Tempe and the Temple*
Tempe remembered her father saying: " remember your mother saying she is Jewish?" That means that technically, under Jewish law, you are Jewish too." "I'm an Atheist, remember Dad"? "Aw sweetheart, Judaism is more than a religion; it's a culture. Half the people attending liberal1 services during Yom Kippur (the Jewish Day of Atonement) are Agnostics at best (or worst)." "Well" quoth Tempe, "Agnosticism is a perfectly respectable intellectual position. If God exists, we have no about His (or Her or It's) position in our lives, or anything else about God."
It was near the Jewish Festival of Passover (the Festival of Freedom), during the time of Tempe's first pregnancy, that she found herself taking a walk. (She just didn't have the energy for a run that particular day, and Booth had a meeting so he didn't drag her to the Diner.) To her great surprise, given her prior tendency to have a plan and follow it, she found her feet taking her in the direction of Beit Tikvah23 (Hebrew for House of Hope), a liberal synagogue close to the Jeffersonian. Possibly, she was feeling a need to honor the memory of her mother, and possibly, the prospect of having a child awoke long forgotten memories from childhood in her. Who knows? At first she just admired the architecture of the building, which had been designed by a well-known architect. Then she went inside and introduced herself to the synagogue secretary, Alma Bloomberg, a sweet-faced elderly lady,as someone who was interested in experiencing more about her Jewish identity (that she had only so far read about). Alma said "come in dear, we always welcome Jews who want to explore their heritage. Now what did you say your name was?" Temperance thought about giving a fake name, but since she was seeking authenticity in her life, she thought better of it. "My name is "Temperance Brennan" said Tempe shyly. "Temperance Brennan the author?" Tempe blushed and nodded. "I love your novels. Come along, I have to introduce you to Rabbi Sue. Rabbi Sue?" Alma called, marching into the Rabbi's office. "This is the famous author Temperance Brennan who just walked into the office." "Aren't you also a scientist? Rabbi Sue asked. "Yes, I'm a forensic anthropologist." Somehow Rabbi Sue did not think that Dr. Temperance Brennan had walked into Beit Tikvah for the purpose of being congratulated on her celebrity. So she invited Temperance into her office for a private conversation. "What do you have on your mind?" asked the rabbi. "Well, started Tempe." I'm not completely sure; I had almost forgotten that my mother was Jewish, but my father recently reminded me. I grew up with no religion; I am an atheist, but suddenly I want to know more about being Jewish. I've read books of course, but I have learned from anthropology that empirical experience is vital to knowledge. I may be drawn to synagogue because I am pregnant, and I know that brings up tribal loyalties in primates."4 "Well tell me a bit about yourself" said the rabbi. What was your early life like? And what sort of relationship do you have with the father of your child?" So Temperance talked. She found it helpful to summarize her past (and present) to such a good listener. Unlike Sweets, Rabbi Sue had no agenda. As expected, Rabbi Sue was not the least bit dismayed by Tempe's lack of faith in a personal God. She promptly invited Temperance, and her family, to a Congregational Seder on the second night of Passover, and asked her to lecture, during the holiday, on her professional contributions to freedom by bringing the perpetrators of genocide (and other lesser crimes) to justice.
Temperance was sufficiently impressed to mention the visit to Booth, and to suggest that they visit Beit Tikvah together on the following Friday night. Tempe was surprised to find that some of the ritual was familiar and that she loved the music. Although Booth did not personally find the service meaningful, he liked the people, and he was happy that Temperance had potentially found a faith community. Every once in a while, Booth would accompany Bones to synagogue or vice-versa. But mostly, each participated separately in his/her own faith community. Like most liberal Jews, Tempe was not a particular faithful synagogue attendee.
Tempe started to become involved in select synagogue activities. She enjoyed the intellectual stimulation of Talmud study (which Booth found wonderfully soporific), and lent her lovely voice to the synagogue choir. Of course, between her job and her family, she had limited time to devote to these activities, but her steep learning curve allowed her available time to be extremely productive.
As a fund-raiser. Dr. Brennan offered to have a book signing at the synagogue and donate all the revenue generated to the synagogue (shul).
She became sufficiently attached to Judaism that she wanted to raise her child as a Jew. Knowing that Booth would want to raise his children Catholic, she and Booth came to the following compromise: since Judaism is (at least traditionally) passed through the female line, any female children would be raised Jewish, and any male children Catholic. So Christine had a baby-naming rather than a christening.
*Jewish synagogues, particularly Reform ones, are often called "Temples". "Shul" (Yiddish for "school", I believe) is another term used for synagogue.
1"Liberal" Judaism in the US corresponds to the Reform, Jewish Renewal or Reconstructionist movements, with possibly some in the Conservative movement. Traditional Jews are (by my definition) some Conservative and all Orthodox Jews.
2I actually don't think Brennan was pregnant during Passover, but I'm finessing that.
3There actually is a synagogue called Beit Tikvah in Baltimore ( and probably other synagogues called Beit Tikvah in other places as well. As far as I know, there is no Beit Tikvah in Washington DC. I just made it up.
4I have no idea whether this is true or not, but it sounds good.