Wrocławski Przegląd Teologiczny, 2008, R. 16, Nr 2

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Tożsamość żydowska św. Edyty Stein
Raganiewicz, Magdalena (Papieski Wydział Teologiczny we Wrocławiu, 2008)
The religious identity of Edith Stein is an interesting but quite a complex problem. Bom in a Jewish family, at the age of 14 she suddenly declares herself as an atheist. To explain her spiritual identity ans especially find the answer to an attention-grabbing question: who, in spiritual terms, was Edith Stein, we needed to examine each stage of her life and see how her spirituality changed throughout her lifetime. We tried to establish whether Edith Stein could be recognised as a lawful Jew. We examined the criteria which must be fulfilled to be a legal Jew. We discovered that the first and the most important factor is the biological origin. It turned out that it is enough to have a Jewish mother to be acknowledged as a legal Jew. The Jewish faith is not required, although it is the second condition which counts in recognising Jewish identity. The third criterion is the cultural bond with Jewish community. The analysis of these three criteria proved that Edith Stein can be undoubtedly regarded as a lawful Jew. She had a Jewish mother, followed Jewish religious principles and felt a strong connection with a Jewish community. The fact that she stopped praying and lost interest in Jewish religion did not influenced her Jewish identity. She still perceived herself as a Jew and was distinguished as one by others.