In August, President Christina Paxson gave a keynote address at the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, the oldest synagogue still standing in America. In her address, she described her religious evolution:
“This event is meaningful to me, both professionally and personally.…
Personally, because I suspect that this is the first time a Jewish
woman named Christina has had the privilege of speaking from this
podium!
“Let me start with the personal. I was raised as a Quaker, and during
my childhood I attended Sunday School at the Pittsburgh Friends
meeting. This was not your typical Sunday School. I grew up in the
turbulent time of the 1960s and early 1970s, when the country was
grappling with civil rights, women’s rights, labor rights, and the
Vietnam War—issues that were very important to the Friends.…
“The Friends had strong convictions about pacifism and social justice.
But, although I didn’t appreciate it at the time, I realize now that I
was never told what I should believe. I was free to listen, learn—and
disagree, if I chose to do so.
“The overarching lesson—the most important lesson—was that convictions
about matters of conscience should grow from personal introspection,
informed by discussion and debate, rather than be dictated by religious
doctrine.
“So, how did I come to be a Jewish woman named Christina? It’s simple:
I fell in love. I met my husband, Ari Gabinet, at Swarthmore College in
the fall of my freshman year. I converted to Judaism as a senior in
college, after Ari and I became engaged. One reason for my conversion
was my deep love and respect for Ari’s family. But that wasn’t the only
factor.
“At least the way my new family practiced it, Judaism was a religion
that welcomed questioning, quarreling, and intellectual debate. In the
end, and somewhat ironically, it was the lessons I had learned in
Quaker Sunday School that made me feel very comfortable taking on a new
Jewish identity.”
Read the full text of Paxson's address here.
