samet@sfmag.UUCP (A.I.Samet) (03/15/85)
> Because Humanistic Jews affirm the right of individuals to be masters of > their own lives, they generally make sure that their children feel free > to define their Jewishness without being constrained by the choices of > their parents. For example, to make sure that my former wife's future > children would feel free to become Orthodox, if they wish, without the > stigma of mamzerut, I gave my ex-wife an Orthodox get, under the > supervision of the head of an Orthodox beit din. (Adam Reed) Perhaps this helps to explain why the non-orthodox majority that created the State of Israel gave jurisdiction to the orthodox rabbinate over marriage and divorce. A divorce is not a purely personal matter. It impacts the status of children who are not yet conceived, and all of their descendants, as well as the larger Jewish community. Yitzchok Samet