Hail the return of Becca (MiriyaB)! I was afraid you had left the blogosphere for good.
I know it's sloppy, and not viable as halacha, but I hold that traditionally (i.e. until at least the late 19th century), who was Jew was defined in large measure by who chose to cast his or her lot with the Jewish community, whether or not that person formally converted and whether or not that person lived a fully halachically observant, somewhat observant, or only marginally observant life. I don't advocate giving aliyot to non-Jews who affiliate with the Jewish community, but I do think that synagogues and community organizations need to recognize that there is such a thing as sincere and abiding affiliation without conversion-- and to respect this choice. Those who have not been through the conversion process themselves may not realize quite how arduous it is. While I would dearly love to see more non-Jewish spouses of Jews formally convert, I also recognize that for some, there may be perfectly legitimate reasons to skip the formal conversion process or simply postpone it until a later, more settled stage of life.
I'm an observant egalitarian Conservative Jew with Reconstructionist leanings; I could see the Washington Monument from my back porch as a child; I moved to Kentucky when I was 15 and I can make a good pecan pie & a mean mint julep... My profile photo is from my Purim costume in '05; that's a wig I'm wearing, but not because I'm a Married Woman (which I am)...you shoulda seen what my husband was wearing (some of you have)!
1 comment:
Hail the return of Becca (MiriyaB)! I was afraid you had left the blogosphere for good.
I know it's sloppy, and not viable as halacha, but I hold that traditionally (i.e. until at least the late 19th century), who was Jew was defined in large measure by who chose to cast his or her lot with the Jewish community, whether or not that person formally converted and whether or not that person lived a fully halachically observant, somewhat observant, or only marginally observant life. I don't advocate giving aliyot to non-Jews who affiliate with the Jewish community, but I do think that synagogues and community organizations need to recognize that there is such a thing as sincere and abiding affiliation without conversion-- and to respect this choice. Those who have not been through the conversion process themselves may not realize quite how arduous it is. While I would dearly love to see more non-Jewish spouses of Jews formally convert, I also recognize that for some, there may be perfectly legitimate reasons to skip the formal conversion process or simply postpone it until a later, more settled stage of life.
Darcy
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