Relationships
I Chose a Non-Jew--and the Non-Jew Chose JudaismBy Lyssa Friedman
A personal narrative of a woman whose partner converted to Judaism while she remained conflicted.
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Independent Minyan Conference
Last Monday I went to Mechon Hadar’s Independent Minyan conference. Mechon Hadar is an organization dedicated to observant and egalitarian Judaism. They have a yeshiva in New York and also serve as consultants for independent minyanim around the country that share a belief in egalitarian Judaism. The independent minyan movement meets the needs of observant Jews who prefer a traditional prayer service, but feel the participation of women should be equal to that of men.
The conference was amazing because everyone who was there seemed to share the vision of being part of an active spiritual community. This movement is really new and most of the approximately 60 of these minyans have been founded within the last few years. These groups are still emerging and it did not seem that the needs of or outreach to interfaith families was even on the radar. Hopefully in time, interfaith families can find homes at these minyanim.
If you are part of a spiritual community that is welcoming to Interfaith families please drop me a line. As the network director at Interfaithfamily.com I would love to contact them and make sure they are part of the InterfaithFamily.com network.
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Like the Mechon Hadar organization, whose course offerings we publicize, our synagogue, Congregation Or LaOlam in Hartford, Connecticut, also welcome interfaith couples and families. We’ve grown over the years from a small chavurah based in Elmwood, Connecticut into a high-profile congregation bent on reclaiming Hartford’s Jewish presence, lost long ago on the community’s move into the suburbs.
Rabbi Jaegen Sandberg