if not a religion?

One could argue that Judaism is a way of life, but that could be said for any religion. Some could say that Judaism is a culture, but that would be a misnomer.

The "culture" that people call Judaism in America is actually an Eastern European, mostly peasant, culture that the Jews who predominantly immigrated to the U.S. lived for several centuries before coming here. You can also now find a largely German influence in the American Jewish community thanks to the large influx of Jews from Germanic areas due to the Holocaust.

The foods we eat, and even the language we speak, are rooted in our more recent ancestry. Foods like kneidelach (dumplings), borscht, and kishka (beef and barley stuffed into intestines. think of it as Jewish haggis) come from our western roots.

Most people know Yiddish as the "Jewish" language. More accurately, it is a European Jewish language. If you listen to spoken Yiddish, you will note similarities to German, and to a lesser extent, Russian. Yiddish is to us what Swahili is/was to traders in Africa. It is a common language we can use to communicate with each other no matter where we are. It is now a part of the American lexicon.

Many words we take for granted are of Yiddish derivation. Ever go shopping for chachkies? Yiddish. Ever say "yada yada yada?" Yiddish. Ever refer to someone as a mavin? Yiddish. My personal favorite is when non-Jews refer to themselves as goys. One, I laugh because goy started as a bit of a derisive term, though it really isn't anymore and two, the plural of goy is goyim, not goys. ;-)

What I have always found remarkable about Judaism is how it has remained fairly faithful to itself over the centuries. Yes, there have been subtle changes based on the writings of such tzadikim (wise men) as Rabbi Yehuda (In English, Judas, for those who missed it in the movie. Interestingly enough, it is one of the most common Jewish names out there.), Rabbi Akiva, and many more scholars of Torah, but Judaism has been a constant.

A couple decades ago, Ethiopian Jews were "found." Due to persecution, American Jews worked to help almost all of them immigrate to the U.S. and we brought them into our communities. What we found was that their religious practices were the same as ours. Religiously, the difference between an eastern Jew and a western Jew are practically nil.

You will find that when we define ourselves, we do so geographically. Ashkenazis, which are the Jews most common in America, are defined as being from Eastern Europe. Sephardic Jews are those from the east and Spanish speaking countries. Israel is undergoing its own cultural shift these days because Israeli-born Jews have always been Sephardic, but since many European Jews emigrated to Israel in the years after the holocaust there has been a paradigm shift in culture.

Regardless of popular belief, Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews do intermingle and accept each other. The differences are predominantly cultural, but we are all tied by religion.

Personally, I come from both Ashenazi and Sephardic roots. My family is from Israel, Poland (and Germany, depending on what century you want to look at map borders), Romania, and interestingly enough, Scotland. Ever see a Jew in a kilt? :-D

My synagogue is mostly Askenazi, but we are also a group that has worked hard to help other Jews find homes in America. In the 60's, 70's, and 80's, I am proud to say my synagogue helped Russian Jews immigrate to America. In the 90's, they helped Ethiopian Jews immigrate. As a result, you can walk into the synagogue in which I was raised and see wonderful diversity in Judaism. White, black, and Hispanic worship side-by-side the
G-d of Abraham and I have "aunts" and "uncles" from all over the world.