Jewish Identity

Reform Judaism, what an uproar it can cause. I myself who grew up the Reform movement, I can appreciate what Reform Judaism has done for Judaism in general, but like I said in class today, I think that the URJ, formerly the UAHC, has been irresponsible in many places. They have failed to set any standards for the congregations that belong to the URJ. As we talked about in the class today, my mother never learned to speak Hebrew as part of her conversion process, but I spoke with a classmate who said that her mother learned to speak Hebrew as part of her conversion process. We also spoke about the differences in our congregations, her congregation has a kosher kitchen, which is good for encouraging congregates to keep kosher and also allows those congregates to eat at the synagogue and feel like they are part of the community. Also regarding conversion, the URJ was irresponsible in that they do not consider the consequences of when a woman converts according to URJ standards, those standards are not enough for her children to become citizens of Israel. Not only does this not allow the woman's children not to be able to become citizens of Israel, but some Jews will not consider her children Jewish, and her children may not be able to marry a Jew. This is a conflict for me, my mother was converted by a Reform Rabbi, granted she actually went through the mikvah ceremony, but that will not be enough for the state of Israel or for me to marry a man who is not from the Reform Movement. This causes a great dilemma for me, do I go through a conversion process, even though I was raised Jewish, and I have never been anything else, or do I reject the idea that according to Halakah I am not Jewish. I feel that I am in a sense betraying my family if I go through a conversion process, because it's like saying to them that they did not fulfill their duties as Jewish parents, and also I'm afraid they will feel as if I do not think that they are "Jewish enough."

posted by Lainna @ 7:46 PM