THE FIRST JEW
Adam Penrod

One of the several long running debates in the Jewish world is the question of who the first Jew was. When does Judaism start? This question is more complex than it seems. The complexities of this question have caused the Jewish people to come up with several possible answers. The answers range from Abraham being the first Jew to Jacob and then there are those that say that the first Jews did not exist until Mount Sinai.

The answer to this question depends on what our criteria is for a Jew. Some would say that it is circumcision and others would claim that that is not enough. It may be, according to some that it is Abraham and or his sons because they “kept,” the entire Torah. There are even those that would say that it began with Isaac or Jacob because being Jewish is a question of who your parents are (unless you convert).

I share the opinion of those that say that the first Jew(s) came into existence at Mount Sinai. Each of the three above reasons are not strong enough by themselves and have problems that do not admit them as clear criteria for our question of who is the first Jew.

Circumcision

Circumcision is a process that any male who converts to Judaism must undergo. Without it someone cannot be considered Jewish. However being circumcised is not enough to be Jewish. There are many in the United States who is medically circumcised. To be properly circumcised under Jewish Halachah one must be circumcised by a Rabbi trained in ceremonial circumcision, even if one was previously circumcised they must undergo a ritual drawing of blood to make the person Jewish according to Halachah.

Jews are not the only ones commanded to ritually circumcise themselves. The descendants of Abraham must circumcise themselves as well. According to the Rambam, initially the Ishmaelites and Edomites were excluded from circumcising themselves. However, Abraham’s descendants through Keturah (Hagar, whom he married after the death of Sarah [see Parshat Chai Sarah Bereishit/Genesis 23:1-25:18]) are obligated to ritually circumcise themselves (Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 10: 8). Because the children of Keturah and Ishmael became so intermingled it was no longer possible to distinguish between the two. Therefore, the sages ruled that the descendants of Ishmael are also required to ritually circumcise themselves.

I say ritually circumcise to distinguish it from a medical circumcision. It is a command of God that makes circumcision a requirement among Jews and Ishmaelites; therefore, it becomes a ritual act of service to HASHEM.

Since the Jewish people are not unique in their command of ritual circumcision it does not seem that circumcision alone is a criteria for being Jewish. Therefore, although Abraham, his sons, and all of Israel until the time of Moses were circumcised this does not make them Jews.

The Patriarchs and Keeping Torah

It is said that the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) kept the entire Torah. For some this would indicate that the Patriarchs are the first Jews. In which way do we mean they kept the entire Torah? The Torah had not yet been given, therefore, they only kept the other parts of the Torah that they were not commanded (aside from the Noachide Laws and circumcision) voluntarily.

Consulting Rambam we see that, “We should not prevent a ben Noach who desires to perform one of the Torah’s Mitzvot in order to receive reward, from doing so, [provided] he performs it as required (Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 10:10).” A ben Noach may keep additional mitzvahs provided it is done for the sake of reward and is performed properly according to Halachah.

A Noachide can only do this so long as it is understood that this is voluntary for that individual and it is not a command from HASHEM for the individual or other Noachides. Since it was not until Mount Sinai that the Torah was given as an eternal commandment upon the children of Israel, we must assume that Abraham and his sons were under this category of Noachides who voluntarily kept extra Torah mitzvahs for reward.

God does inform Abraham that he will give the land and make a covenant with his seed after him. This is important because we see who will become the Jewish people. This is not, however, sufficient in itself to tell us who are Jews.

The Jewish people do come from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but they also come from the erev rav (mix multitude) that comes out of Egypt with the Jewish people. It seems that at Mount Sinai both those from the line of Abraham and the mix multitude equally have a share in the promises once they are all commanded the Torah at Mount Sinai.

This is why when a person converts they claim Abraham as their father. He is not their father literally, but because they have joined the family of Abraham and have agreed to take upon themselves the Torah as commanded to Israel at Mount Sinai. The additional part of conversion is to become immersed in the mikvah. It is significant that they accept the Torah of Sinai and not the Torah that the patriarchs voluntarily kept—although they are possibly the same.

Mount Sinai

The criteria for who the first Jew is established as those that were at Mount Sinai. Each of the three things mentioned are not sufficient on their own to have made anyone from Abraham to Mount Sinai Jewish. Until Mount Sinai everyone is still a Noachide though of a peculiar variety.

The question of who the first Jew is was something that Joseph and his brothers fought over (see Midrash to Parshat VayYeshev Bereishit/Genesis 37:1-40:23). Ten of Joseph’s eleven brothers felt that they were Jews and that they therefore had a different din (judgment) from that of other Noachides on the matter of ever min hachai (eating the limb of a living animal).

For a Jew it was possible to sever and then eat the limb once the two signs had been severed (the trachea and carotid artery), while a Noachide must wait until the animal stops convulsing before severing the limbs and beginning to eat (Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 9:13). Joseph (in Genesis 37:2; Parshat VayYeshev) brings his father Jacob, “…a bad report,” concerning his brothers—that they were eating the limb of a living animal. Joseph believed that they were all still under the din of the Noachides. This seems to be correct from the perspective we have outlined in this paper.

The first Jews were those who at Sinai accepted upon themselves the entire Torah as an obligation. These Jews do descend from Abraham and Sarah, but they also descend from all the nations of the world who also accepted the laws of Sinai through conversion. It would seem that the only clear criteria for who the first Jew is is “who was standing at Mount Sinai?”