Jewish High Holy Days - Year 5760

September 4, 1999

Source: The Seattle Times

On September 4, 1999, The Seattle Times published an article on "Jews by choice," a term most rabbis use to refer to those who have converted to Judaism. In its last survey of Jews in 1990, the Council of Jewish Federations found that 200,000 of America's Jews were converts. Though most Jews convert to Judaism through intermarriage, some Jews have converted because the "ancient rituals speak to a spiritual hunger they say always nagged at them." Rabbi David Rose of Herzl-ner Tamid Conservative Congregation on Mercer Island, Washington, who presides over approximately a dozen conversions each year, stated: "They're looking for a sense of community and sense of peoplehood and caring for each other across national boundaries...Some talk about the focus in Jewish life on deeds and not creeds. And others are looking for ritual."