Did the Jewish religion come first, or did Jewish ethnicities?

But the Jewish people have always had internal distinctions, and over the years have developed diverse ethnic and religious identities. ... Levites receive the second aliyah during Torah reading, and are exempt from redeeming their first-born sons. Ethnicities: Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi Etc. read more

The other answers are interesting, but not really accurate. There are 2 different ways of answering this question - one biblical, one archaeological. Harmonizing them requires a 400 page book so I’ll just lay them both out briefly. read more

A Gentile, however, i.e., someone not born to a Jewish mother and who has not converted, might draw us away from Judaism. So race is not an issue at all. We, as Jews, have a purpose to fulfill on this earth. read more

The two largest ethnic groups of jews are the Ashkenazi and Sephardic jews. These jews are primarily European. Then there are Mizrahi jews who are primarily middle eastern, and Ethiopian jews who are primarily Ethiopian, and so on, yet all have genetic links to a common people. read more