FLAGSTAR BANK GRAND OPENING 4400 Orchard Lake Rd. • West Bloomfield Intermarriage Debate (Located on Orchard Lake Rd. at Lone Pine Rd.) (248) 683-9418 To officiate or not? Mixed marriage on agenda for Reform rabbis. Drive-up hours Monday Friday 7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Saturday 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Lobby hours Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. Saturday 8:30 am. - noon Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency San Diego R abbi Deborah Bravo of Temple B'nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, N.J., went through plenty of placement inter- views after her 1998 ordination as a Reform rabbi. Everywhere, she got the same question: not about her attitude toward homosexuality, not whether she wore a kippah and tallit, but whether she would officiate at an intermarriage. "It has become the litmus test for placement," Rabbi Bravo said in San Diego at last month's annual conven- tion of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Reform move- ment's rabbinical association. Rabbi Jerome Davidson of Temple Beth-El in Great Neck, N.Y., a member of the conference's ad-hoc committee on intermarriage, hoped to introduce a resolution at the convention calling on the organization to condone rabbis performing intermarriages, as long as the non-Jewish partner doesn't practice another faith and the couple is open to leading a Jewish life. That's the standard required by most Reform rabbis that perform mixed marriages. Knowing it was still too controver- sial to pass easily, however, Davidson and his colleagues put off a resolution until the conference's next convention, in March 2007. Unlike their Orthodox and Conservative colleagues, who are not permitted to perform intermarriages, Reform rabbis are discouraged but not forbidden from doing so. A 1973 con- ference resolution declares the group's opposition to members participating in any ceremony that solemnizes a mixed marriage, but the resolution is non-binding. Reform rabbis — as well as Reconstructionist, Humanist and unaf- filiated rabbis — must decide on an individual basis whether they will per- form intermarriages. Many say it's one of their most difficult decisions. "The question of officiation is a very tricky one," said Rabbi David Ellenson, president of the Reform movement's Hebrew Union College-Jewish institute of Religion. "It's the only time where we say no." Join us for our Grand Opening. Rates available only at 4400 Orchard Lake Rd. location. 1 3-MONTH CD 5 • 6 5 APY* LOYALTY PROGRAM RATE Includes a .15% APY Grand Opening Bonus Flagstar --ftell '"ittr-' Bank - Convenience you can count on. *Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 6/29/06. Loyal Customer offer cannot be combined with coupons or other special offers and is not eligible for VIP bonus. Customers not participating in the Loyal Customer program will receive the Valued Customer Grand Opening CD rate of 5.40% APY on the 13-month CD. Not available for public units. Some restrictions may apply. Minimum opening deposit is $500. Rates are available only on new CDs opened with money not currently on deposit at Flagstar Bank. **Loyalty Program Rate applies only to participants in Flagstar Bank's Loyalty Program. To qualify, customer must maintain an open and active checking account at Flagstar Bank with at least one automatic, recurring transaction monthly. (800) 642-0039 Member FDIC www.flagstar.com 1134950 Licensed & Insured 15 Years Experience CAPTIVATING HOME Finished Basements Additions Kitchen Bath Consulting New Construction ROOFING Existing Tear Offs • New Roofs 11_ 20 July 6 2006 RAM 0 ma-mow-mcoa a Fifty Percent "No" is not a popular answer in today's Reform congregations, rabbis say. Though there aren't hard numbers, it's estimated that about half say yes. Their ranks are growing every year, forced more by pressure from their congregants — many of them inter- married themselves — than by any theological revision. Rabbis at the convention said the tipping point may finally have been reached: At a time when half of all new Jewish marriages involve a non-Jewish partner, Reform rabbis who refuse to perform intermarriages feel they're on the defensive. "It is becoming more and more uncomfortable to be a Reform rabbi who does not officiate at intermarriag- es," said Rabbi Howard Jaffe of Temple Isaiah in Lexington, Mass. On the other hand, rabbis who do officiate feel they can finally be open about their stance. "We need to be realistic," said Rabbi Stephen Pearce of Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco. Turning mixed couples away at the altar is enormously hurtful." Some Reform rabbis believe it's time for the conference to adopt a nuanced acceptance of the practice. "We're liv- ing in a new era of American Jewish life," Rabbi Davidson said. The 1973 resolution discouraging rabbis from officiating at intermar- riages was predicated on the assump- tion that those unions "invariably led to assimilation," but growing numbers of mixed couples joining Reform con- gregations and raising Jewish children have disproved that thesis, he said. "We should be ready to be there when the couple begins its Jewish journey, assuming we feel that's the journey they're going to take," he said. Others, like Rabbi Steven Fox, the conference's newly installed executive vice president, think the time isn't right. The conference should unite Reform rabbis rather than set poten- tially divisive policy, Rabbi Fox said, adding that rabbis who don't perform intermarriages "need the support" of the conference for their increasingly unpopular decisions. Even many rabbis who perform interfaith weddings say it should be ((