Jeanne Kahn

“And if you do obey these rules and observe them carefully, your G-d will maintain faithfully for you the covenant made on oath with your fathers (Deuteronomy 7:12, The Torah: A Women’s Commentary)." So begins this week’s Torah portion, Eikev. These seem like pretty straightforward directions, right? However, on closer reflection, perhaps they’re not so simple after all. In our modern society, we often choose to not to follow all of the commandments and, in fact, can’t follow all of the original ones handed down at Sinai. My husband and I were married in the Reform congregation in which he grew up in Alexandria, VA and made a commitment at that time to have a Jewish household and pass Judaism on to any future generations. Not being Jewish by birth nor feeling particularly religious, I did not convert at that time. It was while helping our oldest son, Nate, study this parashah, Eikev, in preparation to become a bar mitzvah that I decided to become a Jew-by-choice. I already had a lot of friends in the sisterhood of our northern California congregation who had embraced me and made me feel welcome in the temple. They played a huge role in my decision to become a full member of the Jewish family.