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Ramblings on Jewish Topics
| Ramblings 1 | Ramblings 2 | Ramblings 3 |
Who wants to be a Reform, ...?
It has always pained me to hear someone say they are a Reform Jew or a Conservative Jew. I'm not picking on these two branches of Judaism, it's just that I've never heard someone say they were an Orthodox or Reconstructionist Jew. In the latter case, I'm not sure I've met anyone connected with the Reconstructionist Movement. Generally, "Orthodox" Jews say they are part of a specific community, often led by a particular Rabbi.
A Jew is a Jew. Mostly, it is an inherited position although some become Jewish through conversion. The only purpose of adding an adjective like "Reform" or "Orthodox" is to divide. I can understand, although not personally agree with, someone supporting the goals of some of the "modern" movements. It's the selective adjective I disagree with.
I have two siblings. The three of us share the matriarchal heritage* and are therefore, for religious identity purposes, identical. My brother tends to join Conservative Shuls, my sister belongs to an unaffiliated one, and I tend to belong to Orthodox Shuls. We did not have to undergo a religious conversion to join our respective congregations nor would we to change "affiliations."
We should each affiliate with whatever congregation we find most comfortable but trash the divisive adjective. As a people, we have enough survival issues to wrestle with without dividing further.
*For those not familiar with Jewish Law, one's Jewishness is inherited from one's mother. The three of us shared the same father, of blessed memory, who was very important to all of us but, for this purpose, he didn't count.
Why would anyone join a Shul just to change it?
I live in a county where being Jewish is definitely a minority position. Never-the-less, within that county, there are three independent congregations and one day school shared by all three groups. The three are one each: Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. They are fairly close to each other geographically which should be pretty ideal for those that want a choice. I belonged to the Orthodox Shul for about a decade. During that period, the Synagogue was cursed, periodically, with a President (several sequentially elected unrelated individuals) that joined the Shul seemingly to save it from itself. An Orthodox Shul maintains separate seating and religious responsibilities for men and women. These Presidents would join the Shul and promptly attempt to change the status (existence) of the Mechitza, the separation between men and women. The result was always tension, bad feelings, a revolving door for the Rabbi, and occasionally a failed experiment.
Since the congregation is clearly Orthodox and there are two alternate vibrant congregations without a Mechitza nearby, why don't these people join a congregation with philosophies consistent with their own? Do they really think they are a Messiah? I resigned my membership because of the never-ending in-fighting over transition.
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