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[quote=Anonymous]We are Jewish and we have a biological child, age 3.  After struggling with secondary infertility for 2 years it seems that we cannot have anymore children (I have uterus problems that cannot be treated).  We would love to adopt but my concern is about raising a child in the Jewish faith who was not born Jewish.  Namely, is it fair to the child to raise him/her Jewish when they were not born from Jewish birthparents?  Would they always feel different/out of place in the family or feel that Judaism wasn't the right fit for them, since they wouldn't be choosing to convert?  When you adopt from another country I know that it's important to introduce your child to the traditions/culture of her home country, so she doesn't lose that part of her heritage.  Would the same be true of religion, and if so, how would we do this given that we do not feel comfortable celebrating non-Jewish holidays or attending church services?

We are not very religious (reform) but Judaism is very important to us and being a member of the Jewish community is central to our family life.  Our child will go to Hebrew/Sunday school, have a B'nai Mitzvah, etc., and being involved in the synagogue is very important to us.

My husband, who is also Jewish, has an adopted sister from a South American country who as an adult no longer considers herself Jewish, married a non-Jewish man, and is raising her kids in the Christian faith.  I have a first cousin who is adopted (family is Jewish), and he married a non-Jewish woman and considers himself to be Christian and is raising his kids Christian.  I guess I look at these two family members who are adopted and who chose not to continue being Jewish and to raise their kids in their birth faith and I wonder if my child would feel similarly.

Any thoughts would be appreciated![/quote]

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