimes the term "half-jewish" or "part-jewish" is used colloquially to refer to a person of mixed (Jewish and non-Jewish) ancestry. Because such terms can lend themselves to the erroneous impression that a person can be only partially Jewish, we have coined the phrase "Beta Gershom" as a synonym for "person of Jewish and non-Jewish ancestry". Why the term "Beta Gershom" (House of Gershom) ? Click here for details.

Important: A key purpose of this website is also to celebrate and uphold core Jewish values and concepts, including:

a- The Sh'ma: that God is "Ehhad" (One, Unique, Alone), and transcends description or division into parts.
b- The sanctity and trueness of the Torah, including the Noahide and Sinai eternal covenants.
c- That God's Salvation can only come thru Faith in God, doing the Mitzvot (Commandments), and doing Teshuva and Tikun (Repentance and Repair) when we fall short. Without earnestly striving to DO the Mitzvot and earnestly striving to Repair and Repent (when we fall short), Faith and Sacrifice alone are empty, hypocritical, and useless.
d- That Maschiach will usher and enable the Kingdom of God, but Salvation comes from God alone (not Maschiach).
e- To contribute in Israel's role as a light to the Nations (especially Ethical Monotheism and Tikun Olam).
f- To fight evangelism, jihadism, antisemitism and all forms of oppression and discrimination.

We hope the site's content is useful to you. We have also launched our Facebook page, where you can participate by sharing stories and media with other people of Jewish & Gentile ancestry.