"It’s a disgusting thing to call someone. Dirty blood, see. Common blood. It’s ridiculous." --Ron Weasley, explaining the term "Mudblood" to Hermione
I'm a Harry Potter fan (surprise!). A big one. So naturally, I subconsciously draw parallels between my life and the books. This became particularly disturbing during some discussions I had last summer with fellow Jewish college students. Let's start with a refresher on what "Mudblood" exactly means, for those who haven't read the books in a while or those who never have.
In the books, a large divide is set up between two major groups of opinion: there are those who believe that anyone with magical ability should be allowed to learn magic regardless of their parentage, and those who think that instead only those whose entire families have "magical" blood should be allowed to participate in the society and go to Hogwarts. "Mudblood" technically means one's parents and grandparents were not magical in any way, aka they were Muggles. Hermione is the main example of a "Mudblood" throughout the books. A main character, extremely skilled in magic, she has great morals, and is a feminist figure at her best, she fights for what she believes in and manages to overcome a lot of those who would put her down because she is not from a wizarding family.
But people hate her. Like, really, really hate her. These people are led by the very evil Lord Voldemort, who himself is secretly a Mudblood (kind of like how Hitler is thought to have had some Jewish heritage?). Those who came across as almost Nazi-like in their genetic determination of wizarding blood and their intent to kill those who do not fit their narrow description of a "witch" target Hermione and others throughout the books. They ignore her commitment to her magical studies, her attempts to reconcile the magical and Muggle world, her above-average skills in magic. Instead, they focus on her bloodline, something she did not choose, something that should have nothing to do with anything. The movie version dramatizes a scene in which Hermione is actually tortured, adding in that someone carves "Mudblood" into her arm. Note the continued Nazi allusions, here a seeming reference to the tattoos prisoners often received in Nazi concentration camps; these Shoah (Holocaust) allusions were particularly obvious in the last two movies.
Cue a look at Judaism. Strict halakhah (interpretation of Jewish law) dictates that Judaism can only be "passed down" through the maternal bloodline. What? Yes, Judaism is almost seen as genetic, that "Jewishness" is somehow carried in the blood. So at my Jewish internship experience this summer (though this issue extends to many Jewish people, not just some of those in my program), it felt like the majority of the group disapproved of my family's lifestyle because my mother is Catholic; there would have been no problem had she been the Jewish parent. How does that make sense? I just don't know. Then, when they found out I was adopted, the maternal/paternal thing didn't end up mattering since I was not the physical offspring of my parents anyway. Instead I received questions like, "Do you know if your [birth] parents were Jewish?"* I respect that some people follow their holy books (in this case, the Torah) as closely as possible because they believe it to be the direct word of G-d. But when interpretations change throughout the centuries, it becomes clear that rather than a stagnant thing, it is meant to be a changing document, reevaluated by new generations. This is how the Conservative and Reform movements emerged. So maybe it's time for everyone to take another look at the rules regarding bloodline.
Why should it matter if my birth parents were Jewish? I have never met or spoken to them, they have played no part in my life beyond giving birth to me, their heritage is not my heritage. As far as anyone should be concerned, I am a blonde, Puerto Rican Jew from Long Island, whose family raised her in the Reform Jewish movement, took her to Hebrew School, gave her a Bat Mitzvah. Both of my parents read Hebrew to some extent, just as an example of our interfaith life. But for many Jewish people who follow the idea that the physical birth mother needs to be Jewish, I am breaking all the rules. And just to be clear, this used to be traced through the paternal line, centuries ago. So it really does not make sense.
The maternal bloodline tradition has a lot of implications. For example, a Jewish woman could technically marry a non-Jewish man, and their child would still be considered "halakhically" Jewish. I know a devout member of the Catholic Church, an older man who has practiced Catholicism faithfully for decades, and yet whose mother was Jewish and would thus still be considered "Jewish" by strictly observant Jews. But people like me, who have been raised in Judaism from birth and may be adopted or have a non-Jewish mother, are not considered Jewish at all according to many Jewish people, not just the very religious ones. Luckily, Reform Judaism considers someone Jewish if either parent is Jewish, following the maternal or paternal rules, and the theology of the movement actually does not tie itself to bloodline at all, so adopted kids are fine. I'm generally a fan of inclusion, so this all works for me. The ironic classification of religion as a somehow physical thing baffled me when I first heard about it. There is no way to "pass down" Jewish belief and practice physically, only through instruction.
Now, the magical thing is a little different, because if someone does not have magical ability, simply cannot perform spells, they cannot learn magic, there's no way to force their bodies to perform it. The books have a term, "Squib," which means the opposite of Mudbloods (someone from an all-magical family who has no magical ability).
But the disapproval I feel from many Jewish people feels the same as the Mudblood situation. I feel like they're saying, "Your family is not good enough, I do not care that you study Judaism/magic all the time or that you talk about interfaith/Muggle relations or that you excel at Jewish subjects/magic or that you might become a rabbi/work for the Ministry of Magic, you're not good enough because your blood isn't 'pure.'" Same as Hermione (though fortunately without the violence). Unfortunately this also then ties into Nazi-like genetic determination, which is frightening and a very dangerous allusion to make.
Luckily, when I discuss this issue with people, a lot of them seem to start to understand a little better. To understand how devoted I am to Judaism. To understand how shocking it was to be told, at age 21, that no, I was not Jewish (in their opinion). To be asked about my birth parents, as though that should matter at all. They start to realize that maybe there should be alternative Jewish communities, where interfaith families and adopted children can find greater acceptance. At least, I hope that's what people think when they hear my story.
I encourage everyone to keep thinking about your own way of "drawing circles," as a rabbi once described it. Who do you consider a part of your religion? Who do you accept into your synagogue, your church, your mosque, your temple. Who fits? For you, if you're Catholic, is someone who uses birth control considered Catholic? If you're Muslim, is someone who drinks considered Muslim? If you're Jewish, is someone who does not observe Shabbat considered Jewish? Not everybody in the religion will answer the same way, not everyone will agree. Think about where you draw your own circles, and feel free to share your opinion in the comments.
Now go out and love one another.
<3,
Allyson
*Sensitivity note for adoption situations: My parents are the ones who raised me. My birth parents are the ones who physically gave birth to me.
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