Agreed, from an orthodox Jew.

Um. When I was little, my family was not religious at all. After I went to Hebrew school and an orthodox Jewish day camp, my life changed. Though I did not know much or keep much, being in that environment showed me how nice it is to embrace my faith and follow the Torah. Half a life later, I am finishing yeshiva with much more knowledge I started with. When I was in camp, I told my friend Yael I didn't like tasting shrimp. What did I know?

Does that mean an active Christian, following all the rules and believing everything in the bible, who just so happens to work Wednesdays and Sundays and can't make it to church is going to hell? I don't believe in order to be a part of a certain religion, you have to follow every single rule by the books. Not eating certain foods I doubt will get you on "God's" bad side. Just seems silly to bash the OP for something like that. I respect traditions as I'm sure the OP's family does, but just because they don't abide by all of them doesn't make the family bad Jews.

You're asking a misleading question. The origins of race come from regions, by definition. Languages also come from regions, so therefore the language origins correspond closely with race. We're talking origins, here. Also -- Certain surnames in the US have been deliberately re-assigned... By either the white slave owners (which explains some of the common African-American surnames that are CLEARLY not from African origins), or by immigration officials. There are also common surnames in the US that get assigned to a specific group, which are more indicative of the country of origin, as opposed to the group, itself... This is VERY common among German Jews, who in the US have what are thought of as "Jewish" surnames, as opposed to simply German names -- Due to the high influx of German Jews in post WWII.

Ward and Cooper are both Anglo names. You may find some other races that now have these names, and others, through intermarriage and other means, but they are names that are European (White) in origin and pertained entirely to the culture. (The surname Cooper was originally an occupation, and was chosen, when the Europeans chose surnames, by those in that profession.) Just as you will find Irish surnames that are not just part of the language (Celtic) but also uniquely part of the culture. There are surnames for every race that are part of the culture, not just of the language. (If you want further proof, check out sites that translate Asian names. Those aren't just Asian for Hanson and Ward and Cooper. They have a literal meaning in the language that is unique to the culture.)

Thank you for proving that surnames are related to language, which is not inherent to races. :D

Oh, that totally makes sense. Thanks for educating me! :-)

Um, no. That theory (specifically that most Jews are descended from the Khazars, many of whom converted to Judaism in the 8th or 9th century) has been adequately debunked by genetic tests which show that most Jews are genetically linked most closely to other natives of the Middle East, especially the Arabs of Jordan, Syria and, yes, the Palestinians. Interestingly enough, there is considerable evidence that many Palestinian Arabs are of Jewish descent - at least, many of them have family traditions that closely resemble Jewish practices and are at odds with Muslim practices.

When God sent Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt into the land promised to Abraham, He instructed them to kill everyone who was already there. They didn't. Instead they married their Jewish sons and daughters to natives in the land and adopted their gods, superstitions and traditions as their own. Had they obeyed God, I doubt that there would be any similarities between Jewish people and their neighbors. I'm not saying I wish they had... that would make people angry... I'm just presenting it as an interesting fact.

Teehee! I am going to camp in ten days too! *eyes suspiciously* *plays twilight zone music* Creepy.