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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am the son of a Jewish father and a Protestant mother. We attended a Reform synagogue. At that time, Reform still held to the belief that one must have a Jewish mother to be Jewish, but our congregation accepted me anyways. Reform has since changed its rules about this and it remains a hotly debated issue among the Conservatives. [b]When I went to college, many would not accept me as Jewish, so I converted under Orthodox auspices. They had to draw blood from my already circumcised penis, and I had to dunk myself in the Mikveh of Manhattan.[/b] [/quote]
Really?  This is fascinating, but sad that people wouldn't  accept you as Jewish. [/quote]

Why is it sad?  Under traditional Jewish law, the PP was NOT Jewish.   I understand why Reform made the changes it did, but I don't think its sad that others with a different of the meaning and status of traditional Jewish law did not accept those changes.   (note, not accepting them as a Jew, does not mean they did not accept PP as a friend, who someone with a spiritual search and a desire to become Jewish - only PP can tell us if they did the latter, I hope they did so)[/quote]
It's sad because this man had to go through great lengths to get accepted.  It seems sad to have to endure some type of initiation in order for people to accept you as fully Jewish when his father was a Jew and he was raised a Jew.  It seems like Jews are not as accepting of people as other faiths are.   I know all religions and faiths have traditions to follow, but becoming a Jew is not for the faint at heart.  I respect the Jewish tradition, but withdrawing blood from a guy's penis seems extreme.    [/quote]

On the contrary, from our POV, Judaism is MORE accepting. If your mother was a Jew, then you are a Jew, even if you are a loud obnoxious atheist, which is not true for other faiths.  You are simply looking at it from the point of view of being a Christian or Muslim - which is to say the adherent of a religion.  Being a Jew is (according to the religion) being a member of a PEOPLE.  Its not just about what you adhere to.  And its not just tradition - to Orthodox, Conservative, and some Reform, its a matter of religious law.  You also seem hung up the word "accept"  and "accepting"  My synagogue has gays, transgenders, people with disabilities, of all colors, who participate fully.  We also have quite a few nonJews (in intermarriages) who participate fully in the social life of the congregation.  Determining "who is a Jew" is a specific matter of Jewish law and ritual, its not about personal acceptance.

As for drawing blood, that is simply the ritual substitute for circumcision, which is part of conversion for males for over 2000 years.  Again, it seems like a big deal because the winners of history decided that was unnecessary.

Being an observant Jew makes one much more aware of how certain culturally bound POVs are privileged (and for me, has made me more sympathetic to Muslims, gays, etc, though sadly that is not true for all observant Jews)[/quote]

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