Two Observations To Close Out the Night

• I will never read "The Jewish Daily Forward" again. They belong right with "Tablet Magazine" among the intolerancia of the Jewish community, especially since that automatically deleted a comment just because I quoted Dr. Ya'akov S. Ariel, who said to the "Washington Jewish Week" 

“I see Messianic Jews as a legitimate group. It’s an outcome of the engagement of evangelical Christians with Jews. This is a new way for Jews who have accepted Christianity to maintain their ties with Judaism. And in the last 30 years it has become much more Jewish.” 

(The "Washington Jewish Week" is also among the intolerancia. Edith Brown was no "victim". She simply could've taken the pamphlet and read it or trashed it.)

To quote someone to make the point that some mainstream Jews actually do consider Messianic Jews as Jews is not proselytizing, much less sharing the Messianic faith (asked or unasked). I also quoted Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, by the way, to make that point.

• To take a rabbi like Rabbi David Wolpe (who questioned the historicity of the Exodus, and during—of all times—Pesach) seriously is laughable, if one wants to talk about something that is actually laughable. Hediyotot like Drs. Amy-Jill Levine and Yaakov S. Ariel are more credible than rabbonim like Rabbi Wolpe will ever be.

וזה, הוא כל ללילה הזה. לילה טוב.

Why Not Convert To Non-Messianic Judaism? Tanakh Itself Should Give You A Hint As To Why.

If I were you, I would not convert to Judaism. I come from a Jewish background (unbeknownst to me for years), and Yeshua did not have me find out until I was secure in the Messianic Jewish (Jewish Christian) faith (and Christianity is a Jewish sect that derived from Essenism, which is with what John the Baptist was affiliated).

In Judaism, you have to keep 613 laws. Concerning the Moabites, for example: "4 An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation shall none of them enter into the assembly of the LORD for ever; 5 because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Aram-naharaim, to curse thee. 6 Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. 7 Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever."

Yet there are other mitzvot, or laws, which state, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of him. Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD."

In light of those seemingly-contradictory mitzvot, the New Testament states the following (See Romans 7:4-25 for context.):

"13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."

The point is that we were willing to, in this case, hold a grudge against the Mo'avim and Amonim; and Yehovah knew that. That's why He gave us over to that sin.

Yet, if you convert to Judaism, you will have to follow logic like this:

"Whereas certain other nations are allowed to marry into Judaism (if they have converted) after a certain number of generations, when it comes to men from Amon and Mo’av descent, the Torah rules that no such people are ever allowed to marry Jews (23:4). Why are they given such harsh treatment? The pasuk (23:5) tells us that this ban is due to the fact that they hired Bilam to try and curse us, as well as the fact that they did not allow us to pass through their land to go to Eretz Yisrael; they did not greet us with food and drink. But why does this mean that they get harsher treatment than the Egyptians, for example, who can join our ranks after three generations? The Ramban (23:5) explains that these two nations (Amon and Mo’av) were expected to act kindly to us. For generations ago Avraham Avinu saved Lot (the father of both these nations) from captivity, and as such these two nations should have been grateful to us and should have aided us. But since they spurned Avraham’s kindness and exhibited a lack of gratitude, they showed themselves unworthy of joining the Jewish ranks - for a Jew’s life revolves around gratitude. The first word of the day we say is thanks (modeh), and the word yehudim comes from the word hoda’ah, which means to thank. Indeed, such is the centrality of this trait of gratitude, that the reason the Torah gives for eventually allowing Egyptians to join the Jewish fold is because (23:8) we were hosted in their land. Yes, they treated us harshly for two centuries, but (before that) they hosted us in their land and provided us with food when famine had hit Eretz Yisrael. Even for this we are to show a degree of gratitude."

On the other hand, you could become a Karaite Jew; but I already laid out what Romans 7:5-24 says, and Karaites do not believe it. So,

"Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.'"

The rabbis treat themselves as gods. In Bava Metzi'a 59 of the Talmud, for example:

Why [the oven of] 'Aknai? — Said Rab Judah in Samuel's name: [It means] that they encompassed it with arguments2  as a snake, and proved it unclean. It has been taught: On that day R. Eliezer brought forward every imaginable argument,3  but they did not accept them. Said he to them: 'If the halachah agrees with me, let this carob-tree prove it!' Thereupon the carob-tree was torn a hundred cubits out of its place — others affirm, four hundred cubits. 'No proof can be brought from a carob-tree,' they retorted. Again he said to them: 'If the halachah agrees with me, let the stream of water prove it!' Whereupon the stream of water flowed backwards — 'No proof can be brought from a stream of water,' they rejoined. Again he urged: 'If the halachah agrees with me, let the walls of the schoolhouse prove it,' whereupon the walls inclined to fall. But R. Joshua rebuked them, saying: 'When scholars are engaged in a halachic dispute, what have ye to interfere?' Hence they did not fall, in honour of R. Joshua, nor did they resume the upright, in honour of R. Eliezer; and they are still standing thus inclined. Again he said to them: 'If the halachah agrees with me, let it be proved from Heaven!' Whereupon a Heavenly Voice cried out: 'Why do ye dispute with R. Eliezer, seeing that in all matters the halachah agrees with him!' But R. Joshua arose and exclaimed: 'It is not in heaven.'4  What did he mean by this? — Said R. Jeremiah: That the Torah had already been given at Mount Sinai; we pay no attention to a Heavenly Voice, because Thou hast long since written in the Torah at Mount Sinai, After the majority must one incline.5
R. Nathan met Elijah6  and asked him: What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do in that hour? — He laughed [with joy], he replied, saying, 'My sons have defeated Me, My sons have defeated Me.

Speaking Of Shabbat...

If I already posted this from Yahoo! Answers before, please let me know. Nonetheless, a refresher always helps. On Shabbat especially, to talk about the different forms of Judaism would begin to give others—including Jews who don't know what the heck their own people do, and those who suspect that they are Jewish and would like to have an idea of what Jews do—an idea of what Jews do on Shabbat. Granted that this is basic, modified from the original Yahoo! post, and more for reference than anything else; but it should still give you an idea of what Jews do on Shabbat.

Conservative Judaism is the closest form of Judaism to Orthodox (really, Orthodox Pharisaic) Judaism. Conservative (Masorti) Judaism broke away from Reform Judaism in order to maintain Matrilineal Descent as the rue for "Who is a Jew?" and other traditions, although they do not believe in the inerrancy of Tanakh or the Talmud. The hierarchy is something along the lines of: 

1) Haredi ("Hasidi", "Chabad") Judaism (including Kabbalah) 2) Orthodox Judaism 3) Conservadox Judaism 4) Reformodox Judaism 5) Conservative (Masorti) Judaism 6) Reform (Liberal, "Progressive") Judaism 7) Reconstructionist Judaism 8) Renewal Judaism or Alternative Judaism 9) Humanistic Judaism 10) Atheistic Judaism 


There's also Karaite (Mikra'iti, Scripturalist) Judaism and Messianic (Christian) Judaism, neither of which are accepted by Pharisaic (Mainstream) Judaism.

Now that you have an idea of each of the forms of Judaism, you can pretty much guess what a Jew who affiliates with a given denomination of Judaism does on Shabbat. If you can't, keep reading...

1) Haredi ("Hasidi", "Chabad") Judaism (including Kabbalah)—will not work on Shabbat. "Work" certainly includes even writing, and may even include walking for the extremely-haredi Jew. For the Jew who does not even walk on Shabbat, he or she may sit in his or her home and privately worship (He or she would certainly not walk to shul.). If he or she has any light on in his or her dwelling, the light will come only from the Shabbat candles, as "work" includes turning on a light switch!
2) Orthodox Judaism—will not work on Shabbat. "Work" may include even writing for the more-Orthodox Jew (as opposed to the Modern Orthodox Jew, depending on what he or she is writing). He or she will usually walk to shul, and drive only if tikun ha'olam v'piku'ach nefesh (e.g., getting a disabled family member to shul) requires him or her to do so (He or she may hire a shabbos goy to drive the family member, however.). If he or she has any light on in his or her dwelling, the light will come only from the Shabbat candles, as "work" includes turning on a light switch!
3) Conservadox Judaism—will mix Conservative and Orthodox practices.
4) Reformodox Judaism—will mix Reform and Orthodox practices. 
5) Conservative (Masorti) Judaism—may or may not work on Shabbat, depending on whether he or she leans toward being Orthodox or Reform. "Work" may include even writing for the more-Orthodox Conservative Jew (as opposed to the more-Modern-Orthodox Jew, depending on what he or she is writing). He or she will usually walk to shul, and drive only if tikun ha'olam v'piku'ach nefesh (e.g., getting a disabled family member to shul) requires him or her to do so (He or she may hire a shabbos goy to drive the family member, however.). If he or she has any light on in his or her dwelling, the light may come only from the Shabbat candles, as "work" may include turning on a light switch! 
6) Reform (Liberal, "Progressive") Judaism—may or may not work on Shabbat, depending on whether he or she leans toward being more traditional or more liberal. "Work" may include even writing for the more-Orthodox Reform Jew (as opposed to the less-Orthodox Reform Jew, depending on what he or she is writing). He or she will usually drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all.  He or she will also likely turn on light switches.
7) Reconstructionist Judaism—may or may not work on Shabbat, depending on whether he or she leans toward being more traditional or more liberal. He or she will write, usually drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all—, and likely turn on light switches. 
8) Renewal Judaism or Alternative Judaism—may or may not work on Shabbat, depending on whether he or she leans toward being more traditional or more liberal. He or she will write, drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all—, and turn on light switches.  
9) Humanistic Judaism—would not be opposed to working on Shabbat. He or she will write, drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all—, and turn on light switches.  
10) Atheistic Judaism—would not be opposed to working on Shabbat. He or she will write, drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all—, and turn on light switches. 


Karaite Judaism and Messianic (Christian) Judaism, meanwhile, accept few to no Orthodox practices as authoritative. Karaite and Messianic Jews, therefore, usually work on Shabbat except for in the ways which are prohibited by TaNaKh—for Messianics, TaNaKH ("H" stands for "[B'rit] Hadashah", or "New [Covenant] [or "New Testament"]"). Both Karaites and Messianics usually write, drive to shul, and turn on light switches.

Having To Return To Basics For a Minute: Who the Heck Are Messianic Jews, And Are They Really Jews?

Messianic Jews are Ethnic Jews who believe in Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah. Unlike Divorah and Adamlance (who are clearly Anti Messianic/"Anti Missionary"/"Counter Missionary") state here, Messianic Jews are Jews by birth but follow the Christian religion. Also, Messianic gentiles who call themselves "Messianic Jews" are gerim tzdukim (lit. "righteous strangers", converts, spiritual Jews) but not Ethnic Jews in any way, shape, form, fashion, circumstance, manner, or fashion (Granted that some "gentiles" may be Jewish and/or of Jewish descent and not know that they are such, but that is another discussion).

Christianity (Messianism) was originally a Jewish sect that did not part too much with traditional/mainstream/P'rushi/Pharisaical Judaism--as Pharisees were the dominant sectarians with Judaism, with Tzdukim (Zadokians, lit. "Righteous Ones"; Sadducees) being the second-most-dominant sectarians (See Ezekiel 44:15-16 and 48:11, for example). Nonetheless, there were Anti Messianics among the Non Messianic groups who even still--albeit begrudgingly--considered their Messianic counterparts as Jewish--albeit "minim" ("heretics"), "koferim" ("apostates"), and "meshumadim" ("baptized apostates").

However, when the Temple fell in 70 AD, the break between Non-Messianic (mainly P'rushi/Talmudic) and Messianic Jewish seemed final and irreparable.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Discuss:What_do_Messianic_Jews_believe_in#ixzz2fe88dM55
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Discuss:What_do_Messianic_Jews_believe_in#ixzz2fe88dM55

By the way, Adamlance is in an actively-homosexual relationship, which is forbidden in Tanakh (specifically, Torah).That he "live[s] in Las Vegas with [his] husband of 16 years" may explain why, in the words of Gamali'el, he is "fight[ing] against God".

"What's the difference between Jews, Christians, and Catholics?"

I can sadly and unfortunately tell you that a majority of Jews actually do not believe in Jesus (Hebrew, "ישוע", "Yeshua"). In fact, Jews like me are often intraethnically persecuted (e.g., told that we're no longer Jewish or even that we're actually just gentiles posing as Jews in order to proselytize and destroy Jewish souls, thus attempting to finish the evil work of the Nazis). Also, I am quite sure that this answer may even be disliked and/or reported by Anti-Messianic Jews who will attempt to slanderously portray me as Anti Semitic.

However, many (if not most) Non-Messianic Jews are tolerant of Jesus-believing (Messianic) Jews (Jewish Christians), although they disagree with Messianic Jews on whether or not there is even a literal Messiah ("משיח", "Mashiach) and/or who Mashiach is. For example, Karaites and Orthodox Pharisees (and Ultra-Orthodox Pharisees) do believe in a literal, yet-to-come (or, in the case of Menachem Mendel Schneerson's followers, yet-to-be-resurrected) Mashiach. Conservative and Reform Pharisees generally do not believe in a literal Mashiach.

Some Non-Messianic Jews, and even some Messianic Jews, are Crypto Jews ("אנוסים", "Anusim"). Many direct paternal ancestors from the 1700s-1900s became or were born to such--in fact, my dad and his parents deny that we're Jewish because (long story short) dad's paternal granddad became an Anusi when he was a baby to survive the pogroms and escape Anti Semitism in better-than-nothing America, and my dad's Anusit maternal grandmother was partly responsible for the murder of her Non-Anusi relatives who died in the Holocaust (which, for Grandma, is pretty painful to recall--she was six to eight years of age when her mother denied Vilmos Rusznak, Zoli Grinfeld, and other cousins [z'l] financial help to leave Europe and make aliyah ["עליה"]. In fact, she once snapped at my mom, "You keep your money in your own country." when Mom unknowingly and unintentionally opened that painful and reminding wound that Great-Grandma left in her daughter's soul.).

Most Anusim were or (as are my grandparents) are Roman or Byzantine Vaticanists ("Catholics", "universalists")--partly because they're in dread of the Vatican, which attempted to supersede Mount Zion with Vatican Hill because of replacementism. Some Anusim (e.g., Issac D'Israeli and Heinrich Marx) were or are Lutheran, Anglican, or affiliated with other denominations that broke away from Vaticanism. Very few Anusim are affiliated with Anabaptist or other Non-Vaticanist denominations (Even my dad, who goes to a Southern Baptist church, goes to a Southern Baptist church only because his wife is a Southern Baptist. If he were not an Anusi, he'd be a Reform Jew.).

As for Vaticanists, be sadly assured that most are not Christians. Christians (including Jewish Christians) believe in the inerrancy and infallibility of the Christian/Completed Jewish Bible (Old and New Covenants/Testaments). Vaticanists generally do not, as they tend to either believe what the Vatican says about it (as opposed to what it says for itself) or the "Documentary Hypothesis" (e.g., Non-Messianic Jews--excepting Karaites, Orthodox Pharisees, and Ultra-Orthodox Pharisees--and Vaticanists alike would agree with the words of Reform Pharisee clergywoman Amy Scheinerman--i.e., "Some institutions are considered to be a product of the cultural milieu and societal norms of the ancient Near East when the Hebrew Scriptures [i.e., the Old Covenant] were written down, and do not speak to our lives today.")

Hopefully, this clears up any confusion and specifies differences as well as similarities for you.

I Know What Anti Messianics and Self-Hating Jews Want--And It's Not Pretty!

Here's an example from "Slippery Sack"--who, if he is even a real Jew himself, surely doesn't act like one, anyway (Having treif pictures on your YouTube channel does not indicate taking your Jewishness seriously, for example.):

•  
  Slippery Sack 1 hour ago

  Nicole, You may not be Jewish at all, your family tree seems unconvincing, I am a real Jew, for example my family tree can be traced back to Abraham in an unbroken chain. Nicole it's OK if you are a Goyim. You seem to be trying to hard to be Jewish and quite frankly I'm not convinced.

   · 
•  
  Nicole Czarnecki 24 minutes ago

  Not every Jew--especially many bnei-Anusim--have the luxury that you have. In fact, out of all people, Tracey R. Rich states that "So we see that Jewish genealogy is not as impossible as we might think. But it's not easy either. You are not likely to simply log onto Ancestry (or even JewishGen) and find a comprehensive tree listing your family back 300 years, as some gentiles do." She'd love for bnei-Anusim and Messianics like me to not identify as Jews.

   ·  in reply to Slippery Sack (Show the comment)
•  
  Nicole Czarnecki 18 minutes ago

  Also, see "Claim: All Jewish genealogical records lost in 70CE". And we know that after the Galut b'Bavel ended, some could not trace their genealogy. "These sought their register, that is, the genealogy, but it was not found; therefore were they deemed polluted and put from the priesthood. 63 And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim." (Ezra 2:62-63, cf. Nehemiah 7:64-65).

   ·  in reply to Slippery Sack (Show the comment)
•  
  Nicole Czarnecki 13 minutes ago

  Also, not every genealogy of everyone is listed in Tanakh or Brit Chadashah. Therefore, your logic would assume that they didn't even exist, let alone be Jewish if they were Jews. Besides, many Messianic Jews took "But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies..." (Titus 3:9) out of context. After all, Yeshua had His genealogy recorded. Paul noted being a Binyamini. The context is in line with "For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?" (1 Corinthians 3:4)

   ·  in reply to Slippery Sack (Show the comment)
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  Nicole Czarnecki 6 minutes ago

  As John Gill commented, "and genealogies; of their elders, Rabbins, and doctors, by whom their traditions are handed down from one to another, in fixing which they greatly laboured; see ( 1 Timothy 1:4 )". Do we not see that now? e.g., "I am of Calvin--that is, a Calvinist." "I am a Lutheran." But what does Scripture say? "Be... of one mind...." (See 2 Corinthians 13:11) G-d doesn't contradict or change. Messianics, too, will have to consult our genealogies when the Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt.

   ·  in reply to Slippery Sack (Show the comment)

I even emphasized what Anti Messianics and Self-Hating Jews want, in case you did not feel like reading carefully and thinking for yourself. 

Why Does Jewishness Matter?

If we Jews don't embrace our Jewish heritage and bless Israel, why should gentiles? If Israel doesn't help Israel, why should the nations? Besides, you know when we really give Hitler, Stalin, and other Anti Semites posthumous victories? When we:

1. Don't care about our Jewishness.
2. Deny our Jewishness.
3. Refuse to stick together as klal-Yisra'el and help each other as ha'am v'hamispacha-Yisra'el.

The Anti Semites want us to drop our Jewishness or otherwise not care about it. Also, what does G-d say about denying or otherwise not caring about our Jewishness? Hint: it's not pretty. For example:

1. "At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves; and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped; they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth. And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue that remain of this evil family, that remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts. {S} Moreover thou shalt say unto them: Thus saith the LORD: do men fall, and not rise up again? Doth one turn away, and not return? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. I attended and listened, but they spoke not aright; no man repenteth him of his wickedness, saying: 'What have I done?' Every one turneth away in his course, as a horse that rusheth headlong in the battle. "
2. "Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying: Thus saith the LORD: After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem, 10 even this evil people, that refuse to hear My words, that walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and are gone after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, that it be as this girdle, which is profitable for nothing. {S}  For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto Me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD, that they might be unto Me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory; but they would not hearken."

Therefore, excuses such as "I'm not Jewish; I'm Catholic! and "I don't care if we're Jewish--or if we were" don't hold validity--especially when evidence after evidence shows that one is Jewish, and especially when records on Mormon websites have been reindexed as Jewish. Besides, given that people have complained about how the Mormon Church often tried to change Jewish records into gentile records, records of people do not appear in Jewish collections for no reason--even if the records appear as gentile as a gentile's record could get. I even remember one specific complaint about how the Mormons tried to change Jewish "Steins" and other Jews into Germans and Russians (If only I could find that complaint!).

Besides, what did Yeshua say to gentiles through Paul? "You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in Hisgoodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?"

By the way, that I'm a bat-Anusim whose families (e.g., many of the Foczkos/Fockos/Foskos) deny that we're Jewish drives much of my commentary work--I want to comment on my own situation to help other bnei- v'banot-Anusim who are in the same position that I am (that is, having found out that they are Jewish and having their own Jewish family persecute them for acknowledging what they found out and embracing their heritage) and who are in the position that I was in (that is, being lied to about who they are and otherwise not knowing that they are Jewish). 

Besides, as a website regarding Canavan's disease opined, "Jewish family heritage, not religious practice, is the risk factor for inherited genetic disease. It is quite possible that an individual who does not identify as Jewish in a religious sense is Jewish in terms of genetic heritage. What's important is the geographic and religious identification of parents and grandparents, not synagogue membership."

For Anusim v'bnei-Anusim, though, we don't have the luxury of our parents and grandparents identifying as Jewish. Sometimes, we have to go as far as back as great-great-grandparents or even further back. Besides, G-d did say, "And they shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations for an offering unto the LORD, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. And of them also will I take for the priests and for the Levites, saith the LORD." 

Sometimes, that's all that we have--at least this kid who heard "Charnetski" and typed in "JewsForJesus.com" (or something like that) for (what I thought was) a joke did--and again, that I'm a bat-Anusim whose families (e.g., many of the Foczkos/Fockos/Foskos) deny that we're Jewish drives much of my commentary work--I want to comment on my own situation to help other bnei- v'banot-Anusim who are in the same position that I am (that is, having found out that they are Jewish and having their own Jewish family persecute them for acknowledging what they found out and embracing their heritage) and who are in the position that I was in (that is, being lied to about who they are and otherwise not knowing that they are Jewish). 

In conclusion, Jewishness matters--for G-d, family, and tikun-ha'olam--and one does not have the "luxury" to futz around when he or she finds out that he or she is part of ha'am v'hamishpacha-Yisra'el. Besides, the consequences of futzing around are not pretty.