The NY Times has a story about one woman's return to her Jewish roots. After reading stories like this, I can't help but wonder what created such strong feelings of feminism/liberalism that no branch of traditional Judaism was able to satisfy her needs. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Coming of Age, and Back to Her Faith

Dr. Kessler had been searching for a way back to her faith for some time, visiting various synagogues. But she and her husband, who have been married almost five years, couldn't agree on the proper setting. "I wanted the female energy to be respected," she said. Yet they didn't want a place that seemed wacky.

With nine other people - friends and fellow members of the congregation - they sat in a semicircle facing the rabbi, Burt Aaron Siegel, who, in his billowy white trousers, two votive candles flickering on a table behind him, looked more like an Indian mystic than a rabbi. The impression was not altogether wrong. Rabbi Burt, as he is called, was the senior rabbi of the Riverdale Temple 25 years ago, before turning psychotherapist, explorer of the spiritual universe and Kundalini yoga teacher.

Rabbi Burt mentioned that Dr. Kessler was among nine women (none of the others were present that night) studying for a group bat mitzvah. After a homily about unconditional love, the rabbi ended the session by chanting the word "Shalom" again and again, stretching out the last syllable so it sounded like the Ommm at the end of a yoga session.

Note: Paragraph 1 posted above was reported after Paragraphs 2 and 3 in the story which I think was the wrong placement given the "wacky" quote.

My sister, who is only a few years older than Dr. Kessler, spent her high school years in El Paso. I have to ask her if they knew each other.

But wait, there's more...

"Miriam was one of the few women who really played a role in the Torah," Dr. Kessler said, explaining why she chose this subject. "She was Moses' sister. I'm going to talk about how most Western religion is a patriarchal system, and it's not healthy, it's not balanced, especially not for women, who suffer from autoimmune disorders way more than men.

??????