At just about the point in time when it seemed that the rabbi of My Shul was the only person in the synagogue who didn't know of my plans to foster, a discussion of adoption and foster care began in the sanctuary.
According to the rabbi, one should only foster/adopt girls, because the mom is the one who is home taking care of the kids, so there would be negiyah issues if she is taking care of a boy. Really, it's just problematic to be a foster parent, according to him.
Despite these dire warnings, I confessed my plans to foster during the walk to his home for a meal. His response? "I had a conversation last week with a woman who wants to 'solve the Jewish abortion crisis' by pairing single Jewish women with young pregnant Jews for adoption. That might be of interest to you." Clearly he doesn't have a clue.
All this is to say that I won't be going to the rabbi with any questions that arise from fostering.
What Now?
2 years ago
Yikes! When we did training the other people in the group kept talking about getting those sorts of reactions from people. And my DW keeps pointing out how everyone we talk to about fostering tells us how great it is for us to be doing this and talks about it as either a service to society or as "God's work" (this opinion has come from Christians, Jews and Muslims). I'm sorry that your rabbi isn't going to be supportive.
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