World

A New

Initiative

Conservative movement
reaches out to intermarried
families in a new way.

Shelli Liebman Dorfman

Staff Writer

T

he United Synagogue of Conservative (USCJ) Judaism's con-
vention last week was the venue for the presentation of a new
outreach initiative by its executive vice president.
For too long, Rabbi Jerome Epstein said, the Conservative move-
ment has, at best, "merely welcomed" intermarried families and often
has rejected them.
Instead, he said, Conservative congregations should work to bring
the entire family into congregational life, encouraging the couple to
raise Jewish children and inspire the non-Jewish spouses "to choose
Judaism out of conviction that Jewish living will enrich their lives:' as
well as focusing on continued social and educational needs toward
becoming a committed Jew.
Just weeks after the Union for Reform Judaism advocated openly
suggesting the non-Jewish spouse convert, the Conservative move-
ment's Rabbi Epstein said, "We must begin aggressively to encourage
conversions of potential Jews who have chosen a Jewish spouse. And
if conversion is initially rejected, we must continue to place it on the
agenda;' he said.
To bring children of mixed marriages into Jewish life, "special out-
reach" is needed to ensure their Jewish education, Rabbi Epstein said
of a proposal of special scholarships and extra attention for children
of intermarriage.
Having not yet received the proposal, which will be mailed to every
Conservative professional and lay leader in North America, Rabbi
Daniel Nevins of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills said, "I
agree that we must be open to people exploring Judaism, and indeed,
I spend quite a bit of time with non-Jews considering Judaism.
"Still, we must remain committed to the integrity of the conversion
course, which insists that the convert is motivated by belief in the
God of Israel and commitment to the mitzvot," he said. "The bar
shouldn't be set so high that it discourages sincere converts, but it
can't be set so low that we turn non-Jews into non-committal Jews."

Flexibility offered

USCJ President Ray Goldstein speaks with Rabbi Jerome Epstein before the

presentation of the new outreach initiative.

The outreach document — called al ha'derech, or "on the path"—
isn't meant to dictate policy but rather suggest a way to guide what
the movement is now calling "potential Jews" toward greater Jewish
involvement. Therefore, some congregations and schools will include
portions of the document in different ways in different situations.
Rabbi Jason Miller already is doing that. As rabbinic adviser for
Beit Kodesh, Rabbi Miller, who is also assistant director of the
University of Michigan Hillel in Ann Arbor, said: "I am proud that we
are addressing the issues of intermarriage and making a concerted
effort to welcome new members from areas like Novi, Northville,
Canton and south Farmington to this small, but promising
Conservative congregation in Livonia.
"We have realized that in order to be successful, it is imperative to
welcome interfaith families as important members of our congrega-
tion," he said. "In order for this synagogue to survive, I am fully pre-
pared not to just say, `You're in, but to make a committed effort to
reach out."
While not at the convention, Rabbi Miller has been pursuing some
of what was in the new initiative for several months at Beit Kodesh.
"We need to include non-Jewish children in the Beit Kodesh religious
school, with the hope of having them convert later on," he said. "We
may also include non-Jewish members in our service in more ways
than some of the larger Conservative congregations, who are not
recruiting as we are.
In the past few years at the Oakland County-based Congregation

A New Initiative on page 47

December 15 2005

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