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The Talmud says:

כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה – All Jews are responsible for one another. [Shevuot 39a, Sanh. 27b]

In order to help other Jews, we must first find out where they are. It is likely that the vast majority of halachic Jews today have no idea they are Jewish. A single Jewish woman who was forced to convert out a thousand years ago could have thousands of matrilineal descendents today, all halachically Jewish, all ignorant of that fact.

Do we have an obligation to conduct genealogical research to find out who is Jewish, inform them of the fact and instruct them? If not, why not? Isn't it a logical implication of the Talmudic phrase?

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  • This post is brimming with brilliant ideas.
    – user18041
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 21:31
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    What will telling them accomplish? What if they're not interested? Do you tell non religious people who you know they're Jewish that they have to keep mitzvos?
    – robev
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 21:36
  • Never mind what it might accomplish. Are we obligated or not? If we know someone is Jewish, we are definitely obligated: "תּוֹכִ֙יחַ֙ אֶת־עֲמִיתֶ֔ךָ וְלֹא־תִשָּׂ֥א עָלָ֖יו חֵֽטְא׃ Rebuke your kinsman and incur no guilt because of him." [Lev. 19:17]
    – Maurice Mizrahi
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 21:47
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    Keep reading in that Gemara. You're only responsible for your fellow Jews' actions if you had the ability to stop them and don't.
    – DonielF
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 22:01
  • We are not 'definitely obligated'. See my answer to this question: judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/102026/…
    – Jay
    Commented Jul 15, 2020 at 22:09

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