Ask the Reform Rabbi: Who is a Jew?
Reform Rabbi Jeffrey Wolfson Goldwasser answers questions about Jewish identity.
Am I Jewish if one of my grandparents was born Jewish?
According to the Reform Movment of Judaism, am I Jewish if one of my grandparents was born Jewish? Reform Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser answers this question.
According to the Reform Movment of Judaism, am I Jewish if one of my grandparents was born Jewish? Reform Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser answers this question.
Am I Jewish if my last name is Kohen?
Reform Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser explains why Jewish-sounding last names do not mean a person is Jewish. Some non-Jews have the last name of Kohen or Cohen.
Reform Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser explains why Jewish-sounding last names do not mean a person is Jewish. Some non-Jews have the last name of Kohen or Cohen.
Am I entitled to become a member of the practicing Jewish community?
Both my parents are Jewish. I was not given a Jewish education and did not become a bar mitzvah, but I have some knowledge of Judaism from my Bubela. Today I think I should be living more "Jewishly." Am I in a position to go to a synagogue, join a congregation, speak to a rabbi..? I don't want to be disrespectful to any orthodox member of Judaism and only want to pursue this further if I am entitled to do so.
Both my parents are Jewish. I was not given a Jewish education and did not become a bar mitzvah, but I have some knowledge of Judaism from my Bubela. Today I think I should be living more "Jewishly." Am I in a position to go to a synagogue, join a congregation, speak to a rabbi..? I don't want to be disrespectful to any orthodox member of Judaism and only want to pursue this further if I am entitled to do so.
Ask the Reform Rabbi - Am I Jewish?
I am African-American. My grandmother converted to Judaism as a young woman. She raised my mother as a Jew, however, as an adult my mother converted to Baptist. What does all this make me? Denise
I am African-American. My grandmother converted to Judaism as a young woman. She raised my mother as a Jew, however, as an adult my mother converted to Baptist. What does all this make me? Denise
What is Reform Judaism's position on matrilineal descent?
The daughter of a non-Jewish mother and a Jewish father, who wants to become fully Jewish, finds the concept of matrilineal descent hard to accept and upsetting. Rabbi Goldwasser explains the Reform Judaism's position on Jewish identity.
The daughter of a non-Jewish mother and a Jewish father, who wants to become fully Jewish, finds the concept of matrilineal descent hard to accept and upsetting. Rabbi Goldwasser explains the Reform Judaism's position on Jewish identity.
Am I Jewish if my Jewish great-grandfather married a non-Jew?
Reform Rabbi Jeff Goldwasser answers the question "Am I Jewish if my Jewish great-grandfather married a non-Jew?"
Reform Rabbi Jeff Goldwasser answers the question "Am I Jewish if my Jewish great-grandfather married a non-Jew?"