On Friday nights, Charley Lerrigo heads for Chochmat HaLev, a Jewish Renewal congregation in Berkeley, to recite the Sh’ma and welcome the Shabbos Queen. Thirty-six hours later he’s praying in the pews of the First Congregational Church of Oakland.
Lerrigo is bi-textual: He reveres both the Torah and the Christian Bible. He is comfortable worshipping in either Jewish or Christian settings, and easily transitions from praising HaShem to praising Jesus.
No one would argue that Lerrigo, 68, is free to do whatever he likes when it comes to his personal religious choices. But are they kosher?
While Orthodox Jews would say, “Absolutely not,” for a small but determined segment of Bay Area Judaism, non-Jews are more than just tolerated, more than just welcomed: They are invited to participate fully in Jewish ritual and congregational life.
Says Lerrigo, “I need to stand with the community on Sabbath. On Simchat Torah, when I take [the Torah] and dance with it, that scroll burns my chest. [...]”
Friday, December 08, 2006
Northern California Jewish News: "Breaking boundaries: When non-Jews practice Judaism"
Don't you love that "breaking boundaries" title? At Northern California Jewish News there are no goofballs, but only pioneers, innovators, and mold-breakers.
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