romikgosai/squad_modified huggingface dataset:
Culturally, an Ashkenazi Jew can be identified by the concept of Yiddishkeit, which means "Jewishness" in the Yiddish language. Yiddishkeit is specifically the Jewishness of Ashkenazi Jews. Before the Haskalah and the emancipation of Jews in Europe, this meant the study of Torah and Talmud for men, and a family and communal life governed by the observance of Jewish Law for men and women. From the Rhineland to Riga to Romania, most Jews prayed in liturgical Ashkenazi Hebrew, and spoke Yiddish in their secular lives. But with modernization, Yiddishkeit now encompasses not just Orthodoxy and Hasidism, but a broad range of movements, ideologies, practices, and traditions in which Ashkenazi Jews have participated and somehow retained a sense of Jewishness. Although a far smaller number of Jews still speak Yiddish, Yiddishkeit can be identified in manners of speech, in styles of humor, in patterns of association. Broadly speaking, a Jew is one who associates culturally with Jews, supports Jewish institutions, reads Jewish books and periodicals, attends Jewish movies and theater, travels to Israel, visits historical synagogues, and so forth. It is a definition that applies to Jewish culture in general, and to Ashkenazi Yiddishkeit in particular.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Culturally, an Ashkenazi Jew can be identified by what concept?
A: Yiddishkeit', '
Q: Is there a larger or smaller number of Jews that speak Yiddish today than in the past?
A: a far smaller number of Jews still speak Yiddish', '
Q: What does Yiddishkeit mean in the Yiddish language?
A: "Jewishness"', '
Q: In the past most Jews prayed in what language?
A: liturgical Ashkenazi Hebrew', '
Q: In the past, while most Jews prayed in one language, they used which other language in their secular lives?
A: Yiddish']
In an ethnic sense, an Ashkenazi Jew is one whose ancestry can be traced to the Jews who settled in Central Europe. For roughly a thousand years, the Ashkenazim were a reproductively isolated population in Europe, despite living in many countries, with little inflow or outflow from migration, conversion, or intermarriage with other groups, including other Jews. Human geneticists have argued that genetic variations have been identified that show high frequencies among Ashkenazi Jews, but not in the general European population, be they for patrilineal markers (Y-chromosome haplotypes) and for matrilineal markers (mitotypes). However, a 2013 study of Ashkenazi mitochondrial DNA, from the University of Huddersfield in England, suggests that at least 80 percent of the Ashkenazi maternal lineages derive from the assimilation of mtDNAs indigenous to Europe, probably as a consequence of conversion. Since the middle of the 20th century, many Ashkenazi Jews have intermarried, both with members of other Jewish communities and with people of other nations and faiths.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: For what period of time were the Ashkenazim a reproductively isolated population in Europe?
A: For roughly a thousand years', '
Q: A 2013 study of Ashkenazi mitochondrial DNA was conducted by what university?
A: University of Huddersfield in England', '
Q: In an ethnic sense, Ashkenazi Jews can trace their ancestry to Jews who settled where?
A: Central Europe', '
Q: In the last 50-60 years, have more or less Ashkenazi Jews intermarried with people outside of their community?
A: many Ashkenazi Jews have intermarried, both with members of other Jewish communities and with people of other nations and faiths', '
Q: Human geneticists argue that genetic variations have been identified that show high or low frequencies among Ashkenazi Jews?
A: high frequencies']
Relations between Ashkenazim and Sephardim have not always been warm. North African Sepharadim and Berber Jews were often looked upon by Ashkenazim as second-class citizens during the first decade after the creation of Israel. This has led to protest movements such as the Israeli Black Panthers led by Saadia Marciano a Moroccan Jew. Nowadays, relations are getting better. In some instances, Ashkenazi communities have accepted significant numbers of Sephardi newcomers, sometimes resulting in intermarriage.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: In the past have relations between Ashkenazim and Sephardim tended to be warm or cold?
A: have not always been warm', '
Q: What did Saadia Marciano do with the Israeli Black Panthers?
A: led to protest movements', '
Q: How did the Ashkenazim view north African Sepharadim and Berber Jews?
A: as second-class citizens', '
Q: Who led the Israeli Black Panthers?
A: Saadia Marciano', '
Q: Where was Saadia Marciano from?
A: Moroccan Jew']
A 2010 study by Bray et al., using SNP microarray techniques and linkage analysis found that when assuming Druze and Palestinian Arab populations to represent the reference to world Jewry ancestor genome, between 35 to 55 percent of the modern Ashkenazi genome can possibly be of European origin, and that European "admixture is considerably higher than previous estimates by studies that used the Y chromosome" with this reference point. Assuming this reference point the linkage disequilibrium in the Ashkenazi Jewish population was interpreted as "matches signs of interbreeding or 'admixture' between Middle Eastern and European populations". On the Bray et al. tree, Ashkenazi Jews were found to be a genetically more divergent population than Russians, Orcadians, French, Basques, Italians, Sardinians and Tuscans. The study also observed that Ashkenazim are more diverse than their Middle Eastern relatives, which was counterintuitive because Ashkenazim are supposed to be a subset, not a superset, of their assumed geographical source population. Bray et al. therefore postulate that these results reflect not the population antiquity but a history of mixing between genetically distinct populations in Europe. However, it's possible that the relaxation of marriage prescription in the ancestors of Ashkenazim that drove their heterozygosity up, while the maintenance of the FBD rule in native Middle Easterners have been keeping their heterozygosity values in check. Ashkenazim distinctiveness as found in the Bray et al. study, therefore, may come from their ethnic endogamy (ethnic inbreeding), which allowed them to "mine" their ancestral gene pool in the context of relative reproductive isolation from European neighbors, and not from clan endogamy (clan inbreeding). Consequently, their higher diversity compared to Middle Easterners stems from the latter's marriage practices, not necessarily from the former's admixture with Europeans.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What percentage of the modern Ashkenazi genome could possibly be of European origin?
A: 35 to 55 percent', '
Q: Is the percentage of admixture in the modern Ashkenazi genome higher or lower than previously thought?
A: admixture is considerably higher', '
Q: Were Ashkenazi Jews found to be a more or less genetically divergent population than Russians, Orcadians, French, and Basques?
A: a genetically more divergent population', '
Q: In one study it was found that the Ashkenazim were more or less diverse than their Middle Eastern relatives?
A: more diverse', '
Q: Were the Ashkenazim thought to be a subset or superset of their assumed geographical source population?
A: Ashkenazim are supposed to be a subset, not a superset']
Genetic studies on Ashkenazim have been conducted to determine how much of their ancestry comes from the Levant, and how much derives from European populations. These studies—researching both their paternal and maternal lineages—point to a significant prevalence of ancient Levantine origins. But they have arrived at diverging conclusions regarding both the degree and the sources of their European ancestry. These diverging conclusions focus particularly on the extent of the European genetic origin observed in Ashkenazi maternal lineages.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Genetic studies on Ashkenazim have found a significant prevalence of what type of origins?
A: ancient Levantine origins', '
Q: Have studies on the genetics of the Ashkenazim come to similar or divergent conclusions regarding the degree and sources of their European ancestry?
A: they have arrived at diverging conclusions', '
Q: Have these studies on Ashkenazim genetics researched their paternal lineages, maternal lineages, or both?
A: researching both their paternal and maternal lineages', '
Q: Genetic studies on the Ashkenazim have tried to determine how much of their ancestry is derived from European populations and from where?
A: the Levant']
Sometime in the early medieval period, the Jews of central and eastern Europe came to be called by this term. In conformity with the custom of designating areas of Jewish settlement with biblical names, Spain was denominated Sefarad (Obadiah 20), France was called Tsarefat (1 Kings 17:9), and Bohemia was called the Land of Canaan. By the high medieval period, Talmudic commentators like Rashi began to use Ashkenaz/Eretz Ashkenaz to designate Germany, earlier known as Loter, where, especially in the Rhineland communities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz, the most important Jewish communities arose. Rashi uses leshon Ashkenaz (Ashkenazi language) to describe German speech, and Byzantium and Syrian Jewish letters referred to the Crusaders as Ashkenazim. Given the close links between the Jewish communities of France and Germany following the Carolingian unification, the term Ashkenazi came to refer to both the Jews of medieval Germany and France.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: The custom of designating areas of Jewish settlement with biblical names meant that Spain was referred to as what?
A: Sefarad', '
Q: The custom of designating areas of Jewish settlement with biblical names meant that France was called?
A: Tsarefat', '
Q: The reference to France as Tsarefat was taken from which biblical passage?
A: 1 Kings 17:9', '
Q: How did Byzantium and Syrian Jewish letters refer to the Crusaders?
A: as Ashkenazim', '
Q: Following the Carolingian unification, the term Ashkenazi came to refer to the Jews of what two places?
A: medieval Germany and France']
Charlemagne's expansion of the Frankish empire around 800, including northern Italy and Rome, brought on a brief period of stability and unity in Francia. This created opportunities for Jewish merchants to settle again north of the Alps. Charlemagne granted the Jews freedoms similar to those once enjoyed under the Roman Empire. In addition, Jews from southern Italy, fleeing religious persecution, began to move into central Europe.[citation needed] Returning to Frankish lands, many Jewish merchants took up occupations in finance and commerce, including money lending, or usury. (Church legislation banned Christians from lending money in exchange for interest.) From Charlemagne's time to the present, Jewish life in northern Europe is well documented. By the 11th century, when Rashi of Troyes wrote his commentaries, Jews in what came to be known as "Ashkenaz" were known for their halakhic learning, and Talmudic studies. They were criticized by Sephardim and other Jewish scholars in Islamic lands for their lack of expertise in Jewish jurisprudence (dinim) and general ignorance of Hebrew linguistics and literature. Yiddish emerged as a result of language contact with various High German vernaculars in the medieval period. It was written with Hebrew letters, and heavily influenced by Hebrew and Aramaic.

Questions and answers:
["
Q: Did Charlemagne's expansion of the Frankish empire bring about a brief period of upheaval or stability in Francia?
A: a brief period of stability", "
Q: Charlemagne's expansion of the Frankish empire created opportunities for Jewish merchants to settle where?
A: north of the Alps", '
Q: Charlemagne granted the Jews freedoms similar to those enjoyed under which previous empire?
A: Roman Empire', '
Q: When Jews began to return to Frankish lands many took up occupations in which two fields?
A: finance and commerce', '
Q: Which language emerged as a result of language contact with various High German vernaculars during the medieval period?
A: Yiddish']
The answer to why there was so little assimilation of Jews in central and eastern Europe for so long would seem to lie in part in the probability that the alien surroundings in central and eastern Europe were not conducive, though contempt did not prevent some assimilation. Furthermore, Jews lived almost exclusively in shtetls, maintained a strong system of education for males, heeded rabbinic leadership, and scorned the life-style of their neighbors; and all of these tendencies increased with every outbreak of antisemitism.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: The lack of assimilation of Jews in central and eastern Europe lies in part to the fact that they lived almost exclusively in what?
A: shtetls', '
Q: A lack of assimilation of Jews in central and eastern Europe is also attributed to males taking part in what type of system?
A: a strong system of education', '
Q: In central and eastern Europe it is thought that Jewish scorn for the life-style of their neighbors increased due to what?
A: increased with every outbreak of antisemitism', '
Q: Besides living in shtetls, maintaining a strong system of education for males, and scorning the life-style of their neighbors, Jews in central and eastern Europe also did what?
A: heeded rabbinic leadership']
According to 16th-century mystic Rabbi Elijah of Chelm, Ashkenazi Jews lived in Jerusalem during the 11th century. The story is told that a German-speaking Palestinian Jew saved the life of a young German man surnamed Dolberger. So when the knights of the First Crusade came to siege Jerusalem, one of Dolberger's family members who was among them rescued Jews in Palestine and carried them back to Worms to repay the favor. Further evidence of German communities in the holy city comes in the form of halakhic questions sent from Germany to Jerusalem during the second half of the 11th century.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Who noted that Ashkenazi Jews lived in Jerusalem during the 11th century?
A: Rabbi Elijah of Chelm', '
Q: Another piece of evidence of German communities in the holy city in the second half of the 11th century is due to what items being sent from Germany to Jerusalem?
A: halakhic questions', '
Q: Mystic Rabbi Elijah of Chelm is from what century?
A: 16th-century', "
Q: In the story told by mystic Rabbi Elijah of Chelm, one of the German's family members rescued Jews in Palestine and carried them back to where in order to repay a previous favor?
A: Worms"]
Of the estimated 8.8 million Jews living in Europe at the beginning of World War II, the majority of whom were Ashkenazi, about 6 million – more than two-thirds – were systematically murdered in the Holocaust. These included 3 million of 3.3 million Polish Jews (91%); 900,000 of 1.5 million in Ukraine (60%); and 50–90% of the Jews of other Slavic nations, Germany, Hungary, and the Baltic states, and over 25% of the Jews in France. Sephardi communities suffered similar depletions in a few countries, including Greece, the Netherlands and the former Yugoslavia. As the large majority of the victims were Ashkenazi Jews, their percentage dropped from nearly 92% of world Jewry in 1931 to nearly 80% of world Jewry today. The Holocaust also effectively put an end to the dynamic development of the Yiddish language in the previous decades, as the vast majority of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, around 5 million, were Yiddish speakers. Many of the surviving Ashkenazi Jews emigrated to countries such as Israel, Canada, Argentina, Australia, and the United States after the war.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: At the beginning of World War II, about how many Jews lived in Europe?
A: 8.8 million', '
Q: Of the large number of Jews living in Europe at the beginning of World War II, about how many were Ashkenazi?
A: about 6 million', '
Q: What percentage of Polish Jews were killed during the Holocaust?
A: 91%', '
Q: The percentage of Ashkenazi Jews went from being close to 92% of all Jews in the world in 1931 prior to WWII to what percentage today?
A: nearly 80%', '
Q: The vast majority of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust spoke which language?
A: Yiddish']
Religious Jews have Minhagim, customs, in addition to Halakha, or religious law, and different interpretations of law. Different groups of religious Jews in different geographic areas historically adopted different customs and interpretations. On certain issues, Orthodox Jews are required to follow the customs of their ancestors, and do not believe they have the option of picking and choosing. For this reason, observant Jews at times find it important for religious reasons to ascertain who their household's religious ancestors are in order to know what customs their household should follow. These times include, for example, when two Jews of different ethnic background marry, when a non-Jew converts to Judaism and determines what customs to follow for the first time, or when a lapsed or less observant Jew returns to traditional Judaism and must determine what was done in his or her family's past. In this sense, "Ashkenazic" refers both to a family ancestry and to a body of customs binding on Jews of that ancestry. Reform Judaism, which does not necessarily follow those minhagim, did nonetheless originate among Ashkenazi Jews.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: For religious Jews, what does Minhagim mean?
A: customs', '
Q: What type of Jew is required to follow the customs of their ancestors without the option of picking and choosing?
A: Orthodox Jews', '
Q: For religious Jews, what does Halakha mean?
A: religious law', '
Q: For religious Jews, "Ashkenazic" refers to what two things?
A: a family ancestry and to a body of customs binding on Jews of that ancestry', '
Q: Reform Judaism originated among what type of Jew?
A: Ashkenazi Jews']
As Ashkenazi Jews moved away from Europe, mostly in the form of aliyah to Israel, or immigration to North America, and other English-speaking areas; and Europe (particularly France) and Latin America, the geographic isolation that gave rise to Ashkenazim has given way to mixing with other cultures, and with non-Ashkenazi Jews who, similarly, are no longer isolated in distinct geographic locales. Hebrew has replaced Yiddish as the primary Jewish language for many Ashkenazi Jews, although many Hasidic and Hareidi groups continue to use Yiddish in daily life. (There are numerous Ashkenazi Jewish anglophones and Russian-speakers as well, although English and Russian are not originally Jewish languages.)

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Most of the Ashkenazi Jews moved away from Europe either immigrating to North America, or other English speaking areas but most to which place?
A: Israel', '
Q: For most Ashkenazi Jews, Yiddish was replaced with what language?
A: Hebrew', '
Q: What two groups continue to use Yiddish in daily life?
A: many Hasidic and Hareidi groups']
A 2006 study found Ashkenazi Jews to be a clear, homogeneous genetic subgroup. Strikingly, regardless of the place of origin, Ashkenazi Jews can be grouped in the same genetic cohort – that is, regardless of whether an Ashkenazi Jew's ancestors came from Poland, Russia, Hungary, Lithuania, or any other place with a historical Jewish population, they belong to the same ethnic group. The research demonstrates the endogamy of the Jewish population in Europe and lends further credence to the idea of Ashkenazi Jews as an ethnic group. Moreover, though intermarriage among Jews of Ashkenazi descent has become increasingly common, many Haredi Jews, particularly members of Hasidic or Hareidi sects, continue to marry exclusively fellow Ashkenazi Jews. This trend keeps Ashkenazi genes prevalent and also helps researchers further study the genes of Ashkenazi Jews with relative ease. It is noteworthy that these Haredi Jews often have extremely large families.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: A 2006 study found Ashkenazi Jews to be a what?
A: a clear, homogeneous genetic subgroup', '
Q: Ashkenazi Jews, regardless of their place of origin, belong to the same what?
A: ethnic group', '
Q: Members of which two Haredi Jewish sects continue to marry exclusively within the Ashkenazi Jewish population?
A: Hasidic or Hareidi sects', '
Q: Do Haredi Jews tend to have large or small families?
A: Haredi Jews often have extremely large families']
Ashkenazi Jews have a noted history of achievement in Western societies in the fields of exact and social sciences, literature, finance, politics, media, and others. In those societies where they have been free to enter any profession, they have a record of high occupational achievement, entering professions and fields of commerce where higher education is required. Ashkenazi Jews have won a large number of the Nobel awards. While they make up about 2% of the U.S. population, 27% of United States Nobel prize winners in the 20th century, a quarter of Fields Medal winners, 25% of ACM Turing Award winners, half the world's chess champions, including 8% of the top 100 world chess players, and a quarter of Westinghouse Science Talent Search winners have Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What percentage of the US population is comprised of Ashkenazi Jews?
A: 2%', '
Q: What percentage of the top 100 world chess players come from the Ashkenazi Jewish community?
A: 8%', '
Q: What percentage of Nobel award winners from the United States in the 20th century have been Ashkenazi Jews? 
A: 27%', '
Q: About how many Fields Medal winners have been Ashkenazi Jews?
A: a quarter', "
Q: About how many of the world's chess champions come from the Ashkenazi Jewish community?
A: half the world's chess champions"]
Although the Jewish people in general were present across a wide geographical area as described, genetic research done by Gil Atzmon of the Longevity Genes Project at Albert Einstein College of Medicine suggests "that Ashkenazim branched off from other Jews around the time of the destruction of the First Temple, 2,500 years ago ... flourished during the Roman Empire but then went through a 'severe bottleneck' as they dispersed, reducing a population of several million to just 400 families who left Northern Italy around the year 1000 for Central and eventually Eastern Europe."

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Researcher Gil Atzmon suggests that Ashkenazim branched off from other Jews around the time of what?
A: the destruction of the First Temple', '
Q: The destruction of the First Temple was how many years ago?
A: 2,500 years ago', '
Q: It is estimated that 400 families left Northern Italy around what year?
A: 1000', '
Q: Ashkenazi families that left Northern Italy went where?
A: Central and eventually Eastern Europe']
A 2001 study by Nebel et al. showed that both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish populations share the same overall paternal Near Eastern ancestries. In comparison with data available from other relevant populations in the region, Jews were found to be more closely related to groups in the north of the Fertile Crescent. The authors also report on Eu 19 (R1a) chromosomes, which are very frequent in Central and Eastern Europeans (54%–60%) at elevated frequency (12.7%) in Ashkenazi Jews. They hypothesized that the differences among Ashkenazim Jews could reflect low-level gene flow from surrounding European populations and/or genetic drift during isolation. A later 2005 study by Nebel et al., found a similar level of 11.5% of male Ashkenazim belonging to R1a1a (M17+), the dominant Y-chromosome haplogroup in Central and Eastern Europeans.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: A 2001 study by Nebel et al. showed that which two populations share the same overall paternal Near Eastern ancestries?
A: Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish populations', '
Q: Levels of the Eu 19 (R1a) chromosome are typically seen between what two percentages in Central and Eastern Europeans?
A: 54%–60%', '
Q: Levels of the Eu 19 (R1a) chromosome were seen in what percentage of the Ashkenazi Jewish population?
A: 12.7%', '
Q: The difference in percentages of the levels of Eu 19 (R1a) chromosomes between Central and Eastern Europeans and the Ashkenazi population would indicate what?
A: low-level gene flow from surrounding European populations and/or genetic drift during isolation']