An Unaffiliated Oxymoron

I was supposed to go to services tonight at a supposedly "hipster" synagogue downtown meant for "unaffiliated" Jews (name intentionally witheld). Upon doing a little research, I discovered that said synagogue is actually an Orthodox community, complete with mechitza (ie, seperate seating for men and women).

I have no problems with the fact that the congregation is Orthodox. In Israel I'm excited to visit different shuls each Shabbat and I'm sure there will be several Ortho synagogues on the agenda. But I like to prepare myself in advance for the inevitable resentment that I feel when sitting behind a mechitza. I respect Orthodox Jews for their beliefs, although I personally feel extremely uncomfortable praying in a community where I can't lead services or be counted in a minyan.

In this case, the thing that really bothers me is that the website for the synagogue in question states the following: "If you are an unaffiliated Jew this synagogue was designed for you." To me, an "unaffiliated" congregation is one that doesn't adhere to the guidelines of a particular movement -- one that allows for choice. Separate seating creates an artificial boundary that does not allow for choice -- at least in my opinion. The website for Nameless Synagogue does not make its spiritual agenda clear to the general public. In fact, the only reason I even found out about the mechitza was because I clicked on the link to the pressroom, and the only reason I even looked there was out of personal curiosity. Once a publicist, always a publicist! 

Anyway, the moral of the story is that I'm sticking with the familiar and heading off to BJ with Mia. :)