Rabbi’s Update 5/16/2025

Dear Friends:

Yesterday morning while working,  I listened to the Supreme Court’s oral arguments in the case of Trump vs CASA in the backgound. The media has generally presented this as a case about birthright citizenship but it is really a case about whether a Federal district judge has the power to issue a nationwide injunction against the government, or only in his/her district or for the specific plaintiffs appearing before him or her. (As an aside, the CASA in question is CASA de Maryland, a local organization with which you may be familiar.)

As you probably know, on his first day back in office, President Trump issued an executive order that the Federal government would not recognize the citizenship of children born in the United States after the issuance of the order unless their parents held legal permanent status. This would affect not only children of the undocumented but those here on temporary visas such as student or work visas. This executive order, which seems to contradict the plain meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment as well as a previously unquestioned Supreme Court precedent from 1898, was challenged by a number of organizations and states which won nationwide injunctions against the administration. These cases were consolidated into the one case which was argued yesterday.

As a student of Talmud and halacha. I found the arguments fascinating. It seemed to me that the lawyers for both sides were in agreement that the executive order itself would likelybe struck down when the cases reached the Supreme Court on the merits. At the very least, the Solicitor General of the United States was very reluctant to have the Court skip ruling on the injunctions and go right to the merits of the issue itself.

 The question yesterday was whether the executive order could go into effect temporarily while the arguments wended their way to the Supreme Court. There are currently three different national injunctions forbidding enforcement of the executive order. The Trump administration in theory accepts the validity of the injunctions but argues that they should be limited to the territory of the judge who issued them and/or the specific plaintiffs who brought the case.

If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the administration it will probably be portrayed by the media as the elimination of birthright citizenship. But it will be nothing of the sort. The result will be that in about half of the states, any baby born in those states will be considered a citizen. But in the other half, if their parents do not have legal permanent status (citizenship or green card) they will not be citizens. The lawyers for the plaintiffs and many of the justices pointed out that this will be a mess and leave the citizenship of many people unclear. If a baby is born in New Jersey they will be a citizen but if the same baby with the same parents were born in Tennessee, they would be a deportable alien. What happens if a baby’s family moves from New Jersey to Tennessee -- does the baby lose its citizenship? If it moves from Tennessee to New Jersey, does it now gain citizenship?

This reminded me of both historical and contemporary halachic arguments. It is not uncommon these days, unfortunately, for different communities to have different rules about conversion and Jewish status. So that someone who grows up Reform and wants to join a Conservative or Orthodox community might not be considered Jewish. And even within the Reform movement, the North American Reform community considers someone Jewish if either parent is Jewish and they have a Jewish upbringing (commonly but erroneously called “patrilineal descent.”) The Reform movement in Europe adheres to the traditional definition that one is born a Jew only if their mother is Jewish. So at what point over the Atlantic ocean does the child of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother go from being a Jew to being a Gentile? It’s not a good situation. In matters of personal status -- be it Jewish identity or U.S. citizenship -- we should strive for uniformity and avoid confusion.

I recently began an Adult Education class called “Echoes of the Spirit: Exploring the Psalms' Wisdom”. This coming Thursday night we will begin exploring the Hallel Psalms, songs of praise and joy which we sing on certain holidays. These are Psalms 113 through 118 and can be found in any siddur. Rather than doing a screen share, please have a siddur or Bible with you. Any translation is fine but it’s desirable to have the Hebrew text as well. If you want to view the first class which was held last week, a video can be found here.

As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 at the shul. For my drop-in hours, you do not need to make an appointment -- that would negate the whole point of drop-in hours -- but I’d urge you to check and make sure I am there regardless as sometimes there are unavoidable pastoral or other emergencies which might take me away from the building.

As always, if I can do anything for you or you need to talk, please contact me at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org or 301-977-0768 rather than through the synagogue office. I am happy to meet you at the synagogue by appointment; if you want to speak with me it’s best to make an appointment rather than assuming I will be there when you stop by. 

Additionally, if you know of a Kehilat Shalom congregant or another member of our Jewish community who could use a phone call, please let me know.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Charles L. Arian