I chatted recently with Rabbi Lisa Goldstein, director of UCSD’s Hillel. She has been here for ten years, going on her eleventh.
Goldstein said there are approximately 1,500 Jews here at UCSD, and of the three kinds of services offered at Hillel — Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox — Conservative was most popular last year. She was not sure which denomination will be most popular this year.
Asked to compare the denominations on a scale of most to least festive, Goldsteing responded that the Orthodox are the most festive because they always have dancing; Reform are relatively festive, as they occasionally dance, as well. The Conservative don’t have that much excitement because they are more intellectually-oriented and have discussion sessions, she said.
The Conservatives’ discussion this week is about conversion. I asked her if she has ever officiated an interfaith wedding ceremony. She said she is a ritual expert and has even done one for her brother. At another, the groom — a supposed convert — really didn’t care about the rituals. She said it’s about celebrating the things the couple has in common, not how they’re different.
What I found most interesting from what she told me is that that in Hillel, interfaith wedding ceremonies are not allowed.