אני קושית יפה/I’m a Cute Black Girl Pg 48

Times have changed. People have changed. Wisdom has grown. So why shouldn’t religion and culture?

Last night I asked my Rabbi a question…

I asked him what validates .

I mean for many ultra Orthodox; Progressive Judaism is not respected or deemed to be the true way to Jewish life and being.

Now I am just paraphrasing, but my Rabbi told us that with Progressive Judaism we respect the changes in the world and life since Biblical Times. Back then there wasn’t all the science and knowledge that we have now, so it was easy to believe that acts of nature; floods, earthquakes etc, were G-d’s punishment towards his people for not abiding to him. He went on to say how times have changed and we have had to adapt to new things, which have made living the way people did back then, hard and impossible.

He brought up about how we are to love and respect each other, but if we had to go with what the bible said, would we respect other religions and the LGBTQ etc. He went on to say how Judaism for him is respecting G-D and living life the way he would want him to, while still keeping to Biblical Rules and Conduct, as much as possible. Often throughout this course this Rabbi has said that the Tanakh is G-d Inspired and not actually written by him…and so Progressive Jews live a 

After class I wrote my Rabbi an email. I told my Rabbi that I do respect him and thanked him for explaining that all to me. I grew up always thinking that when I converted I would do it the Orthodox way. Because to me that was the only true way to be Jewish. I never converted as a child, as I didn’t want to force my Already Jewish Family into following the Orthodox Rules and having to change their lives so much, just for me. But then I fell in love with a Christian, and so becoming Orthodox was never a possibility, as long as I still lived my life with my Christian Husband.  And So Progressive Judaism was the only way for me to be Jewish. But after last night’s lesson and talk with the Rabbi; I realized that most Jews across the world, follow the Progressive Way, but just say they are Orthodox because they were born into the religion. There are many Jews out there that only ever see the Shul on holy holidays, and a lot more who do not even keep the Sabbath, but because they were born Jewish and identify as a Jew, the Orthodox Rabbis will deem them to be Jewish, and a Progressive not.

I am happy that I have gone this way. Not so certain if I would have been able to alter my life enough, to be seen as a Proper Jew in the Orthodox/Chassidic Jew’s eyes.