What if you never received...

your bar or bat mitzvah? Does this not make her Jewish???

My closest friend is jewish but was a 'hebrew school dropout' as we like to call her. She never received her bat mitzvah I wanted to choose her as the godmother to my baby...but I know how strict the catholic church can be.

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Posted by Stefanie

your bar or bat mitzvah? Does this not make her Jewish???

My closest friend is jewish but was a 'hebrew school dropout' as we like to call her. She never received her bat mitzvah I wanted to choose her as the godmother to my baby...but I know how strict the catholic church can be.

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i BELIEVE, and i could be wrong, that you have to be baptized in the catholic church to be a godparent to a catholic child -- please don't quote me on that, i could be wrong

only one godparent needs to be Catholic.

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Posted by Jan05Bride

only one godparent needs to be Catholic.

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there you go then

I'm going to backtrack and say . ... I will tell you that it depends on your priest. Technically the role of a godparent is to guide your child faithfully by the Catholic church rules so techincally someone not catholic would not be a good role model (whether that's jewish, espiscopalian, or some may say even a non practicing catholic) . However, some churches/priests are lienent with this and will allow a non-catholic be a godparent.
I think you would need to ask your church for confirmation.

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Posted by Jan05Bride

only one godparent needs to be Catholic.

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Sadly not true this is what happened to us. We wanted DH's sister (catholic with all 3 sacraments) and my brother (jewish/catholic no sacraments) we were told no! My brother cannot even be considered a Christrian witness because he is not baptized! I even call the arch diocese to double check and was told that it is cannon law. I know that people sometimes get around this in a Roman Catholic church but to be honest I don't know how.

We are now looking into other churches.

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Posted by marymoon

having a bat mitzbah or not has ntohign to do with it. at least one has to be a confirmed active catholic and one has to be a christian witness...not beint bat mitzvahed doens;t make you not jewish. Also, a bat mitzvah isn't even a real jewish ceremony. No offense, but it's something people made up to include girls in more liberal sects.

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None taken!!!

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Posted by marymoon

having a bat mitzbah or not has ntohign to do with it. at least one has to be a confirmed active catholic and one has to be a christian witness...not beint bat mitzvahed doens;t make you not jewish. Also, a bat mitzvah isn't even a real jewish ceremony. No offense, but it's something people made up to include girls in more liberal sects.

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Even a boy who never had a bar mitzva is still Jewish. By Jewish law, if you're born Jewish, you can't get out of it, not matter what you do (even if you convert). Of course if you do convert, you no longer really care what Jewish law says.

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Posted by marymoon

having a bat mitzbah or not has ntohign to do with it. at least one has to be a confirmed active catholic and one has to be a christian witness...not beint bat mitzvahed doens;t make you not jewish. Also, a bat mitzvah isn't even a real jewish ceremony. No offense, but it's something people made up to include girls in more liberal sects.

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Being born to a Jewish MOTHER makes a child Jewish. If the mother is not Jewish, and the father is Jewish, then the child would have to be converted through ceremony and Mikveh. The Jewish faith would not recognize a child born to a non-Jewish mother as Jewish.

I was not able to be a G-d parent to my brother's child (his wife is Catholic) because I an Jewish and would not be able to raise this child in the name of Jesus properly should something happen to him and his wife.

As far as a Bat Mitzvah being made up? Tell that to my parents who spent a great chunk of money 22 years ago on something that was not real. I studied intently for five years in prayer, history and the Hebrew language so I could accept my faith and understand it in the EXACT capacity of ANY male of the same age.

Conservative Judaism as well as some sects of Orthodoxy do have Bat Mitzvah's for their girls and they are very real. They are just as much of a coming of age ritual. the Conservative movement is FAR from liberal. Most observe the Sabbath and keep kosher homes as well. Perhaps they do not have gala celebrations for girls, but the rituals are just as serious and meaningful.

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Posted by marymoon

having a bat mitzbah or not has ntohign to do with it. at least one has to be a confirmed active catholic and one has to be a christian witness...not beint bat mitzvahed doens;t make you not jewish. Also, a bat mitzvah isn't even a real jewish ceremony. No offense, but it's something people made up to include girls in more liberal sects.

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i'm wondering why you think a bat mtizvah isn't a real jewish ceremony? my sister had one. she read from the torah.

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Posted by Goldi1021

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Posted by marymoon

having a bat mitzbah or not has ntohign to do with it. at least one has to be a confirmed active catholic and one has to be a christian witness...not beint bat mitzvahed doens;t make you not jewish. Also, a bat mitzvah isn't even a real jewish ceremony. No offense, but it's something people made up to include girls in more liberal sects.

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Being born to a Jewish MOTHER makes a child Jewish. If the mother is not Jewish, and the father is Jewish, then the child would have to be converted through ceremony and Mikveh. The Jewish faith would not recognize a child born to a non-Jewish mother as Jewish.

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SO if someone was born to a Jewish mother and raised catholic...People of the jewish faith would consider this person jewish?

I did a little research on this just to make sure my answer was accurate for you.

According to what I read:

'A Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew or any person who has gone through the formal process of conversion to Judaism.

It is important to note that being a Jew has nothing to do with what you believe or what you do. A person born to non-Jewish parents who has not undergone the formal process of conversion but who believes everything that Orthodox Jews believe and observes every law and custom of Judaism is still a non-Jew, even in the eyes of the most liberal movements of Judaism, and a person born to a Jewish mother who is an atheist and never practices the Jewish religion is still a Jew, even in the eyes of the ultra-Orthodox. In this sense, Judaism is more like a nationality than like other religions, and being Jewish is like a citizenship. '

According to this, the answer to your question is 'yes'.

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Posted by Goldi1021

I did a little research on this just to make sure my answer was accurate for you.

According to what I read:

'A Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew or any person who has gone through the formal process of conversion to Judaism.

It is important to note that being a Jew has nothing to do with what you believe or what you do. A person born to non-Jewish parents who has not undergone the formal process of conversion but who believes everything that Orthodox Jews believe and observes every law and custom of Judaism is still a non-Jew, even in the eyes of the most liberal movements of Judaism, and a person born to a Jewish mother who is an atheist and never practices the Jewish religion is still a Jew, even in the eyes of the ultra-Orthodox. In this sense, Judaism is more like a nationality than like other religions, and being Jewish is like a citizenship. '

According to this, the answer to your question is 'yes'.

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wow interesting..
My dad was born from a jewish mother but was raised catholic!

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Posted by oct.2004bride

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Posted by Goldi1021

I did a little research on this just to make sure my answer was accurate for you.

According to what I read:

'A Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew or any person who has gone through the formal process of conversion to Judaism.

It is important to note that being a Jew has nothing to do with what you believe or what you do. A person born to non-Jewish parents who has not undergone the formal process of conversion but who believes everything that Orthodox Jews believe and observes every law and custom of Judaism is still a non-Jew, even in the eyes of the most liberal movements of Judaism, and a person born to a Jewish mother who is an atheist and never practices the Jewish religion is still a Jew, even in the eyes of the ultra-Orthodox. In this sense, Judaism is more like a nationality than like other religions, and being Jewish is like a citizenship. '

According to this, the answer to your question is 'yes'.

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wow interesting..
My dad was born from a jewish mother but was raised catholic!

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You asked a great question. So great that I had to look it up myself even after having been made a Bat Mitzvah, and being raised in a Jewish home. It seems funny, but converts actually tend to know more than those actually born Jewish. They have to learn from the ground up whereas we just accept what is told to us. It is a pleasure to see a person seek knowledge for knowledges' sake.

Religion is a very personal thing. I do not impose my belief system on anyone else. But when the validity of something I take very seriously is questioned or negated - something that has definite meaning to my culture as well as my family - I feel compelled to respond in defense.

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Posted by Goldi1021

You asked a great question. So great that I had to look it up myself even after having been made a Bat Mitzvah, and being raised in a Jewish home. It seems funny, but converts actually tend to know more than those actually born Jewish. They have to learn from the ground up whereas we just accept what is told to us. It is a pleasure to see a person seek knowledge for knowledges' sake.

Religion is a very personal thing. I do not impose my belief system on anyone else. But when the validity of something I take very seriously is questioned or negated - something that has definite meaning to my culture as well as my family - I feel compelled to respond in defense.

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Thanks..I guess when my dad passes away...he is COVERED

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Posted by oct.2004bride


Thanks..I guess when my dad passes away...he is COVERED

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If he lived a good life, and passed his knowledge, intelligence and a good heart to his children, then I would imagine he would be 'covered' by any and all G-ds. But I love your terminology. It made me smile.