Adoption in the Jewish World.....

My neighbor S just adopted a baby boy from Korea. They have been married about 10 years, and have tried every avenue short of surrogacy. When I first learnt of their plan to adopt, I was appalled. Not because they were adopting. I believe in adoption, I believe in people who love children taking in other people's children and loving them as their own.

I just don't believe that a Korean child should be brought up in an Orthodox Jewish household. I mean who are we fooling here. The name of the game here is "who can be more religious", right. Would you be the one to let your child play with "that Korean kid"?
Would you invite "that funny looking kid" over for dinner, let your child sleep over at his house? Let you daughter date him? Let us be realistic here, in our quest for perfection and religion we have crossed some lines that have no business being there.

There are people who have adopted children of other races and nationalities, we see them in line at the grocery store, we see them playing with them in the park. We hear about them when no one wants to let them into our precious insular Bais Yaakovs and Yeshivas. Do we as human beings have a right to bring these children into our lives and homes, knowing that they will suffer for the rest of their lives?

This morning was the bris of the little Korean child, no longer Korean in anything but the color of his skin and the slant of his eyes. When I walked into the room for a moment I couldn't breathe, I could do nothing but stare at the face of the proud mommy and daddy. In that moment, I understood what it was about. These two people have gambled with their lives and the life of another as well. They have chosen to mold two worlds into one. But when I saw the joy in their faces, the tears in their eyes, I understood. There is no right, there is no wrong. There are just millions of people trying to do the best they can.