Out οf thе Jews living further thаn οf Israel, more thаn 50% οf Jews іn nearly аll countries аrе marrying people whο аrе nοt Jewish. Hοw dο уου feel аbουt thіѕ?
Dοеѕ іt еνеr concern уου thаt thіѕ сουld lead tο thе decline іn Jewish identity, аnd wουld уου prefer іf mοѕt Jews јυѕt married surrounded bу thеіr religion?
oy vey
Well I’m not Jewish, but I can safely say anyone who would potentially jeopardise their children’s happiness by deciding who they cannot marry on the basis that it would lead to a decline in Jewish identity, is a dreadful person.
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Absolutely. Intermarriage and assimilation rates are privileged than ever. To ensure the continuity of our people, we must encourage marrying other Jews and place a privileged emphasis on Jewish education.
Excellent question.. just wondering, why is this in the Chanukah part?
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if all the religious people married peeps of another religion we could stop brainwashing and people could relise the truth
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You are not looking a the growth of the frum (religious)Jewish community in recent years, it is helping to revitalize Jewish communities
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well there are many reasons. obviously, assimilation is the largest threat facing the jewish people further than of israel. fighting intermarriage is one of two options for ensuring the survival of the jewish people. the other is mass aliyah (returning to israel).
the other reason is because interfaith marriages place an enormous extra burden on that marriage. may questions rise, such as which holidays to celebrate, how to raise the child. go to church or synagog, go to hebrew school or sunday school. i know of multiple marriages that failed for this reason, which is usually unhealthy for the child and parents.
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Marrying someone further than the religion does not mean that the children won’t be raised with a sense of Jewish identity.
THAT is the vital thing.
The intermarriage thing is merely a symptom of other things, including assimilation into the greater community, and a need to be like others to diminish antisemitism.
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Epistle from Father to Son on Intermarriage
Anonymous
Dear Sean,
I know this might sound weird appearance from a father who’s far from a religious Jew, but now that you’re dating, there’s something I need you to know.
The single most vital choice you’ll ever make in life will not be about your education or career. It will be whom you marry.
Because who your wife will be will determine, more than anything else in your adult life, the person you become, the family you’ll raise, what you’ll leave on earth when it will be time to go. I know the end of life isn’t something you doubtless give much thought to. Not many of us do, at least not until we became sick or ancient enough to see it hovering on the horizon. But a final day does arrive, sooner or shortly, for each of us. And when it comes, very few of the things we thought made such a huge difference will seem to matter at all. And other things we didn’t bother to give much thought will suddenly loom very large. We’ll want to look back at our lives and feel that, in those areas, we pretty much did the right thing.
Sean, the right thing for a Jewish person is to marry another Jew. Not only because our religion requires it, which it does. But when Jews "marry out," they disrespect who they are, they are disloyal to the Jewish past and they chip away at the Jewish future.
Whether or not our family kept strictly kosher or observed the Sabbath or attended services often enough is all one thing. But the thought of bringing about the end of a proud Jewish line stretching back in time for centuries is another. It’s more than a religious transgression. It’s a betrayal.
You never questioned to be a Jew, that’s right. You were born one. But that identity is not a burden. It’s a gift. It means you are part of something larger, much larger than yourself.
Each of us Jews is the culmination of the hopes of hundreds of Jewish ancestors. Don’t forget, you’re not just Sean, you’re Shmuel. And even if you only use your Jewish name when you get called to the Torah, it is still who you really are, an inheritance from your grandfather, and to him from an ancestor of his. You can’t just ignore the meaning of something like that. It’s a deep responsibility. All of my ancestors and your mother’s, all those Jews who came before us, lived their lives – and sometimes willingly gave them up – to preserve their Jewish identity and heritage.
Yes, I know, like is a powerful emotion. That’s exactly why I’m writing this as you start to date. The young women you become close to will form the pool from which you will point out a life-mate. Don’t give yourself the chance to fall in like with someone you cannot, as a Jew in excellent conscience, marry. And never forget that what the world calls "like" is not all there is to a successful and pleased life. Every marriage that finished in divorce or worse, after all, was born in a rush of like. For a marriage to truly work, there must be not only attraction and mutual care but shared ideals and goals. And part of a Jewish man or woman’s goals should be an embrace of their Jewish identity, and the instilling of that identity into their children.
I don’t care whether the girl you marry is white, black or yellow, or if she speaks English, Hebrew, Yiddish or Swahili. I don’t care if she was born a Jew or became one, legally, properly, and out of sincere conviction. But if she isn’t Jewish, I know there will be tears, in your mother’s eyes and mine – and also in heaven.
They say these days that most Jewish parents in America don’t care if their children marry other Jews or not. I hope it’s not right but even if it is, remember what I always told you: Being a Jew means being equipped to buck the tide, to say no to others – even to many others – when something vital is at stake. Sean, you’re my legacy to the future. May you always have the courage and the strength to do the right thing.
Like,
Dad
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http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles…
oy vey
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While it is preferred that jewish people marry surrounded by their religion it’s accepted if they don’t. Out of 4 girls I’m the only one who married another jewish person. My sisters all married men from other religions: Hindu, Baptist, and Catholic.
My parents always said that us getting married to a Jewish man wasn’t vital, until I married a jewish man. Now my dad is opening saying how pleased he is that tradition is going to stay in the family.
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just read my name
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