FYI

Desiree, Kristopher:


Gabriel told me, this evening, that Kristopher told him that he
(Gabriel) and I are not really Jewish because there is no Jewish
heritage in our ancestry.

There seems to be some confusion (or perhaps ignorance?).  Allow me to
clear it up.

First: Judaism is a religion, not a race.  A person can be born into a
family of any religion (or no religion) then make a conscious decision
to be Jewish.  Likewise, a person can be born into a Jewish family but
then decided to be Christian, or atheist, or Wiccan if that's what he's
into and believes in.  Gabriel's ancestry has absolutely nothing to do
with what he chooses to believe and to commit himself to.


Second: you seem to really be clinging to your belief that I was born
with the name Ricky Riess and that my father is the Steve Riess you've spoken
to.  I shall indulge your belief for a moment, but only assuming
arguendo, in order to point out the level of ignorance or denial of Mr.
Riess.  The surname "Riess" is actually a common Jewish-German name.
Mr. Riess insists that he is not Jewish and that his ancestors were from
the Ukraine.  However, Riess is not Ukrainian, it's German.
Jewish-German.  Don't believe me?  Look it up.  Here's a link to a
Wikipedia page that contains a list of well known/common Jewish names
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Jewish_surnames ).  Scroll down
until you get to the 'R's.  Or, I'll make it easier, here's a link to
the page with the 'R's
( http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Jewish_surnames&pagefrom=Pastern
ack#mw-pages ).  Do you see it there?  Near the bottom of the first column?

Not convinced?  Look here ( http://www.hebrewsurnames.com/RIESS ).  Or
how about this one ( http://www.4crests.com/riess-coat-of-arms.html ).
Or just Google [riess jewish surname].

It's not coincidence that both Gabriel's first and last names are Hebrew
(you may recall "Gabriel" was my suggestion)?

Don't you do any research or fact checking before you speak?  Rather
than relying on the declarations of angry, self-hating man like Mr.
(Steve) Riess, of whom you know nothing and cannot say whether he is a
credible source of information, I recommend (and it's only a
recommendation) that you do a little verification of facts on your own.
That way you won't look like such a fool when you try to convince
Gabriel he's not Jewish because his ancestors were not.  And, yes, I'm
saying you look like a fool because when Gabriel comes home and tells me
about what you said and I show him the irrefutable facts and
evidence...you look like a fool - to me, to Gabriel, and to anyone else
that hears about it.


Third: under Torah law a child is automatically Jewish if his father is
Jewish (unless the child later makes a conscious decision not to follow
the God of Israel).  It was rabbinic law that changed it to the mother
being the determining parent (rather than the father).  I don't believe
that the rabbinate is endowed with the authority to override God's
commandments and therefore, I acknowledge and follow, the Torah, not
rabbinic law.

I respectfully request, in the future, you refrain from speaking to
Gabriel about matters you clearly know nothing about (such as Judaism).
You can ASK him anything you want about it, but don't try to influence
him based on ignorance and misinformation.  When he asked me about your
religious beliefs I told him the last I heard you claimed to be Wiccan,
but that was a long time ago.  When he asked what Wiccan was I told him
I wasn't qualified to answer that.  You see how easy it is.  There's
nothing wrong with saying "I don't know".  And then you're child doesn't
feel like you're lying to him about something he seems to feel fairly
strongly about.

Good evening.

Fox

P.S. I'm certain that you're going to get all bent out of shape and say
I'm being disrespectful and insulting and you're going to want to write
one of your own insulting emails in response, but it's really not
necessary because 1) I don't believe anything I have said is insulting
or disrespectful (the closest I have come to being disrespectful is
calling you ignorant, but that's not disrespect - you've stated yourself
that you know nothing about Judaism); and 2) I have no respect for you
anyway (perhaps, in part, because you so frequently speak out of
ignorance).