Comments on: For We Have Brains http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2002/09/23/for-we-have-brains/ dawn friedman's blog Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:16:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc By: sarahs http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2002/09/23/for-we-have-brains/#comment-281 sarahs Wed, 25 Sep 2002 17:59:06 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/?p=174#comment-281 Dawn- I lurk occasionally at your blog (which I must admit sounds weird but then this whole on-line journal that other people can read is a phenomenon I haven't quite wrapped my head around yet). I post at YAAPS and followed a link there to one blog and eventually came here, yada, yada. Anyway, I wanted to ask you about this whole conversion thing. I am a non-Jew married to a Jew. We have two daughters. We are raising them Jewish and belong to an unaffilliated shul, which has a Reconstructionist Rabbi but uses a Conservative siddur. They follow the Reconstructionist (and Reform) practice on children of non-Jewish mothers- they allow patrilineal descent. Meaning, they can be Bat Mitzvahed and are considered Jewish if their father is Jewish and they are raised Jewishly. I have no problem with them going through a formal conversion ceremony but my husband doesn't see a need. We are open with my DDs (at least my older one- 9) that different Jews have different ways of expressing their Judaism and that not all Jews follow patrilineal descent. If she choses to have a conversion that is fine. I am wondering what made you decide to convert rather than just allow yourself to be considered Jewish through patrilineal descent? Were you raised practicing Judaism? Were you bat mitzvahed? Was the issue that Brett is not Jewish so that your son wouldn't be Jewish? But I'm thinking that if under Reform you would be Jewish it would transfer to your son. Does that make sense? Anyway, I am just trying to get insight into this because it has a personal connection to me and I wonder how my daughters will feel about this. We are very liberal (politically and Jewishly!) but definitely have a Jewish home and DH is even a Hebrew school teacher! So the Jewish identity thing is pretty strong. I'm wondering if that makes a difference? Anything you feel like sharing would be great. Or you could tell me to take a hike. ;-) My e-mail is sarahs@ivillage.com if you want to send a response there. Thanks!! Sarah Dawn- I lurk occasionally at your blog (which I must admit sounds weird but then this whole on-line journal that other people can read is a phenomenon I haven’t quite wrapped my head around yet). I post at YAAPS and followed a link there to one blog and eventually came here, yada, yada.

Anyway, I wanted to ask you about this whole conversion thing. I am a non-Jew married to a Jew. We have two daughters. We are raising them Jewish and belong to an unaffilliated shul, which has a Reconstructionist Rabbi but uses a Conservative siddur. They follow the Reconstructionist (and Reform) practice on children of non-Jewish mothers- they allow patrilineal descent. Meaning, they can be Bat Mitzvahed and are considered Jewish if their father is Jewish and they are raised Jewishly. I have no problem with them going through a formal conversion ceremony but my husband doesn’t see a need. We are open with my DDs (at least my older one- 9) that different Jews have different ways of expressing their Judaism and that not all Jews follow patrilineal descent. If she choses to have a conversion that is fine.

I am wondering what made you decide to convert rather than just allow yourself to be considered Jewish through patrilineal descent? Were you raised practicing Judaism? Were you bat mitzvahed? Was the issue that Brett is not Jewish so that your son wouldn’t be Jewish? But I’m thinking that if under Reform you would be Jewish it would transfer to your son. Does that make sense? Anyway, I am just trying to get insight into this because it has a personal connection to me and I wonder how my daughters will feel about this. We are very liberal (politically and Jewishly!) but definitely have a Jewish home and DH is even a Hebrew school teacher! So the Jewish identity thing is pretty strong. I’m wondering if that makes a difference?

Anything you feel like sharing would be great. Or you could tell me to take a hike. ;-) My e-mail is sarahs@ivillage.com if you want to send a response there.

Thanks!!

Sarah

]]> By: genj http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2002/09/23/for-we-have-brains/#comment-280 genj Tue, 24 Sep 2002 11:37:09 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/?p=174#comment-280 Hmmmmm....I'm a practising Catholic and I have some very liberal views, having been educated by a pretty radical bunch of nuns myself ;-), so I KWYM, Dawn. While I couldn't honestly endorse abortion (although I think that it should be legal), there are any number of any other issues, like contraception, that are actually matters of conscience rather than dogma. And I am never in the least surprised by Catholics who are pro-choice - the church has some very, very diverse viewpoints and I think think it's important to recognise that cultural interpretations of Catholicism vary significantly. Here in Australia, for example, the church is generally a far, far more politically and socially liberal institution than in the US. I'd say the church here is a hell of a lot more democratic than it is in Eastern Europe, for example - and it's as well to recall that the Pope has not spoken infallibly on anything since (I think) 1933. Hmmmmm….I’m a practising Catholic and I have some very liberal views, having been educated by a pretty radical bunch of nuns myself ;-), so I KWYM, Dawn. While I couldn’t honestly endorse abortion (although I think that it should be legal), there are any number of any other issues, like contraception, that are actually matters of conscience rather than dogma. And I am never in the least surprised by Catholics who are pro-choice - the church has some very, very diverse viewpoints and I think think it’s important to recognise that cultural interpretations of Catholicism vary significantly. Here in Australia, for example, the church is generally a far, far more politically and socially liberal institution than in the US. I’d say the church here is a hell of a lot more democratic than it is in Eastern Europe, for example - and it’s as well to recall that the Pope has not spoken infallibly on anything since (I think) 1933.

]]> By: Barbara Ray http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2002/09/23/for-we-have-brains/#comment-279 Barbara Ray Tue, 24 Sep 2002 04:38:29 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/?p=174#comment-279 You might be interested in reading Douglas Rushkoff's comments about Judaism on his web log: <a href="http://www.rushkoff.com/blog/html." rel="nofollow">http://www.rushkoff.com/blog/html.</a> You might be interested in reading Douglas Rushkoff’s comments about Judaism on his web log:
http://www.rushkoff.com/blog/html.

]]> By: Roni http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2002/09/23/for-we-have-brains/#comment-278 Roni Tue, 24 Sep 2002 04:29:01 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/?p=174#comment-278 I applaud those who wish to reform the Church even if I agree with Eli on the idea that if you don't like it, leave. That's what I did. But I still admire those willing to stay behind & fight the good fight. I applaud those who wish to reform the Church even if I agree with Eli on the idea that if you don’t like it, leave. That’s what I did. But I still admire those willing to stay behind & fight the good fight.

]]> By: eli http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2002/09/23/for-we-have-brains/#comment-277 eli Tue, 24 Sep 2002 02:29:51 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/?p=174#comment-277 I respectfully disagree :-) She (nun) may call herself a Catholic, but if she is not following the church teachings she is not a Catholic. I have a very hard time wrapping my head around someone wanting to belong - to anything-by their set of rules/dogma, choices. There are other churches, communities - if one does not like where one is. I don't think the church should be tailored to me. The Catholic church is definitely not a democracy ;-) My mother left the convent (obviously before marriage etc.) because of things she disagreed with, did not expect the church to change for her. Same for me, i left for a time - it never changed, i did. I respectfully disagree :-) She (nun) may call herself a Catholic, but if she is not following the church teachings she is not a Catholic. I have a very hard time wrapping my head around someone wanting to belong - to anything-by their set of rules/dogma, choices. There are other churches, communities - if one does not like where one is. I don’t think the church should be tailored to me. The Catholic church is definitely not a democracy ;-) My mother left the convent (obviously before marriage etc.) because of things she disagreed with, did not expect the church to change for her. Same for me, i left for a time - it never changed, i did.

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