Why Orthodox Jews Have Been Hesitant to Adopt Outside Their Community, and Why They Shouldn’t Be

The rapid growth in the numbers of children in America who are waiting to be adopted has stimulated proactive efforts by Christian organizations to ease the burden on foster-care and adoptive families. So far, the American Jewish community has shown little desire to help.

To understand both the nature of the problem and the disparity in responses to it, a bit of background is in order, starting with the terms themselves.

For many, the word “adoption” brings to mind a biologically childless couple waiting for years to be matched with a child until the blessed day arrives when they can bring their infant home from the hospital. That scenario does indeed describe one type of adoption: the private type. This usually involves the services of an adoption agency or a private lawyer hired to match prospective parents with a pregnant woman who makes her choice by looking through colorful booklets of smiling couples. Should those prospective parents be open to a non-white child, or a child exposed in utero to drugs or alcohol, they will often be matched more quickly.