Emunah Avot: Faith of Fathers

An organization for patrilineal Jews, the Jewish fathers who raise them, and all others who care about the issue of patrilineal descent in Judaism

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Let's Fight Back!

We who deal with the inequities of current policy on Jewish descent often encounter a lot of hecklers. Face it: most of them are just plain ignorant, and their words are often not worthy of the dignity of a response. But because we believe that the first step in overcoming the problems matrilineality creates for us in the Jewish community is to developing a backbone, and learning to stand up to these hecklers rather than cower in fear and a sense of inferiority, we offer a few replies to some of the more common things said by hecklers:

"Just face it. Your father intermarried, and he sucks."

That's just it. Our fathers do not "suck". For the most part, our fathers were stand-up guys who did everything they could to provide for our mothers and for us, and who often made sacrifices to give us a sense of pride in our Jewish heritage. What would have sucked would have been if they had succumbed to the pressure of the wider Jewish community and abandoned our mothers and us.

"If you want to play baseball, you have to play by the rules. Judaism has rules; follow them."

The rules of baseball, like the rules of Jewish descent, are based on nothing more than common agreement among those who wish to play the game. In fact, many rules we think of as inherent to playing baseball--three strikes and you're out, nine innings to a game, and many others--have evolved over time. In fact, in the nineteenth century, baseball games were typically played with five outs to an inning and six innings to a game.

Even today, variations exist about how different groups of ball players play baseball. In American baseball, for instance, the two leagues disagree over the designated hitter rule.

Just as the rules of baseball have evolved over time, and may continue to evolve in future, the "game" of Judaism can evolve to be more inclusive, more compassionate, and more just by accepting the validity of patrilineal claims to Jewish identity.

"There's no place for you in Judaism."

There is no place in Judaism for racism, xenophobia, and narrow-minded prejudice. For us, there is a place.

"What you want isn't Judaism."

In what way is it un-Jewish to want simple justice?

"Adopting patrilineal descent, to protect patrilineal Jews here and in Israel, is tantamount to giving smicha (ordination as a rabbi) to Hitler."

We at Emunah Avot are amazed that otherwise reasonably-minded people will make such an offensive argument, equating those of us who feel that Jewish law must act in ways that promote such essential Jewish values as pikhuach nefesh (the saving of human life), shalom bayit (family harmony), hesed (lovingkindness), and [LOOK UP HEBREW TERM FOR INTELLECTUAL HONESTY] with the originator of the Holocaust. Nonetheless, the argument is made, even by such non-fundamentalist people as author Samuel Freedman. And so we but a rebuttal here.

Throughout the centuries, Jewish law has adapted to protect the Jewish community from the horrors anti-Semites have wished to inflict on Jews. The siddur (prayerbook) used by Orthodox Jews, for instance, specifically states that it is permissible to extinguish a light on the Sabbath, when this would otherwise not be permitted, for fear of marauders. Later, in the Middle Ages, Jewish law even went so far as to allow the sale of yayin stam (wine to be used in non-Jewish religious rituals), when anti-Semitic European governments limited Jews to trades such as brewing.

On this basis, it is clear that the actions of anti-Semites have frequently prompted changes in Jewish law. What would be a true disgrace is not if anti-Semites prompted a change in specfic laws but a change in Jewish values.

We feel it is not remotely consistent with Jewish values to allow a class of people to exist who must endure all of the hardships of being considered Jewish by the world, but have none of the positive benefits of being Jewish when they come to be involved in the Jewish community. The Jewish community cannot control the actions and behaviors of anti-Semites, but it can respond to the horrors anti-Semites would inflict upon patrilineal Jews by acting in ways consistent with its deepest values.

Emunah Avot: Faith of Fathers An organization for patrilineal Jews, the Jewish fathers who raise them, and all others who care about the issue of patrilineal descent in Judaism

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Let's Fight Back!

All content Copyright � 2007 Jeffrey Wilheim. All Rights Reserved.

Emunah Avot: Faith of Fathers

An organization for patrilineal Jews, the Jewish fathers who raise them, and all others who care about the issue of patrilineal descent in Judaism