Conlicting Views in Judaism
Just to provide some balance, I found this article which rejects the tribalistic view of many within judaism. this is a form of judaism I can accept. But which form is truly dominant? It probably depends on whom you ask. And what is meant by dominant? We all know that % population is not always automatic dominance.
down a bit ...http://urj.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=12957
Not surprisingly, therefore, we still have many in our midst who hold tightly to a tribalistic view of Judaism—sometimes without even knowing it, and sometimes contrary to their own best instincts. And their conviction that only those of Jewish blood can really be part of us and can really contribute to Jewish life has found support in the many surveys that said that non-Jews who married Jews were not likely to raise their children as Jews and that, in the best of circumstances, most would remain on the fringes of the Jewish community.
And then, all of a sudden, comes the Boston survey, which says something else altogether. It says that a significant majority of non-Jews who marry Jews, when they are exposed to a vibrant and dynamic Jewish community, are prepared to participate actively in Jewish life; not only that, they are willing to raise their children as Jews; and not a few them will consider conversion and will ultimately fully embrace the Jewish tradition. In fact, what it shows is that under certain conditions, an intermarried family is about as likely as a family of uninvolved born Jews to raise their children as Jews.
On balance, however, the news is very good. This survey offers convincing evidence that Alex Schindler’s vision was right all along. It tells us that when we welcome the intermarried with a full heart and offer them meaningful Jewish involvements, we can draw them into Jewish life and greatly increase the odds that they will raise Jewish children. And maybe, just maybe, this data will finally begin to overcome the passive resistance of so many Jews who are as yet unwilling to accept that we are not a tribe but a religious people and that membership in this people is open to all who accept its teachings and responsibilities. Maybe, just maybe, it will begin to convince the tribalists in our midst that instead of working so hard to discredit converts, intermarried parents, and the children of intermarried who are being raised as Jews, our task is to encourage them, embrace them, and appreciate the ways that they can strengthen and enrich our community. Maybe, just maybe, we have entered a new era in our approach to the intermarried among us.
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