Dear Judaism,
Well I've gone and done it. I didn't mean to make you mad, but I can tell that I did.
There I was, a Jewish girl from New York, living my life, building a career, being a young adult in a big city, when out of nowhere -- BAM! -- I fell in love with a kind Midwestern man.
He was smart and loving and, well, raised in a different faith. But frankly, the fact that we were in love trumped anything else.
But I didn't expect you to be so disappointed in me.
You see, this man asked me to marry him, and there we were, planning our wedding--a Jewish wedding--because that is what we agreed it would be, because it was meaningful to me. I knew, and he agreed, we would keep Judaism in our lives.
So I naturally asked a rabbi to be with us on our big day. He said "no," he would not, under these circumstances, bless our union. I asked another and another and yet another and the prospect of having our Jewish wedding dwindled. But I struggled through and found a way to have the ceremony we wanted with a cantoral student who helped us create our beautiful Jewish wedding.
And then I got pregnant. A boy, what a joy to behold! A blessing in our lives! But my husband had questions that I could not answer about mohels and ritual and foreskin and we sought the counsel of a rabbi to help.
We called on your synagogues to find some answers. And we kept calling and calling and messages were left from the kind man who married the Jewish girl again and again. But again we were denied access to you. Once again we stood up for our family and the traditions we wanted to uphold and found a mohel that came to our home and we had a lovely bris for our beautiful boy. One fitting for bringing a Jewish boy into the world.
A third time I sought you out, to care for this child and teach him. But as you glared at my tattooed body and asked about my husband's background, I was told that your community's children's programs were reserved for those who were members and perhaps I should look elsewhere.
And somewhere that day, I lost the fight. I gave up on you right then and there, Judaism. You clearly didn't want me. There are only so many times you can be turned away before you wonder why you are trying in the first place. You did not want my family, Judaism. So I gave up trying.
But I was heartbroken.
I know you're trying to find a way to welcome us, but you're not there yet. When we encounter your barriers and your walls we struggle to get through them. And eventually we give up, because it is hard and we don't want our children to hear your clucking or your message that they are not good enough for you.
Yet, your articles and comments and letters to the editor tell us it is we who are ruining Judaism. It stings to hear that we, the intermarried, are destroying Jewish continuity.
But I am stubborn, and there's something about you Judaism that's too important to let go. So after I gave up on you, a friend and fellow Jewish professional told me that my experience was not the Judaism she knew and loved and encouraged me to try again.
I found my own way to keep the faith in you. I created a Jewish home and holidays and traditions in my own Jewish way. And eventually, I found a community that embraced me and supported my family for who we are--and doesn't punish us for what we're not. There are so many of us out here making our own way...but also so many who gave up, never to return.
You see, when you denounce intermarried rabbis and talk about the declining vitality of Judaism, we, the families are listening to you talk about how these rabbis--whose families closely resemble our own--don't count for you. We hear you tell us, yet again, that we are not good enough but that you are welcoming in the same breath.
So while some of your newspapers and your blogs and your institutions (and your commenters, oh gosh, your commenters) whisper too loudly behind my back and wonder what to do with a "problem" like my family, my boys will bound through the door this Friday, giddy from the waning of the week and ask "MOM? What time is Shabbat?"
This post originally appeared here and here. And while the author works professionally for the inclusion of interfaith families in Jewish life for InterfaithFamily, this post reflects her personal experience.