Love Conquers All

This week, we continue our celebration of marriage equality in the United States with special messages from WRJ and Reform Movement leaders and community members. Today we hear from WRJ Immediate Past President Lynn Magid Lazar.

Love conquers all! Well, maybe not all—but certainly last week’s Supreme Court decision marks a momentous day for our country and a moment in time when we can honestly say that our country upheld the values of love and equal rights and responsibilities for all our citizens. Love conquers all! At least for right now; for myself and for so many other parents, grandparents, siblings, relatives, and friends, (as the hashtags say) love wins! Last week, the majority opinion of our Supreme Court asserted that in this country, freedoms expand. In this country, all our citizens are entitled to participate in the sacred relationships of marriage. I am the mother of three children and I believe that my family reflects the rich diversity of the Jewish people. I have stood under the chuppah, with joy, as my daughter Jessica married our Chilean son-in-law, Juan. Along with grandparents and the entire extended family, we welcomed a new international son and his family into our own. My husband and I have also had the honor and joy of being with my daughter-in-law Sage when she converted to Judaism. We welcomed a new Jewish woman into our family and into the family of the Reform Movement. As she emerged from the mikvah, we were all new and renewed!  A few short weeks later, we stood under the chuppah with my son Aaron and his bride Sage—again, expanding our growing family. My youngest son, Ethan, is still single. He is an accomplished young man, an attorney, a loving son, brother, grandson, and uncle! And, Ethan is gay. Prior to last week’s Supreme Court decision, I hesitated to even contemplate standing under a chuppah with him in any legal way in this country. Yes, I knew that within the Reform Movement there were opportunities to have a Jewish wedding ceremony, but to have that experience be ignored or negated by the larger community was heart-wrenching for me. Now, our country has declared that every citizen can marry the person they love and every family can mark that occasion in any spiritual, religious, and legal way they choose. Today, I can realistically imagine standing under the chuppah with Ethan and someone he loves who will be welcomed into our family and community. I am proud to be part of our Reform Movement that has embraced this position as a core Jewish value. I am especially proud that Women of Reform Judaism has advocated for this day for decades! WRJ has been on the cutting edge of inclusion issues for so long, passing the first Reform Movement resolution, in 1965, that addressed LGBT rights. Nonetheless, after decades of advocacy with slow and steady progress, it had been easy to become disheartened and disillusioned. Last week, my dreams were realized and my faith in the process of our American system has been restored. Today I am proud to be an American Reform Jew. Today, as always, I am proud to be a Jewish mother!