Voices of WRJ: Parashat Eikev

“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. This was not an easy choice for me, in large part because of the pain I knew it would inflict upon my parents, especially my mother. Raised in a devoutly fundamentalist Christian family, my mother wasn’t sure that she could attend (or participate) as Nate became a bar mitzvah. I assured her that our family understood her position, but we really hoped that she would be there. After praying about it, she and my father made the decision to be there and stood on the bimah to pass the Torah from generation-to-generation down to Nate. When we moved to Maryland, before I completed the conversion process, I found the same warmth and acceptance among my new sisterhood members. They have helped every step of the way both in my conversion and as I became an adult bat mitzvah. WRJ has helped me navigate the path to becoming an active, informed Jew through the many resources and opportunities it provides for leadership development, advocacy, social action work, Torah study and interpretation, mission trips to Israel, and so much more! As I write this a few weeks before this is being published, I am honored and excited to be able to represent WRJ in a few days at a special assembly of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations being convened in Washington, D.C. to show solidarity with Israel. As complex and difficult as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is to understand and try to resolve, especially as an American who has never faced this kind of everyday struggle, I am so grateful to have WRJ represent me so that I have a stronger voice. Just as the “rules” mentioned in Eikev are open to modern-day interpretation and different levels of observance, so much of our daily existence is dependent on navigating new paths and always trying to find the way that works for us. I am happy to have found my home in a movement that is constantly re-evaluating and working for Tikkun Olam and am so proud of the role that WRJ plays within Reform Judaism!