What is Jewish birthright?

Answer 1

an object that has been in a family since it began

ANOTHER ANSWER:

A birthright is a tradition in which the firstborn son inherits [all or the greater part of] his father's possessions [home, head of the family household, business dealings, wealth, whatever] in the event of his death… unless some other circumstances in life disqualifies him to receive it.

From the biblical perspective, regarding the patriarch, Abraham, with whom God established His covenant -- the Birthright Promise God made with Abraham: the POSSESSIONS that God promised to Abraham and his descendants WAS and IS - LAND! The PROMISED LAND!

[the Birthright Promise of God, for the present time dispensation which God has granted mankind, is the "material" phase of it… that goes along with the second "spiritual" phase of the Promise; the Salvation of mankind through Christ: "…in thee shall all families {nations} of the earth be blessed." - Gen.12:3]

So, the Birthright Promise of God turns out to be what all of mankind may inherit; who place their FAITH in God the same way as Faithful Abraham did. And that Promise WAS and STILL IS - to inherit PLANET EARTH! Which will ultimately be fulfilled with the establishment of the KINGDOM [the House or Household] OF GOD ON EARTH; which is the "gospel" or "good news" message of The Bible which so few people know about or believe… trusting not in God and His Truthful Word, but in the illusion of the "brotherhood of man" - man's Satan-confused and misguided governments.

"IT IS CLEAR, THEN, that GOD's PROMISE TO GIVE THE WHOLE EARTH TO ABRAHAM AND HIS DESCENDANTS was not based on obedience to God's Law [the Ten Commandments], but on the new relationship with God that comes by Faith." (Rom.4:13 NLT New Living Translation)

"The REAL CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM, then, are THOSE WHO PUT THEIR FAITH IN GOD… And now that you belong to Christ [Abraham's Almighty Creator God of the Old Testament - John 1:3], YOU ARE THE TRUE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM. YOU ARE HIS HEIRS, and now ALL THE PROMISES GOD GAVE TO HIM BELONG TO YOU." (Gal.3:7 & 29 NLT)

Ultimately… with the future establishment of the New Heaven and New Earth… that inheritance shall be THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE - which Jesus not only MADE in the beginning, but which He doubly-INHERITED AS GOD'S FIRSTBORN SON.

"…now in these final days, He [God the Father] has spoken to us through His Son. God PROMISED EVERYTHING ['everything' MUST include the universe] to the Son AS AN INHERITANCE, and THROUGH THE SON HE MADE THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING IN IT." (Heb.1:2 NLT)

This is the "Birthright Promise" God established with Faithful Abraham. The Promise that all of mankind may inherit through Jesus Christ [Abraham's God].

The big problem with the "biblical Birthright Promise" as established is that it kept getting screwed up throughout the generations of Abraham's children!

All of the "firstborn sons" kept losing out to another:

ISHMAEL was Abraham's REAL firstborn son… but God established His covenant with Abraham through ISAAC, the first [and ONLY] son borne by his wife, Sarah; not Ishmael [thereby were the roots of today's Arab/Jew conflict planted].

And so the "birthright promise" was handed down through ISAAC. Isaac received the Birthright Promise from God to inherit the world. Isaac's firstborn son, ESAU, sold his birthright to his little brother, JACOB! Jacob received the Birthright Promise from God to inherit the world.

With Jacob the duality or separate twofold phases of God's Promises [the Birthright Promise of INHERITANCE and the Spiritual Promise of SALVATION] become evident. Because upon his deathbed testimony, Jacob [whose name was changed to ISRAEL - Gen.32:28] SPLIT THE TWO PROMISES UP between JOSEPH [Israel's most beloved son] and JUDAH [whose nickname is JEW].

Once again… Jacob's [Israel's] REAL FIRSTBORN SON, Reuben, didn't receive the Birthright Promise:

"The oldest son of Israel was Reuben. But since he dishonored his father by sleeping with one of his father's concubines, HIS BIRTHRIGHT WAS GIVEN TO THE SONS OF HIS BROTHER JOSEPH. For this reason, Reuben IS NOT LISTED IN THE GENEALOGY AS THE FIRSTBORN SON. It was THE DESCENDANTS OF JUDAH [the Jews] that became the most powerful tribe and provided A RULER for the nation [the Christ - '…for Salvation comes through the Jews.' - John 4:22 NLT], but THE BIRTHRIGHT BELONGED TO JOSEPH." (I Chron.5:1-2 NLT)

And the Birthright Promise of God to inherit the world passed on to the sons of JOSEPH [NOT THE JEWS!] His TWO SONS MANASSEH and EPHRAIM! [see Gen.48]

Israel further split up the Birthright Promise between Joseph's two sons. But, here again, the oldest son, Manasseh, did NOT receive the major part of the Promise. His LITTLE BROTHER, Ephraim, DID.

And Joseph let his father know it:

"'No, father,' he said, 'this one over here is older. Put your right hand on his head.' But his father refused. 'I know what I'm doing, my son,' he said. 'Manasseh, too, will become a GREAT PEOPLE [a great nation], but his younger brother will become EVEN GREATER [an even greater nation]. His descendants will become a MULTITUDE [a 'company' or 'commonwealth'] OF NATIONS! So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing. 'The people of Israel will use your names to bless each other. They will say, ''May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.''' In this way, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh." (Gen.48:18-20 NLT)

This is the foundation of the biblical Birthright Promise that all of mankind may one day inherit through the second phase of God's Promises, the Salvation of Christ [which is actually the first phase. For no one may enter into and INHERIT the Kingdom of God unless they are first saved].

Since that blessed day in Egypt when Israel blessed Joseph with the Birthright Promise… the Nation or House or Kingdom of ISRAEL, the generations of descendants of Joseph [along with the other tribes or nations of Israel who were with them], DISAPPEARED from worldview… scattered by God among the nations of the world. They lost their identity as the children of Israel, and think of themselves to this day as Gentiles! They don't know their heritage… the branches of their "family tree" are lost to them.

And in these last days, the only two BROTHER-nations in the world that can possibly be perceived as having received the Promised blessings of God to Abraham to the extent of biblical wealth and prosperity is the BRITISH COMMONWEALTH [Ephraim] and the United States of America [Manasseh].

The world is on the brink of the ultimate fulfillment of God's Promise for mankind: the Salvation of the earth and mankind with the return of Jesus Christ, the One who Promised it to Abraham and his Children the Kingdom of God.

Answer 2

If you are referring to Birthright programs. Those are programs run by various organisations that send Jewish teens and young adults to Israel so that they have an opportunity to visit their ancestral land. The term 'birthright' refers to the ancestral land of Jews - Israel.

Answer 3

Answer:

The "birthright" is the biblical tradition that bestows upon the firstborn son the father's possessions upon the father's death.

The birthright promise came from God's original promises to Abraham. It was a "dual" promise of both a "material" and "spiritual" nature.

One was of temporary material "national greatness" that will ultimately be fulfilled in the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth.

And the second of "the coming Messiah" will ultimately be fulfilled in the coming and revealing of the King of that Kingdom.

From Abraham, right on down through the generations... the birthright promise caused great anguish and suffering among the Israelites.

Ishmael was Abraham's firstborn son... but not by Sarah his wife. But God insisted that Sarah's son, Isaac, would receive the birthright. This set up the generations-long animosity between the Jews and Ishmael (the father of the Arab nations).

The same animostity exists between the Jews and Esau (the father of the Turks).

None of them were interested in the spiritual blessing God was promising... they all wanted the "fat places" on the earth - the wealth, the power, the Natural Resources... the GOOD LIFE that all men desire.

Eventually, Jacob had twelve sons. Reuben was his firstborn, and next in line for the birthright promise... but:

"(...forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah [Jew] prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the Chief Ruler [the spiritual promise of the Christ]; but the birthright [the promise of national greatness] was Joseph's:)..." (I Chronicles 5:1-2).

Even the tribes of Israel, themselves, split over the birthright promise when the king of Judah, Rehoboam, Solomon's son, threatened them with greater taxation than Solomon leveled on the people.

The tribes of "Israel" decided that they didn't need the Jews or their "spiritual blessing" when they could have the "good life" by hanging out with Joseph's two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. If they stayed close to them, their wealth and prosperity would rub off and they would reap the same benefits... abundant crops, plenty of food and full bellies.

"...so when all Israel saw the (Jewish) king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? Neither have we any inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel... So Israel departed unto their tents..." (I Kings 12:16).

And a few years later... the kingdom of Israel following the birthright tribes, disappeared into world history... and the birthright promise with them.

But God's promise remains... if He is God. Joseph's sons must have inherited the birthright promise after that, because they never did in the pages of the Bible. We should be able to trace these two brother-nations in history. They should be the greatest nations on the earth... brother-nations... one, a commonwealth of nations... the other, a single great nation. They should be above all other nations in the world, if God's blessings are the gauge we can go by. The most wealthy and prosperous of all nations.

Meanwhile... Jesus Christ, the Firstborn Son of God (the spiritual promise of blessing) has inherited the universe and the ultimate birthright promise to Abraham of the Kingdom of God awaits all who are His.

"...if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the (birthright)promise." (Gal.3:29)

Answer 4

A birthright is something which has been owed since birth, due to inheritance.