For as long as I can remember, Tree of Life has been a forward-thinking congregation, endorsing philosophical and practical positions on the issues facing Conservative Judaism from a progressive point of view. Indeed, one of the first acts of my presidency was to add to our letterhead the words “A Progressive, Egalitarian Conservative Congregation,” so as to let the world know, or at least let anyone who received a letter from us know, who we are and what we stand for.

Much of our progressive philosophy concerns interfaith families. This is one of Conservative Judaism’s greatest challenges: how to welcome and integrate interfaith families into the Conservative Jewish community; indeed, how to make it realistically possible and feasible for interfaith families to be Conservatively Jewish. The statistics and numbers of interfaith marriages, as well as the number of children being born and adopted into these families, are certainly not being ignored. For too long however, the overt and covert negative messages being sent to these families have not been helpful, respectful or successful. Those messages must be re-evaluated and changed for the sake of those families and the survival of the Conservative movement.

I invite and encourage you to read our Interfaith/Outreach Document, which comprehensively details the progressive philosophy we espouse regarding interfaith families. This document has been praised by the former regional executive director of USCJ and has been used as an example and template for other like-minded congregations in regional USCJ meetings. Admittedly overdue are the implementation of programs and initiatives to give practical applications to our stated mission, goals and philosophy, and I plan to work on this both now and in future administrations. Much of the document deals with guidelines for life cycle events involving interfaith families. Birth, B’nai Mitzvot, Marriage and the honors and traditions that go along with them are delineated. Not so however, the inevitable last life cycle event in a person’s life, Hopefully, that is about to change.

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