Monday, December 19, 2011

Jew or Not Jew

I learned about this fun website (it's an iPhone app too I think) called "Jew or Not Jew".  If you are easily amused, as I am, you can spend a lot of time there. 

The site does not simply tell you who is Jew and who is Goy. No, no, no! It RANKS you from 1 to 15 based on this criteria: We evaluate how Jewish a person is based on three factors. How Jewish they are internally, how Jewish they are externally and how much we want that person to be a Jew in the first place.

I will be honest, I never understood about "Jewish conversions".  By the most stringent definition of our customs and traditions, a person is not Jewish unless they are born of a Jewish mother.  I understand that Reform Jews are not gender biased and also consider a person Jewish if born of a Jewish father.  The most important caveat is that they do not renounce their Jewishness by accepting another religion. 

But if a person is not "born" Jewish, they are not precluded from living a Jewish life, adhering to our principles and practicing our traditions.  In that way they are "converted".  It is (at least according to me) not like a baptism where you are "once trefe, now kosher".

I think the website is on to something!  How much does that person want to be a Jew in the first place?

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