Sunday 28 July 2019

My great grandmother was a jew. Under Jewish law this makes my grandfather (her son) a Jew as well. Under Reform Judaism, are my father and myself considered jewish (patrilineal descent) despite not being raised as Jews?

Dear Marlene,

Thank you so much for your enquiry 'Am I a Jew?'

We would be delighted to assist and you would be most welcome to come along and meet us at one of our synagogues, though you haven't mentioned where you are currently based.  We would love to assist you to recover your Jewish connections and discover a Jewish identity. 

You have rightly pointed out that there are differences in approach between orthodox and progressive (Reform is a part of the progressive umbrella of the World Union for Progressive Judaism of which we are a part).

The orthodox count a person as Jewish if they are born to a Jewish mother.  By this logic, your grandfather was indeed a Jew. However, neither you nor your father have Jewish mothers nor were raised as Jews, and consequently would not be considered Jews.

The progressive approach is a more egalitarian one, drawing not only on natural justice but also on the fact that for the first half of the Jewish story (Biblical Judaism), the line went through the fathers (Abraham Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Menasseh etc, whilst in the second half (Rabbinic Judaism) it has gone through the mother (who, despite whatever may have happened in the previous 9 months, is always present at the birth!).

Therefore we say the line passes through either mother OR father - provided that the child is raised as a Jew and has 'timely acts of Jewish observance', which would include religious education, bar/bat mitzvah, celebrating shabbat, regular attendance at festivals such as New Year, Passover Seder, Chanukah lighting. (However, if both parents are Jewish, then you are Jewish even without the upbringing and timely acts, since 'what else could you be?')

So sadly, by our definition, since your grandfather was not raised as a Jew by your great grandmother, he would not be counted, though unless he was actively raised as something else, we would look for indications that would allow us to be lenient and accepting.

However, even if we accepted your great grandfather (and if the orthodox would, it would seem harsh and overly rigid for us not so do so), your father would not be considered Jewish since, as you say, he was not raised as a Jew, and for you yourself, the same conclusion would apply.  Sadly, you neither had a Jewish parent or a Jewish upbringing.

Having said all that, I reiterate that we would be happy to assist - we run regular Introduction to Judaism courses which you can access on line at your own speed, and we believe strongly that if you are looking for a meaningful, spiritual framework for your life, this is what our approach to Judaism offers, with a strong emphasis on community, justice and 'healing the world' to enable you to rejoin the community and formalise your Jewish status within the progressive Jewish world (though sadly it would not be recognised by the orthodox, over which we have no control!).         

I do hope this is helpful.  Please contact me if you'd like to know how to proceed.

L'shalom

Rabbi Jonathan

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