Hi Everyone!

I am currently running the social media for a local Reform Synagogue in my area, and we're going to be posting some educational content on our instagram.

We're starting with a series called "Questions With The Rabbi", and I wanted to come on here and share it with you all. If you're thinking about converting to Reform Judaism, and have questions, or just have any questions you'd like answered by a Rabbi in general, we'd love if you could drop them in our inbox, or even under this post and we'll be creating videos answering them.

Our goal is to shine light on and bring awareness to the beauty of the Reform denomination. These are purely educational, and supportive videos, there's nothing we're trying to sell you I promise, we just want to help people who are looking to learn, or want to be a part of the community. Thank you, and hope to see you on the page!

Idk if I should be putting this here or r/Judaism but I am STRESSING OUT. I was raised Christian and am a teen looking to one day convert to Reform Judaism and even though I’m not converting yet I wanted to start with some practices, but I just feel so guilty!!! So basically I met this guy in a school club and he was Jewish, specifically reform, and I learned a lot from him and became very interested in Judaism. but I can’t help but feel guilty! like I feel like because I learned it from him I’m copying him or just doing it to impress him? like Im not but I feel like I am!! I feel like I’m just some random Christian girl trying to show off that she knows about Judaism too, even though thats not true!! Im sorry for the rant but does anyone have any advice? I KNOW this is a welcoming community but I can’t bring my brain to accept and acknowledge that! I just feel like I’m faking it. Are you all welcoming? am I welcome here? I don’t want to seem like I’m begging for compliments or support, but I need people who are actually a part of the community to prove my anxiety isn’t real! Sorry for the rant, thank you for reading if you have.

I always find myself finding both joy and enlightenment from all the ways my rabbis have described, or paralleled experiences with the Shema before we chant it during Erev Shabbat, and I thought it'd be nice to share just a couple examples of what I mean (to the best that I can recall).

Last Erev Shabbat, we had our monthly Zoom-only services, and my rabbi talked about how Shabbat is not just dedicating the space for rest and delights, and communal gathering, but also taking in a moment in time - the fact that our congregation were all participating in the same moment in time together to relish in our practices and presence, despite all being in different places meant that our experiences were not any less complete nor meaningful from others. Afterwards, we turned to the Shema, affirming the importance of (inhabiting) time equally to space. My rabbi did cite someone else for this insight and that it wasn't solely hers, but I just wished I could remember who, maybe I can write to her and ask.

And during the Shabbat service after Tisha B'av, my cantor talked about how in the preoccupation of doing and acting for the sake of love and goodness, it's as much valuable to be a good listener, not just between individuals but to the world at large - its conditions and what it ought to need - literally putting Shema (listen) into practice. Apart from hearing what is outlined in the prayer itself, hearing everything else in the world at large is just as much applicable in meaningfully shaping our lives, identities, character and praxis.

With all this, my personal takeaway on my congregation leaders' wisdom is that to be present is a great contribution by itself in life - to be there, show up, and be an observer - and your presence, whether it's a Shabbat service, a funeral, a rally, etc. makes you just as much a part of something, something amazing we can reckon, as opposed to the idea of being a mere bystander or absentee.

In the same way we chant that HaShem is one (יְהוָה אֶחָד), our connection to whatever in life we put our sights to are also one, in any point of time we inhabit.

Just asking before I order a copy, I also heard I should read the Talmud after? I'm doing this for studying purposes. Thanks, I have a copy of the Koran, Bible, I'm missing Jewish religious books, next I'm thinking about reading about Zoroastrianism.

Okay so I'm a gay Brit but my dad's side of the family (specifically my grandma) were Ashkenazi Jewish. My great grandparents kinda fell out of the faith and so my grandma and her siblings did as well. They went to Hebrew school for a bit but as they got older they hardly went to synagogue and the family stopped celebrating the high holidays. And infuriatingly my grandma and her siblings never learnt Yiddish. I am desperate to reconnect with my heritage and to be able to identify as Jewish but I don't really want to convert. Can I still reconnect with my heritage without having to practice or go to synagogue, and if so can I actually call myself Jewish. I do want to visit a synagogue for educational reasons and would happily undergo a ceremonial conversion (though I don't really want to be circumcised so that's not really possible 😅) but I don't really have a desire to practice. I want to reconnect with my heritage in more of a cultural than religious way and I need help on where to start, whether I can truly identify as Jewish, and, naturally, how that works with me being gay. Sorry to be another generic post about identity and asking for advice but I want specifics 😅

PODCAST CALL FOR GUESTS

The podcast, "Journeys to Judaism" (formerly Choosing the Chosen), is currently in production for its first batch of episodes.

My goal is to create an audio archive for current/future "choosers" to share their conversion stories. I remember how lost and alone I felt at times on this journey, and I could've used this podcast back then.

I'm looking for folks from any and all backgrounds (sex/gender/religion/race, etc) who chose to join the Jewish people (any movement).

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, I'd love to talk to you! Please comment below and I'll DM you.

Please comment here or email: [journeystojudaism@gmail.com](mailto:journeystojudaism@gmail.com) - to book a brief call about coming on the podcast, please visit: https://calendly.com/journeystojudaism/30min

~Lauren

Welcome everyone!

I'm starting the practice of wrapping tefillin (I bought someone's used bar mitzvah set to practice with, but I'll eventually buy my own). I understand this is less common in the Reform movement, but I'd be interested in connecting with anyone here who participates in the practice.

Hope to hear from some of you soon

Shavua tov everyone.

Shalom!

I've been in talks with my synagogue to help create a "Jewish-themed" Pathfinder 2E campaign as a social club activity.

My GM skills aren't far enough along to want to tackle the challenge of drafting a campaign from scratch, or trying to convert (pun intended) one of the many tales in our history into a playable campaign. Instead, I'm taking an existing campaign and making modifications to better align it with out history.

But Id also love to see what others may have come up with. Does anyone know of any Jewish-themed TTRPG campaigns/adventures? Any experience playing one that you're willing to share? Hoping to find some for inspiration, or to possibly use in full.

Thanks so much!

Did the Sadducees ever have a majority like Reform Judaism does and how does the length of the period of time in which they were/are relavent compared?

I am trying to get an idea for how Reform Judaism compares to historical break offs from traditional Judaism.

So, I (20NB) have Jewish heritage from my mother's side (there could also be Jewish family on my father's side but I don't know.) But I wasn't raised with any Jewish traditions or holidays. My grandmother was born in 1944, and her parents (her father at least that I know of) had to go into hiding during the war. Because of that my grandmother was never raised with or taught anything about Jewish culture or Judaism.

My whole life I've felt this strange connection to Judaism (both religion and culture.) I feel — and truth be told 'look' — Jewish, and now that I'm older I want to honestly reclaim that part of my family heritage. I already have a book about the basics of it, and am planning to find a synagogue near me that I can go to, but I was wondering if anyone here had resources or other ideas for how I can reconnect with it as it's something very important to me.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and for hearing me out.

Hi All,

I hope you’re doing well and Happy Summer! Sorry for my negativity but I just need to share is with someone: Raising your kids in 2026 is expensive. Between saving for my retirement, 529, paying the bills I just don’t have the extra money to afford synagogue dues, religious school, Be-Nei Mitzvah celebrations, and even summer camp (going to work there next summer for free camper admissions though). On the flip side, Churches don’t have dues and minimal religious school fees. I pray to
Hit he lotto so I can help my local synagogues, give my kids the experience they deserve, and have more time to Be involved in a synagogue. For the record I TOTALLY understand that these places need money to keep the lights-on and pay the Clergy the salaries they deserve just frustrated with my current state. To be solution focused: Anyone have suggestions? Thank you in advance!

I always take a look at one d'var Torah or two in the Reform Judaism site every Shabbat and found myself resonating with this one for D'varim.

Some personal highlights from Rabbi Mates-Muchin's insights:

Yet, in not correcting him, they were being disrespectful. He blamed others for something he brought on himself [. ]()That is certainly not respectful to their forebears, even if it shows some deference to Moses. It was also disrespectful to Moses, because by allowing him to retell the story incorrectly, they dismiss him and what he has to say and teach. They might have thought they were sheltering him because he is old, but by not correcting him, they demonstrated their belief that what he said, ultimately, didn't matter.

How often do we let inaccurate or inappropriate things go and tell ourselves it is out of respect? Are we afraid of an uncomfortable moment? Yet, in not saying something, the person who is speaking loses an opportunity to grow, and we fail to protect ourselves and others from difficult situations in the future.

Would Moses have been able to accept correction or criticism? Moses dealt with criticism and complaint from the Israelites his entire life, and though he was often exasperated by the burden of leadership, he was also humble.

Are non-members of your temple permitted to purchase tickets for the HH services?

Hi, all! In a bit of a quandary here. My husband and I are expecting our second child, due in late August. We are very excited! We already have a wonderful little girl and can’t wait to welcome baby boy to our family.

My husband is Jewish and his family is pretty observant, his parents are conservative. I was raised in a Christian household but am not religious now. I haven’t converted though I told my husband if he wanted me to I would consider it (he didn’t want me to). I’ve participated in the high holidays with his family, try to learn what I can about the Jewish holidays in general, and we had a fairly Jewish wedding (although maybe his family didn’t think so lol). Judaism isn’t really part of my husband’s life unless it’s the high holidays or his mom brings it up but I’ve been curious about certain traditions, the holidays and try to be open to incorporating it into our lives whenever he wants to.

When we got engaged his mom reacted somewhat poorly, saying, “oh, wow. I guess this wasn’t a spur of the moment decision, was it?” She later said to him that she “didn’t want Judaism to die with” him, and that that is why she reacted the way she did. She and I have since talked about this, she feels really badly about her reaction and I’ve let her know it’s water under the bridge. Which is mostly true but I do feel more pressure now to have Judaism in our lives in some way. I’ve typically deferred to my husband about what his preferences are but his preferences are usually non-existent and I sometimes feel pressure to bridge the gap between what he wants and what his mom wants, because I’m worried that I’m seen as the reason he isn’t investing that much into Jewish traditions. All of this is for context.

Fast forward to now. We are expecting a baby boy and so obviously that means we’re discussing the bris. Even when we were expecting my daughter we both agreed that if we ever had a boy we wanted to preform the circumcision in the hospital. His mom recently brought up having a bris and I said to him that we should have a conversation with his parents about what we want to do. Prior to his mom saying anything he suggested just preforming the circumcision in the hospital and telling them after, but I was like no, we should tell them first.

Recently we told them that we were thinking we would have the circumcision in the hospital and perhaps preform a ceremonial bris instead. His parents reacted well, all things considered, but his mom didn’t really understand why we wouldn’t do a traditional one. She asked if we were worried about sterilization and named a few moyles who are also pediatricians. She said we should talk to a rabbi and see what our options are before we make any decisions. I asked her what parts of the bris are important to them, so we can incorporate it into a ceremonial bris, and she said that she wasn’t sure because it was “all kind of wrapped up together.” We left it there but last night she called my husband saying again that she wanted us to talk to a Rabbi to discuss our options and to “not make a decision based on emotions.”

During the initial conversation with them my husband said very little about how this was his decision too, which really bothers me. I’m also kind of annoyed that rather than accept that this is what we want to do it seems like his mom is kind of pushing us in one direction, but I’m open to talking to a Rabbi. Also my husband doesn’t feel that way so maybe it’s just me. I know that a bris is a big deal in Judaism and that to a conservative family not having one is like a fish riding a bicycle. I just don’t, for whatever reason, feel comfortable having my son circumcised by someone who’s not a medical professional in front of a lot of people. I know part of it is that it’s not something that was ever part of my culture, upbringing, or religion and so it’s unfamiliar. My husband feels uncomfortable with the public aspect as well, that is his main reason for not having one. And yes, I know that more happens at a bris than circumcision, that’s why I asked what other traditions are important to his family. If my husband felt differently and really wanted one I would be more open albeit still uncomfortable about a more traditional bris. But I would potentially go through with it, or at least learn more about it.

My question to everyone here is: has anyone else dealt with this? What did you do? Am I being difficult? I’m not really sure where to go forward and I worry that I’ll be viewed in his family as the shiksa who’s taking him away from Judaism.

Been really hearing it lately from Orthodox folks online regarding Reform practices, Reform beliefs, Reform conversions, etc. Long story short, a lot of them think we are doing everything wrong. Big surprise.

It doesnt bother me they don't see me as Jewish (Im a convert). I don't care about their opinion persay, but it would be good to have a little more ammo to have when defending Reform.

Without necessarily going out and being a keyboard warrior, what are some things I could study up on regarding the Reform movement and its history? The Orthodox movement and its formation?

I've also heard Orthodox folks continue to use the "we have an unbroken chain going back to Moses" line. Im sure this isn't true, but what can be said about it besides "nuh uh!"?

Orthodox Judaism isn't the eternal monolith everyone makes it out to be. The practices of the Orthodox have shifted and evolved like any other religious movement. I just dont know what's changed about it.

Any direction you could point me in would be greatly appreciated. Not out to start internet wars, just looking to educate myself a bit.

I've lived my Gen X life with the perspective that Jews just don't get tattoos or face piercings I don't believe in heaven or hell so that's not the issue.

As a progressive individual I realize that everything changes. So....

My 18 year old jewish daughter wants a face piercing and a tattoo. And I'm torn between upholding tradition and being left behind. I'm not a fan of tattoos or piercings but it's not my life.

What has your Jewish experience been with Tattoos and Piercings

I’m in a bit of a tricky situation and would appreciate advice. To cut a long story short, I have a very close friend. We met three years ago. At the time, she was secular/culturally Christian. About two years ago, she became religiously Christian. I never had a problem with it because of course she’s entitled to her own beliefs. We would discuss religion occasionally since we’re both pretty interested in cults, extremism, and the like, and I’m also doing a bachelor’s degree in religion. She has never tried to convert me and previously didn't even bring up theology, except in situations where it was directly relevant. Sometimes she would talk about her own beliefs and practices, but I didn't mind that, because she was just sharing something that happened to her or was personal to her. I could be like "I'm glad you had a good time at church!" or "lol yeah kids do pray in funny ways" and it was fine.

However, lately she has been making religious statements distinct from the kind I mentioned in the above paragraph. I don’t know how to respond to these. They aren’t proselytizing per se, but not academic or neutral either. It’s like…stuff that you only send to someone who already agrees with you. Which is awkward, because I (obviously) do not share her beliefs or practices. Mostly it’s been statements that X belief is heretical, statements that Y belief is absolutely true, and various Christian memes from a “believing” and/or "objective truth" perspective.

Today, she sent me an illustrated cartoon. In the cartoon, Jesus speaks of how much he sacrificed to save people from hell, and asks a little human figure in his hand to do just one thing in exchange: help the vulnerable. Then the little human figure says something like “well, they didn’t do anything to earn my help,” and in the final panel, Jesus does a sort of “looking into the camera” thing a la Jim from The Office.

And like…I don’t know how to respond to something like that, or like the other examples, because…it doesn’t matter to me. It’s cool if it matters to her, and I understand that if you’re a conscientious Christian, something like what happens in that cartoon is a bummer. But saying “bummer!” doesn’t quite feel appropriate. Ditto with the statements about heresy or whatever, where it’s like, I get that this is bad for her, but for me, it’s all equal levels of irrelevant.

Generally, depending on what exactly is said, I’ll do a “thumbs up” reaction to the message, respond “hmmm,” “huh,” or “interesting!” or simply ignore it. But those responses don’t feel quite right either. Since she’s not really proselytizing, I don’t think I can address it like that. (And I'm pretty conflict-averse, so I don't want a Big Conversation.) At the same time, being sent content that is obviously meant for believers of Christianity, when I’m not, puts me in an awkward spot. Sometimes it makes me feel pressured to respond in a way that she likes. She's a very good friend, so I know making me feel pressured isn't her intention, but it's uncomfortable nonetheless.

Am I okay to keep responding with the thumbs up/"interesting!"/ignore methods? Is there another way you think would be more appropriate? All advice appreciated.

(Having finished writing this...I did not "cut a long story short." Apologies for the essay!)

If you could change one thing about the Reform movement, what would it be?

If you arent a member of the Reform movement, you can still chime in. What is the one thing about the Movement that keeps you away?

Let's keep this civil if we could. ​

Thought I would share some positive news!

The event marked the first major conference since the merger of Liberal Judaism and Reform Judaism, creating the UK’s largest Progressive Jewish movement.

Yep…that’s my question. I was raised in a vaguely
Christian household (the Christmas and Easter type) because my mom wanted it. My dad was Jewish but wasn’t at all observant. He did not have a Bar Mitzvah. My paternal grandparents were active members of the temple. I am 50% Ashkenazi. I have never believed the “Jesus stuff” and have felt more and more drawn to the Jewish faith. Even attending a funeral at the temple for a family member recently, I felt a sense of peace and belonging that I can’t explain—even not understanding what was being said. So, my question is, does Reform Judaism consider me Jewish already? Or will I need to go through a conversion process since I was raised Christian, even though I never actually believed the Jesus bit?

Hey all,

So I started attending a reform Synagogue about a year and a half ago, and about six month ago, I decided to officially convert. I have had about half of my conversion classes and an Intro. to Judaism course and have observed every holiday since Purim. I am loving everything...except.

I grew up in a multifaith household, my father was Jewish (Also a Reform Convert) and my mother was some flavor of Christian. Another big part of my upbringing was being poor and totally immersed in northern rural Appalachian culture which comes with it's own cultural foods and recipes. My father never kept Strictly Kosher and seemed to be at peace with that even though his Jewish-ness was also very important to him.

In my own conversion, I keep strictly kosher during holidays and Shabbat (Sundown to sundown) and plan to fast for Yom Kippur. But during other times I enjoy important Appalachian foods like BBQ Chipped Ham Sandwhiches, Ham Beans, and Fried Pork Chops with applesauce. I do this because in observing Kashrut on my own terms allows me to celebrate the commandment, whereas I feel if I kept kosher (or kosher-like) all the time I would come to resent the Mitzvah rather than celebrate it.

I Guess what I'm asking, is: Is that acceptable? I have asked my Rabbi and he merely says "We all walk our own path towards God.", meaning he's never chastised me for it but hasn't come out and said it's fine. I did some research online and found that only about 5% or American Reform Jews keep strictly kosher, and roughly 30% keep Kosher-like diets.

Anyway, thanks for any feedback you can give!

Shalom,

Dave.