A&E
J Doc ON THE STREET
What do you think about interfaith marriage? Orange County is a diverse, multicultural, multiethnic, multi-religious community encompassing all walks of life. In honor of this month’s issue discussing interfaith marriage, J Doc sought the input from across the spectrum and received thoughtful, but honest answers.
BY DR. LISA GRAJEWSKI
Deborah, a community member who grew up in a traditional Orthodox home, says: “It is hard for me to answer this question... — I believe it makes a relationship more compatible when both individuals in the couple are the same faith. That is also how we were raised, learning that as a Jew, we would marry another Jew. I would not ever put anyone down for marrying ‘out of the faith,’ but it is not something I would do…” Sari, community member and University Synagogue President, says: “If Jewish interfaith families are engaging in Jewish life and teaching their children about Jewish history and values, then they are likely creating homes that honor their religious heritage. Non-Jewish partners can find spiritual fulfillment within Jewish culture. Children who are raised to be Jews can still learn about and respect the traditions and back-
46 JUNE 2014 |
Jlife
grounds of their non-Jewish parent and relatives and share in their experiences. Honoring and respecting both partners’ traditions and integrating them into a family’s life while still choosing one religion for a child’s identity is very important to most Jews. Interfaith marriage is a contribution to a multicultural society that can enrich lives.” Rabbi Dov Fischer, Young Israel of Orange County, says: In our Orthodox Jewish community, the purposeful life is driven by our commitment to the values we are taught in the Torah. Jewish religious endogamy is very central to our values. Yet, as I learned when I came to Orange County nearly a decade ago, a profoundly sizeable percentage of the Orthodoxobservant community here is rooted in once-intermarried households where a nonJewish spouse sought Orthodox conversion, and her husband