How Many US Jews - 5.3 Million or 6.5 Million?
After the Akeida, Hashem promises Avraham:
A new report claims that there are more Jews in the US than in Israel. It says that there are (Beli Ayin Hara) 6.5 million Jews in the US. Earlier reports have stated that Israel had surpassed the US in the number of Jews as there are only 5.3 million US Jews. Israel has a reported 5,660,700 Jews.כִּי-בָרֵךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ, וְהַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶת-זַרְעֲךָ כְּכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְכַחוֹל, אֲשֶׁר עַל-שְׂפַת הַיָּם
that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore
Why the discrepancy? The article explains:
The difference is in the methodology.
“While the World Report uses national studies for its estimate, the U.S. Report sums up estimates of the Jewish population in over 1,000 local Jewish communities to develop a national estimate,” said Sheskin.
Some commenters have suggested that one report counts Jews who are not halachicly Jewish, while the other does not. Also, I don't know if there's double-counting going on or not. Whatever the reason for the discrepancy, all we know is that we really don't know.
This is a shame because for Geula-watchers (like me), these numbers are important. There was a lot of excitement when Israel supposedly surpassed the US's Jewish population. It meant that we were getting closer to the time when the majority of Jews of the world would be living in Israel. That milestone, when it happens, carries with it a number of halachic and nationalistic ramifications.
The new report throws a monkey wrench into the idea that this will happen by the year 2030, as this article predicted. Let us hope that the ultimate Aliya catalyst will speed things up dramatically. No, I'm not talking about Obama winning again in 2012. I'm talking about the coming of Mashiah Tzidkeinu - it should happen speedily in our days. Amen.
posted by yaak @ 10/22/2010 12:24:00 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
Your country is an evil place I pray achminijav doesnt destroy tel aviv and population centers in america while hes at it . 80 % of our people in israel and diaspora are almost clueless politicaly religiousely and or moraly . The state of israel is a terrible mistake of the devil himself its delayed mashiach tremendousely !
I say its a terrible country for what they did to kahane ,oslo,2 states ,demorilyzing the settelers , imprisoning yigal amir,,100,000 plus in tel aviv sodomy parde, imprison jews free arabs , forget pollard , study pshat in yeshivas neglect pardes ,I chose america xtian as it is over this "israeli " debocle and millions of religious and ireligious jews are with me as are many gedolim until Hashem finally does the miracles of Isiah.The only people I trust there are the far right and the truest of tzaddikim if there any and truest mekubalim !Despite this I dont wish harm on jews weve suffered way to much as have many many innocents on this planet during its terrible in many cases history . Signed from sefardi to breslov to kooke to chabad to satmar to kahane to respecting all 6, at least truths in all 6 NO full truth , as the gra says in kolhator at this time truth wont exist !
חלילה to talk that way against Eretz Yisrael, even if some of your accusations are true and terrible.
We need to show people the way from within - not criticize from without and repeat the sin of the spies.
I respectively disagree the sin of the spies wasnt to reject the erev rav state as I completely do but to reject the land itself . Im all for the land settling it but not the state . Its anti moral anti jewish . I used to be in the jdl knew kahane and his son , but the state runs the show and im not for it . As for the spies , your dead wrong , eretz yisrael is his chosen land . As for the state thats armilius through and through they can go to hell ! everything I love about torah and the land they have acusations against as I mentioned in my previous post . As for lashon harah I dont buy it I find the medinah whats the word disturbing and I have to express myself . As for the land it will only be conquered when geulah comes as explained in the ramchals seforim not by the idf . I hope that ruth is ovious to you ! I hope you stop praising the jewish enemy the medinah and get to your senses !
I'm not going to rehash an old Satmar vs. Zionist argument with you.
I wish you well and hope we see the Geula soon and hopefully then, Mashiah will tell us what the right approach was before he arrived.
Shabbat Shalom and Kol Tuv.
shabat shalom lets agree to disagree hopefully mashiach will tell us we were both right .
YY, maybe you have a link to some of your thoughts on the satmar vs ... Ang the geulah. I, for one, would like to read them. Kol tuv and wishing you well
Funny how there was no controversy on the 1990 NJPS report stating that there were 5.5 million Jews in the U.S. So how could have the number of Jews grown to 6.5 million over the last 20 years when everyone agrees that Jewish fertility rates have been well below replacement level for decades (not to mention the assimilation rate). According to the world's expert on Jewish population, Della Pergola, the number in the US in 2010 would be closer to 4.7 million (including non-halachic Jews).
This is an interesting post, but the real question should be how many Halachically recognized Jews are there in Israel and in the United States today. Many people today are categorized as Jewish when halachically they are not Jewish at all. For instance, only orthodox conversions are halachically recognized. So someone who is converted at a Reform Temple is not a Jew. Also, someone whose father is Jewish but whose mother is not Jewish, this person is not Jewish. Or someone who only has a Jewish grandfather, this person is not Jewish. This is a great problem for Jews today, and it promotes assimilation. The intermarriage rate is about 50% in the United States today. So I seriously doubt that there are more Jews in the United States than in Israel today. Even with all of our problems here in Israel, there is no better place to be than in Eretz Yisrael. This is our home.
I agree eretz yisrael is the best place for a jew but God promised HIMSELF not hertzyl or nefesh bnefesh to redeem the remnant from golut , our WHOLE mesora depends on THIS PROMISE !!!!
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