>>>>>>>Sorry to tell you, but even Yiddish is not a semitic language. Maltese is! :)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>What about ladino? <g>
>>>>>
>>>>>Also not a semitic language. Sorry :)
>>>>
>>>>This prettyr much leaves Hebrew, Arabic and Arameic. Do you know more?
>>>
>>>You mentioned the three main semitic languages. My book doesn't mention others, except Maltese, because it is the only European one.
>>
>>I have a sneaking suspicion that there is Hebrew in the family mix somewhere, but until I check with my mother, I may just be babbling incoherently on a subject about which I know nothing. I'll be back with better information probably tomorrow (maybe tonight).
>
>Something else I remember my mother talking about is that supposedly all the men in her family are 'Kohenim'. I'm not fully conversant with all of it, but it has something to do with being a descendant of the line of Aaron (Moses' brother). Unlike being Jewish, it descends through the male parent rather than the female. Therefore, clearly I am not one - which is probably a good thing since I don't really know what it's all about and I'd probably be an embarrassment to the line.

Yeah, orthodox Jews probably regard us as lost souls.

The question "who is Jewish" is related to the question "what is Judaism". Judaism is first and for all a religion. But it's also a cultural tradition. To make things even more complex, many Jews see themselves as member of a brotherhood, a people, a nation, a community.

According to the orthodox tradition each child of a Jewish mother is Jew, plus all those who converted to Judaism and adhere to certain principles and rituals. Take note of the fact that religion is NOT a major criterium here! So, for the orthodox one can be Jewish AND secular.

Liberal Jews are another important and widespread group. For them, the child of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother is also a Jew IF the parents promise to raise the child according to Jewish tradition. In that case the rabbi will see to it that this is done indeed. These kids are also called father jews.

About your connection to Aaron. I know a Jewish family who were able to trace their ascendants back to a figure in the bible. They had family reunions where salliva was taken and the DNA was used to relate them all. That enabled them to make genealogical maps and trace back to ancient places in a much more sophisticated way.