Julie Lookatch of Mequon and Gregor Cox of Wauwatosa came to Judaism the way many non-Jews these days at least initially do, through romantic involvement.
Julie has been married to Tedd for 12 years and “together almost 20 years” with him; and she had become deeply involved in the local Jewish community. She is a board member of the National Council for Jewish Women-Milwaukee Section and the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center.
Cox, 28, has been dating Andrea Libber for about five years and had attended Jewish religious services with her and her family.
Both ultimately decided they wanted to convert. And that was a significant motivation for both to attend the “Community Introduction to Judaism” class sponsored by several area synagogues and the Wisconsin Council of Rabbis.
Lookatch took the 18-week class last year, Cox about two years ago. Both told The Chronicle in recent telephone interviews that they thoroughly enjoyed it, both for many of the same reasons.
For one, the class is taught by rabbis, cantors and educators from local Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist synagogues. Though both Lookatch and Cox came to Judaism through the Reform movement (Lookatch via Congregation Sinai; Cox via Congregation Shalom), they liked hearing from representatives of the other movements.
“You got to hear a lot of different viewpoints,” said Lookatch. She had attended services at other movements’ synagogues, but “to sit and have each rabbi teach a couple of classes was really interesting.”
That is one of the “amazing” things about this class, according to Rabbi Shari Shamah, who has coordinated the class for the past “five or six years,” she said.
“The nice thing is that this is an example of different denominations working together for the benefit of the community,” Shamah said.
Different backgrounds
This cooperation is seen not just in the teachers, but also in the locations. The class is held in three “trimesters,” each of which takes place at a different synagogue.
This year’s class, for example, will be hosted at Congregations Sinai, Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun (both Reform) and Beth Israel (Conservative).
Lookatch and Cox also both liked how the class always began with some study of Hebrew.
“That was fascinating,” said Cox. “I enjoy languages, and Hebrew is drastically different from English and Spanish, which I took in high school.”
Lookatch also said the Hebrew was “one of my favorite things” about the class because that helped her understand what her three sons were learning at Hebrew school. “I feel I can help them with their homework now,” she said.
Lookatch and Cox also discovered that not everyone in the class was like them. “I was surprised to find that not everyone was going for conversion,” said Cox. “Some were Jewish by birth but had no Jewish upbringing and were taking to reconnect with their background and religion.… That was neat, meeting people of different backgrounds.”
Indeed, Shamah said the students, who average in number 10 to 15 per year, include “single people thinking about Judaism who want to try it out, people in serious relationships with someone Jewish who don’t want to convert but want to learn more about Judaism, in many cases to raise their children Jewish or become comfortable with their in-laws.”
“Intentionally, the class is not called a ‘conversion class’ because you don’t have to convert to take it,” Shamah said.
“The class fulfills two purposes,” said Rabbi Jacob Herber of Congregation Beth Israel and current president of the Wisconsin Council of Rabbis. “It provides an opportunity for people who are Jewish but do not have formal Jewish education to increase their knowledge.
“The other purpose is to provide the educational component which is required for people seeking to convert to Judaism.”
Herber, who has been at Beth Israel for five years, said he has been one of the teachers of this class every year he has been here, even when he has not had candidates for conversion participating.
“For me as a rabbi, it is very enriching,” Herber said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to share the wisdom and the rich history of Judaism with others who have not had any exposure to it.”
The class meets on Tuesday evenings, beginning this year on Oct. 9, and each session lasts from 7:15 to 9:30 p.m.
In addition to Hebrew reading and instruction about Jewish practices, the syllabus calls for two sessions with a social worker from Jewish Family Services, discussing “the realities of a relationship with someone who is Jewish, or of converting,” said Shamah. It also includes a Sabbath dinner at one of the participating synagogues, she said.
The sponsoring synagogues this year are Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue and Congregations Beth Israel, Emanu-El of Waukesha, Shir Hadash and Sinai. Cost of the class is $200, which includes texts and the Shabbat dinner.
For more information, call Toni Quartana, assistant to Rabbi Marc Berkson at Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun, 414-228-7545
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