Daily Podcasts Video Research

A Michigan politician announced her baptism in Messianic Judaism. The rabbi of her synagogue says there's no such thing.

JL;DR SUMMARY Lena Epstein, a prominent Jewish figure in Michigan politics, has sparked controversy by announcing her baptism into Messianic Judaism. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

JL;DR members get full summaries of all articles in the archive, including this one. Donate & start reading »

Tags

Republican PartyJewish CommunityJewish IdentityConversionControversyMessianic JudaismReligious FreedomMichigan PoliticsTemple Beth ElLena Epstein

Places mentioned

Michigan, United States
"controversy over the Jewish identity of a candidate running to head Michigans Republican Party intensified Friday after the rabbi at her Reform synagogue took to Facebook to decry Messianic Judaism."
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, United States
"A source confirmed that Epstein remains a member of Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills, the first Jewish congregation in Michigan, but would only speak on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter."
Holland, Michigan, United States
"Confusion over Espteins faith emerged on Tuesday when Epstein introduced herself to a conservative group, the Ottawa County Patriots, at a candidate forum held at the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Holland, Michigan."
Southfield, Michigan, United States
"Epstein is a third-generation owner and the chief executive of Vesco Oil Corporation, the business her grandfather Eugene Epstein founded in Southfield, Michigan, in 1947."
Detroit, Michigan, United States
"Her mothers family founded Winkelmans department store in Detroit."

Support this source

This item was indexed and curated by Cairo, JL;DR's web crawler.
Cairo Item ID 80457
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2026-04-21 05:31:38 UTC
Curated 2026-04-21 08:31:02 UTC