U.S. Reform rabbis suggest welcoming interfaith couples

Why are there so many posters who are writing: "Hitler didn't care who your mother was. Therefore, all children of Jewish fathers are Jewish." Why in the world does Hitler's opinion define whether you are a jew or not? How backwards is that! You know, someone else also has givenhis opinion on the matter... you know, God. It's called the Torah, from which Judaism was born.

David, The trouble with most people when they read a text, any text, is that there is meaning lurking beneath that a genuinely wise person understands that you don't. The Ruth thing goes back to Moab who was Lot's daughter who was born of an incestuous relationship. The version I heard was Redemption comes in many ways, some of them where we wouldn't expect. If you claim to know God's plan, you are better man than I, Gunga Din!

My major was math. I was trained with habit of looking at things with scentific views first. Naturally, I am weak in social science and rarely I encountered good articles and ideas that convinced me their power more than traditional works and religion. I started to read city and transportation. And Now, it seems that transportantion leads the rest part of urban planning. Progressively, yes, at least it was relected on subway plannings. Historicly, no. I still find some values with great strength. For example, Paris. Though its undergrand subway is one of the most expensive construction works, the city design still sends the spirit of art and smell of math work of Euler. I don't like PRC's city planning, a master work of wasting money, which reflects the weakness of political dominance in major areas of social lives.

Arguably without interfaith couples there would be no house of David

one was yitro's daughter, a midianitess, and the ethiopian woman, well before the sons of jacob got to ethiopia, (if it's the same place), and were his sons 'cast aside'? he was a levi remember.

Hmmm... and where is such thing as "Mishnat Kedushin" (an Aramaic i.e. Babylonian word!) named in the Torah? Where do you have any sentence in the written Torah to support this mishnah?

Look in the Mishnah Kedushin, last chapter for your answer.

While intermarriage is a long term problem, people should not generalize too much. Some of the children from inter-married families will in fact choose to be observant jews. Many of those will even come back to modern-orthodox or orthodox movements. Don't forget that these people are still viewed as jews by almost everybody around them. Life in the diaspora is different to life in Israel. And children often make different choices than their parents. In my experience many children from intermarried families feel even more connected to Judaism than their 100% jewish peers. Many of these children will eventually live observant lives even if it meens that half of them with gentile mothers even have to convert.

Intermarried couples should feel comfortable within the Reform/Liberal synagogues, but this also complicates their children's position. Reform accept patrelineal descent, while traditional Jews of all streams follow the Halachic view that a child follows its mother. This becomes a problem when patrelinially Jewish children want to marry anyone who is halachically Jewish in a mainstream synagogue.

In the early 1970's Reform Rabbi Solomon Freehof published another volume of his Responsa of Reform Judaism. He suggested that when the Bar Mitzvah boy's father is Gentile, he should be given an aliyah but should alter the bracha to say, 'Who has given them His Torah' in lieu of 'Who has given us...'

Devin, Quote or reference where the Torah says that 'Jewish-ness' is genetically passed down through mothers?

ABCD="American-born confused desi", the result of attempt to blend Indian culture with whatever passes for "culture" in US/Canada. Similarly, "Reform" Judaism is failed attempt to integrate nominal Jews who don't want certain aspects of their own religious traditions with Gentiles who never had them.

Basically, "Reform" Judaism is name-only Judaism; it has nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity. (and I am a gentile-Christian--converted from "classic" Hinduism--so I know the difference).

Read about the couple in Chicago .the Jewish spouse had to threaten the non Jewish spouse with Jail because of the child attending Mass. If she is so wonderful , if she is so loving and understanding and non religious why will she not convert? I think her answer would be most interesting especially regarding future children. Is she going to place a Magen David on the top of the Christmas tree?

Obviously your yeshiva failed you if you intermarried

I never said that Hitler was due to the reform movement.My metaphor was simply stating that assimilation is doing a good job of destroying Jews.

You can raise your children orthodox, you can raise them conservitive you can raise them any which way you chose. In fact you can raise them to honour monkeys no one has the right to say anything different. Having said that unless the mother is Jewish your children can not be considered Jewish except by the Reform Movement. How are you going to explain that to your kinder if G-D willing he or she falls in love with someone who is orthodox and the rabbi refuses to marry them. Maybe if your kids are so Jewish why not convert them or even better why doesn't your spouse convert?

To the writer of #15 who writes: "I just despair when I hear we will allow our children to decide". In my yeshivah, we learned that it is written that Hashem is the G-d of Avrahom, the G-d of Yitchak and the G-d of Jacob because each had to come to their Creator individually, not because their daddy made them. Where did you get your religious education? Which Rabbi taught you that Hitler was sent because of Reform Judaism? I will write him.

Disgusting, Maybe its the age in which we live where the notion of community and community standards have given way to personal choice. Even among some Halachically Observant Jews the idea of community is less important vis a vis the individual. Their relation to God, to become Observant, to Learn Torah is something you do for "yourself" and the connection to a Kehilla is Boolean, rather than being part of the nation. I don't doubt your sincerity. I doubt the level of your knowledge. Reform and Conservative movements have a "problem" with the notion of a Revealed Law, more specifically the process by with the Oral Law is regarded by Halachically Observant Jews. Were you to actually study the Talmud "from the inside" whatever you imagine as Historical doesn't pan out--its the rules of deduction and way the rabbis learn out their conclusions defy ordinary logic. And, my friend the more learn you discover how humane and wise it is!

How can a child be raised to believe 2 unrelated religions and be eather a good xtian or Jew. So he is raised believing that Jesus was a great leader like Moses, what a joke. Nothing Jewish ever came from the Reform movement but who cares about them because they only have a few more generations left.

Some of these responses are downright disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves. Where is the welcoming spirit of Judaism? Where is the belief that Judaism DOES NOT have a cornerstone on the truth. It is not the Reform, but you who have lost your way. You are pushing away your own people and forcing disharmony in marriages and communities. I am happily intermarried and will raise fully Jewish children (no matter who dictates if they are Jewish or not). My children, products of an intermarriage, are more Jewish than half of the Jews I know raised by two Jewish parents. Reaching out to the interfaith community does not weaken the faith-welcoming interfaith families and encouraging Jewish choices strenghthens the ties to the Jewish community and opens dialouge that repels anti-semitism. It is not your decision how to raise my children just like it is not my decsion on how you raise yours even if I do disagree raising children in a bigoted and hate filled home.

AM i reading your post correct. Good Ridence to the REform movement.?? Until you experience the ignorence of the Orthodox movememt (not all) you have no right to express such a horrible opinion. How many Jerws go to service on Saturaday. Temples are crowed on holy days. Are they asking G=d for forgivnes and heakth for the new year or showing off their new dress and jewlery?? Hitler didnt care if you are othodox, conservative or refomed. He killed the Jews

Hey, trashin' the Halachically Observant Jews again? What do you know? The middle level of officers in the IDF these days is populated by the Kipot Serugot, with a few "black ones", who didn't have the patience to spend all day in the Beit Midrash. I also hear the some of best combat units are chock full of Young men some who are Traditional, and many who Halachically Observant. There is even a unit in the Intelligence Services composed of Lithuanian Haredim who "study the military data" in the service of their nation. Did I forget the Nachal Haredi? The Reform and other secularist soldiers, well, if they live in TA, many of the avoid combat duty altogether, and often try to serve "close to home". As Leibowitz said of the Reform movement it's a Religious Nationalist movement that will do anything to keep it's infrastructure alive.

Once Reformists are ousted, who's going to defend Israel? Surely not the Orthodox, who refuse to serve in the army. What's going to happen is that Israel is going to turn into a medieval soiety that will face away, while the USA will become the centre of the Jewish world and will stop caring about the handful of frustrated right-wingers who want to forbid others from marrying the one they love.

I have experience of how Reform work. I am convinced that when Leibovitz described Reform Judaism as Religious Nationalism he was spot on. They work around a loose cultural affiliation to concepts which they feel have no more meaning in the modern world. Their defence of this practise is apparently rationalism, but pure rationalists would negate the concept of religion altogether. They are effectively secular because the age is their posek and the dominant hegemony in the west is secularism.

Where are you getting your facts? That is totally the oposite of what is happening!

First the Torah is from G-d and second, it i.e. G-d says Jewishness is through the mother and NO you son is no Jewish!

One grows increasingly weary of comparisons between what passes for authentic Judaism and progressive Judaism. The vitriol against Reform is a far cry from "ahavas yisroel" so often preached, so rarely lived by the adherents of the so-called real deal. It is ironic that the descendants of Pharisaic Judaism have become the Sadduccees of today.

I can tell you (from experience) that many orthodox congregations are also welcoming of intermarried couples. Most are open any Jew and their family that is respectful of Judaism and that shul's practices. They are not going to endorse intermarriage, but they will do what they can to involve interested families.

Having witnessed what the orthodox movement has done to our youth surprised their are some that want to be Jewish. For years they didnt let our children unto holiday services when at college. The parents didnt belong. If intermarried not allowed to join and bring bring their children to services. Go to a REformed Temble and see how many young children there.. The church down the block had their door wide open come in my children. These people that fought to say I am Jewish aare better Jews then you

Half its members are non-Jews and they have to cater to them to maintain the illusion of Jewish membership. Reform today is basically a non-Jewish country club, nothing more. They tried so hard to blend in that they blended OUT of any independent Jewish existence. When pollsters ask people which denomination they are in, people say, "Um, I don't go to temple, I don't fast on Yom Kippur, I'm not affiliated with any movement, but - IF - I was I guess I'd be: REFORM." Bingo. Instant claims of Reform having members. But don't get me wrong. They have nice buildings so some unaffiliated think Reform EXISTS. If you're ever not going to temple, your local reform temple is one BEAUTIFUL temple you're not going to. Message to the last Reform Jew: Don't forget to turn off the light on your way out. Reform has presided over the death and burial of Jewish identity. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

I was raised as a conservitive jew and in an interfaith relationship right now. My parents are not happy she isnt jewish, however they like her and are happy that i found someone that i love. she isnt the most religious person so if we get married we are going to raise our kids jewish. now to all of you narrow minded people out there who think my kids wont be jewish then you have no idea what it means to be jewish. If the nazis were here today do you think they would not send someone to death because they only have a jewish father? Do you think that before the civil rights movements all the clubs and universities jews werent allowed in would let my children in because their mother isnt jewish? what about orthodox jews that are in same-sex relationships. Do they loose all of their jewishness and not considered orthodox? I applaud the reform movement in welcoming everyone, maybe one day the other jewish movements will leave their narrow minded views.

There are many historical interfaith couples throughout history of the Hebrew people and Jewish nation whose wives are known Gentiles, and fine women they all were. So what's the problem with Jewish men marrying Gentiles? In times to come there will be new great Jewish leader who too will be the offspring of a Jewish/Gentile union.

Hitler did not need to gas 6,000,000 he should have simply introduced reform into Jewish life. Interfaith dialogue is one thing encouraging is just suicide. Reform Rabbi's should encourage conversion of the non Jewish spouse not encourage assimilation. I just despair when I hear" we will allow our children to decide" Like children get a vote? We are doomed. Larry

On the pages of HaAretz I read about Anusim, many of whom who have never married outside of the tightly knit community they created to preserve their Jewish identity. They paid for it in some ways, but . . . there is a way for them to return. Consider, too, Bene Menashe, who have returned to Judaism with Halachic conversions. Here, for some reason the Yevseks among us still show their "level of Avahat Yisrael", disparaging their attempts to come on Aliyah. Now the Reform Jews think they have come up with their brilliant ideas. It might help the Reform movement, but . . . it's not clear that it it's good for Judaism.

For all of you whiney folks the fact that the reform movement is embracing interfaith families is good. Because if the reform movement doesn't who will? for those of you who are quick to equate Reform Judaism with christianity open your eyes there is not really a visable diffrence between the majority of jewis in the pews at reform anc conservative congregations except got their expectations of what and how their rabbis are supposed to observe.ie the fact that conserv rabbis are expected to keep kosher and be shomer shabbos. Als embracing already married interfaith couples doesn't necessarily give the greenlight to interfaith marriage itself. ie the hate the sin love the sinner mentality.

If the Reform movement claims that they need to make it "easier" to be a Jew and welcome Gentiles into the fold at easier terms than Conservative and Orthodox denominations, why is it that the number of Jews in the U.S. has slightly decline in the past 50 years where the total U.S. population more than doubled? This means that Reform has failed to make Judaism more enticing to Jews. To the contrary the constant dilution of Jewish Laws led many Jews to seek spirituality in other religions namely Buddhism. Orthodox Jewish outreach (such as Chabad) has helped stop this trend and given higher birth rates and declining Reform Judaism rates, in a little time, Orthodox Judaism will be the biggest sector of Judaism in the U.S. as Reform slowly dies out. This is not an opinion is a fact based on the current data and the past 50 years.

My son is one of thousands of bright Jewish young men who received a reform-style bar-mitzvah because his mother is not Jewish. His Orthodox aunt did not attend because he is not Jewish in her eyes, but she wishes he would fight and die for Israel. The Orthodoxy lost its path when it believed in "torah" over God, in matriarchy only, and this is why the writings of Rabbi Joshua Heschel are greater now more than ever!.

The am ha'arotzim like Devin, Stepan and Physicist seem to forget the downward spiral that has already happened, the millions born into Orthodoxy who have left. The Reform and Conservative movements dominate synagogue-affiliated Jewry in the U.S. because they recognize that time marches on.

With interfaith/ethnic marriages on the rise even more, this is a smart move. Telling Jews not to marry goyim when they are anyways doesn't seem to be the answer. Trying to keep them affiliated with Judaism (and hopefully gaining converts or the children stay with Judaism) is better then just disregarding them (and in turn leaving the faith). Or at least some cultural and ethnic heritage can be kept (not to mention the love or knowledge of Israel).

Interfaith marriages are happening regardless of whether they're encouraged or not. If the point is to preserve Jewish culture and faith for generations to come congregations are going to have to adapt. I speak from first hand knowledge that a welcoming, knowledgeable congregation and rabbi can make a big difference. When I (raised Catholic) married my then non-observant Jewish husband the local reform synagogue welcomed us with open arms. The result? I converted. We're both observant and our children will be raised to be proud Jews.

yeah for orthodox judaism, yeah for xenophobias, yeah for discrimination/violence / shalom bayit against women, yeah for theocracy, yeah for lack of choice.... and you call that authentic judaism...wake up

Teach Jewish values and show how wonderful Judaism can be to these couples. This will ensure that at least 50% of their children will identify with Judaism and share similiar values and traditions. It's only logical...

Welcome to the US democracy, where you can marry whoever you fall in love with without having frustrated, jealous zealots criticize you. Welcome to the country where people can hardly believe there is no civil marriage in Israel, as in any modern country. Welcome to the country where people are proud to build their life freely, without being restrained by medieval laws.

These couples normally fade away from Judaism. Those that I have had contact with did not have anything to show they were Jewish in any way. A lost cause.

"The Reform movement is the largest branch of American Judaism." Not for much longer with bankrupt policies like this. Reform discard the heart and most of the sould of Judaism and then find that a huge proportion of its community abandon what's left. A chief element of this abandonment is intermarriage. So Reform try to welcome in the non-Jews. The result is overwhelmingly a further dilution of their community's ethos and continued large-scale abandonment of the Jewish nation by its young people. And so the spiral continues downward.

So there you have it, then. Reform: almost, but not entirely, quite unlike Judaism.

This is why in your average Reform "temple" no one is really Jewish.