RJ Blog

Is your congregation interested in offering classes on “Judaism 101″? The Union for Reform Judaism is offering grants to help congregations offer Taste of Judaism™, a free, three-session class for beginners – Jewish or not – that explores the topics of Jewish spirituality, ethics and community values. Taste of Judaism™ is a high-visibility, low-threshold program of liberal Jewish content designed to pique the interest of all who are searching for an access point to Jewish life.  The class is designed for those who would like to explore or re-explore the foundations of Jewish tradition and are looking for an entry [...]

by Rabbi Benjamin J. Zeidman The last time you were in another synagogue, how did you feel? What was it like? Did you know anyone else there? Did anyone say hello? Did you feel that it was a place you belonged, a home away from home? In working with conversion students, I often surprise them when I explain that one need not be a member to attend Shabbat services. All they have to do is walk in. No one will turn them away, and in fact it is likely that they will be greeted with warmth. The anxieties of those [...]

by Marjorie Freeman My husband attended a Southern Baptist Church with his grandmother as a small child, and then a Methodist Church with his parents and with his first wife. We married, and the wise Reform rabbi who married us, Rabbi Robert Rothman of the Community Synagogue in Rye, NY, suggested that my new husband bring a brown-bag lunch and join him once a week to learn about my Jewish background so he would be able to understand me better. After a year or more, my husband felt that Judaism made more sense than the Christianity he grew up with, and converted. But [...]

by Chris Haley This is the story of a gentile from a small Southern town who found a spiritual home in Reform Judaism, became Jewish, and assumed a professional leadership role in the Reform Movement in New York City. I grew up in Tennessee in a small town named Shelbyville, located about an hour south of Nashville, where there were virtually no Jews living in or around the immediate area – including me. After graduate school, I moved to Atlanta and took a job as Manager of Grants and Contracts for Atlanta’s Jewish Family & Career Services (JF&CS). The position [...]

by Erika Davis My path to Judaism is similar to most Jews by choice. After years of spiritual searching and longing, I turned toward Judaism because of the tradition, because it is the seed of monotheistic religion, because it’s where I was able to connect to G-d in a real and powerful way. My excitement was met with trepidation: Having grown up Christian with minimal contact with Jews, I wasn’t sure if I’d fit in. I saw only pale faces and felt out of place, unsure how I would be accepted with my brown skin. Doing most of my research [...]

Each month, we at the URJ choose a theme to spotlight on our blog and throughout our other online mediums. All throughout the month of June, we’ll be focusing on the theme Expanding Our Reach, the many ways we welcome and embrace those looking for a home in our congregational communities, including interfaith couples and families, spiritual seekers, LGBT Jews, individuals with special needs, and the disengaged. This also includes, of course, Jews by choice. Because Ruth is widely considered the first Jew by choice, lots of insightful piece about conversion pop up all throughout the weeks leading up to [...]

I knew a woman whose husband was having trouble getting work. He was offered a position quite far from home, but times were tough so they took their two sons and moved. The family did well, the boys grew and married, and life moved forward. Unfortunately, the husband became ill and died. Shortly after that, the sons were involved in a terrible accident in which they perished. And my friend was left a widow, as were her two daughters-in-law. My friend decided to move back to her family’s hometown, where she still had relatives. She had a good relationship with [...]

by Rabbi Thomas Gardner I once read an autobiography called Turbulent Souls, written by a man who grew up Catholic. It was only after he had become an adult that he learned that both of his parents had been born Jewish. My favorite part of the book was when he acknowledged that he probably should have guessed earlier, since after returning from Mass every Sunday, his father would eat  gefilte fish, while singing to the author’s mother My Yiddishe Mama. When we think of a Jewish person, what do we think of? Do we think of a man with a [...]

by Kenneth David Shoji At my Bet Din, one of three Rabbis who interviewed me told me that Judaism has been described as a faith of “Pots and Pans.” She further explained that Judaism was about doing and acting in everyday life, not just having a belief but carrying out actions and practices as part of your identity. Reflecting back on this discussion I am reminded of my mother, who showed me that it is smart to make cleaning up part of the preparation of the meal, taking care of all aspects, the fun and the not so fun, of [...]

by Janine PrestonTemple Or Rishon, Orangevale, CA Anyone who really, really knows me was not surprised to receive the announcement of my conversion to Judaism. When I very seriously told my two best friends from college about my decision last fall, they started to laugh. “Janine,” they said, “you have been talking about this since 1985 — we would only have been surprised if you had decided not to make this official!” I was first introduced to Judaism by a boyfriend back in college. I started studying about this religion that made him so happy, that created a framework for [...]

by Stephanie Seiberg Temple Emanuel, Kensington, MD When I decided to convert I wondered often if I would ever really feel Jewish? I never could have anticipated that the death of my non-Jewish father would be the event that would take me there. I had married a Jewish man several years before my father died. Prior to marriage, we agreed to raise our children Jewish, but at that point I considered myself a non-religious person and had never really considered conversion. Events in my life, including my father’s illness, over the years led me to feel a void with my [...]

By Rabbi Peter Knobel I just had the privilege of representing the Reform movement on a panel “Conversion: Who Is the Gate Keeper of the Jewish Nation” at the Israeli President’s Conference in Jerusalem, Facing Tomorrow.  These are my opening remarks: The time has come to finally recognize the religious streams as the gatekeepers of the Jewish people.  The current situation is alienating Jews in the tefusot (Diaspora). Conversion is significant for Jewish continuity in Diaspora. There is no possibility for a unified solution to gerut (conversion). I want to emphasize that, if we had any doubts in the past, [...]

This past Shabbat I sat on the bima during Shabbat Service as the Board of Trustees representative.During this service, a young man was being called to the Torah for the first time – he was the bar mitzvah boy. Sitting there, observing the family and friends of this young man, as well as the congregants who had gathered to worship, made me once again realize the beauty of belonging to a Reform shul. Why?Because of the richness of the people who are engaged in creating a Jewish community.  The young man celebrating his bar mitzvah was a mensch. He read [...]

The other night I went to the middle school orientation for incoming fifth-graders. I still cannot believe that my son, Avi, is going to be in fifth grade. The school offers a wonderful after-school program in which students can play sports, take fun classes and get their homework done. I picked up an application form on my way out of the school building. At home that night, I looked over the brochure and began to fill out the application. Before I could even put pen to paper, I was asked for the names of Avi’s mother and father. Now, for [...]