GENTILE MEMBERSHIP IN SYNAGOGUE

QUESTION:

The congregation in question is revising its constitution. The following statement has been proposed for the new constitution: ‘”Any individual, not less than 18 years of age, of Jewish faith or whose spouse is of the Jewish faith, and of good moral character, shall be eligible for membership.” This implies that a Gentile married to a Jew would be permitted to hold temple office as one of the rights of his membership and to participate as a voting member in all matters, including ritual. Should such a statement be included in the new constitution? (Asked by Rabbi Joseph Rudavky, River Edge, New Jersey.)

ANSWER:

I ANSWERED THIS question a number of years ago to Judge Joseph G. Shapiro, Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Rabbi Murray Blackman, Cincinnati, Ohio (see Recent Reform Responsa, pp. 6 3 – 6 6) . If you lack this volume, we will gladly send you a photostat. However, it is clear that the question needs to be restudied since, as has been reported, a number of Reform congregations already have a similar provision in their constitutions. It becomes a question of considerable moment whether permission to a Gentile to become a full member is proper or not, to be encouraged or discouraged.

The very raising of the question reveals a dilemma in our American Reform Judaism as to the treatment of unconverted spouses of Jews. To Orthodox Jewry such a situation creates no difficulty. Not only would it be unthinkable in Orthodoxy that a Gentile should be admitted to membership in the synagogue, but even the Jewish spouse of an unconverted Gentile could hardly retain membership. There are many responsa which deal with the question of whether a mohel should circumcise the child of a Jew married to a Christian woman, or whether a person married to an unconverted Gentile should be buried in the congregational cemetery.

With us in Reform Judaism, we have long adopted the more liberal attitude to mixed marriages. We do not encourage them, of course, but we do not penalize them either. For example, the Gentile spouse of a Jew or Jewess may be buried in the family plot. We have even permitted, for further example, the father of a Gentile wife to be buried in the family plot.

As for the children of a mixed marriage, if the mother is Jewish, the children are Jewish by definition, but if the mother is Gentile, the children are Gentile. Nevertheless, even in this case, we do not require the Orthodox ritual of conversion for such a child, but we admit the child into our religious school and accept the child’s confirmation as complete conversion. So, also, when a child is Bar Mitzvah, we allow the Gentile parent or stepparent to come up to the Torah.

But the dilemma is about membership. How is it possible for a non-Jew, who does not believe in Judaism and who may even be a practicing member of a Christian church, to be a member of a Jewish congregation? Would we admit any Christian, even one not married to a Jew, to join the congregation? This is not an imaginary situation. These are days of religious adventurism, in which people experiment with Buddhism, Guruism, etc. We would not think of admitting such people as members to the congregation and, thereby, into the family of Israel. Is, then, a Gentile to be rewarded with membership in the Jewish community because he has married a Jewess and remains a Christian? Can the prayers be recited sincerely by one who cannot possibly believe in the text of every blessing: “Who has chosen us,” “Who has commanded us to obey” this and that commandment? For example, the membership blank of our congregation, to be signed by an applicant, reads as follows: “Believing in the liberal interpretation of Judaism and desiring to participate in the spiritual activities and purposes of a Reform Jewish Congregation, I hereby apply for membership in the Rodef Shalom Congregation.” This, then, is our dilemma. We wish to be thoughtful and generous to a mixed family. We do not wish to break it up. We hope that the children will be raised as Jews.

Our concern for the family as a unit suggests the following provision, which you will notice gives no unacceptable privileges to a Gentile who does not wish to convert to Judaism, but protects the family of which he is a part and which we hope will be a Jewish family. My suggestion is, therefore, that the provision should read: “Any member of the Jewish faith, born or converted to Judaism, may become a member of our congregation. In case of a mixed marriage, the family as a whole becomes a member and the membership shall be in the name of the Jewish spouse.”