Shalom כיתת דוב Kitat Dov!
Thank you for your insightful and thoughtful class discussion this morning. To continue the conversation, please share your thoughts about one (or more) of the following:
1. The articles we read:
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Outreach to interfaith families strengthens the Jewish future:
http://www.jta.org/2014/02/03/news-opinion/opinion/op-ed-outreach-to-interfaith-families-strengthens-the-jewish-future
A Jewish Father's Plea: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/A-Jewish-fathers-plea
2. Respond to the topic of intermarriage. In your opinion, does it influence the future of the Jewish people?
3. How do you see עם ישראל (the Jewish People) sustaining our identity as Jews living in the diaspora?
Your response should be a minimum of three sentences.
In my opinion, intermarriage does not influence the future of the jewish people. Often, many people who intermarry still raise their kids as jewish. We should not be telling people who to marry just to keep the bloodline "pure". Forcing jews to marry jews is not the answer. If anything that goes against the moral code that we are supposed to live up to. In the Diaspora, we can sustain our jewish identity by practicing our good jewish morals. Living these things will be a good way of preserving our true identity as jews.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe intermarriage has a strong connection to the idea of judaism being carried on through generations. I believe your 'turn' of passing on the jewish heritage torch is through your children, who may choose to continue or start a jewish path regardless of if both parents were also themselves jewish. If anything, (as we discussed in class), children from interfaith families may even pursue judaism more intensely as they can learn judaism from different perspectives, through other faiths, or perhaps because they feel that they should in order to maintain an equally strong jewish identity to kids who do have 2 jewish parents. Contrastingly, you could have a family with two Jewish parents who don't practice any form of judaism with their children. Either way, the choice of how 'Jewish' you choose to be, or even what being jewish means to you, is more a personal or family choice that shouldn't rely on needing two Jewish parents.
ReplyDeleteI believe intermarriage does not have any influence on the future of the Jewish people. The religion of the parents does not play a part in the existence of the Jewish people. The way to continue the Jewish religion is by passing down Jewish ideals, and Jewish teachings to the younger generation. I am friends with many Jews who come from interfaith families and who are brought up as Jewish. Similarly, I know many people who have Jewish parents but were not raised or brought up Jewish. The way to keep our Jewish identity during the diaspora is by keeping the same language and culture. I believe Judaism is a way of life and a way to preserve this is by cooking the same amazing food, speaking the same language, and keeping the same traditions. Although difficult for some traditionalist ideals, intermarriage has little to no impact on the sustainability of the Jewish people.
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ReplyDeleteI consider intermarriage to have a major influence on the future of the Jewish people. If Jews continue to intermarriage, then the next generation of people could possibly not observe Judaism in the way their parents observed it. If both parents are Jewish, then that leads the child to have more of a chance to follow his roots. If one parent is a different religion, then the child could astray from the values and morals of Judaism. Although, in some cases, children of intermarriage have the potential to observe Judaism and another religion, the connection is not as strong in comparison to both parents being Jewish. Ultimately, Jews living in the diaspora can sustain their religion as long as they continue to follow the morals, customs and values of the religion. Judaism can be practiced anywhere in the world as long as these ideas are maintained.
ReplyDeleteIntermarriage will obviously influence the Jewish people in some way, but not necessarily negatively. Intermarriage often allows people to feel more connected to their Judaism, because they are making the conscious choice of marrying someone not Jewish, but continuing their own Judaism. Additionally, whether or not you marry someone who is Jewish does not decide whether or not your kids will be raised Jewish. If you want to raise your kids Jewish, than thats a decision between you and whoever you choose to marry Jewish or not.
ReplyDeleteReligion (Judaism) is passed from generation to generation and values are continually built upon and strengthened. If you chose to raise your children jewish intermarriage won’t impact the future of the jewish people in a negative way. Learning about a different religion will only widen their knowledge of the constantly evolving world around them and allow them to be cultured instead of living in a bubble. In order to sustain our identity as Jews who live in the diaspora we must continue to practice our jewish morals in whatever personal way is best for each individual.
ReplyDeleteI believe intermarriage does have an influence on the future of the Jewish people. Some one noted in class that the way we continue the Jewish religion is by passing down Jewish Ideals and teaching them to the next generation. However, the problem to this is that the message that is passed down could possibly be the wrong message. I believe the way you get the best understanding of anything is from the people who you first look up to, your parents. If both parents are Jewish, then you will most likely have a better connection to the religion itself. However, if one of your parent is not Jewish, there is a greater possibility that you would not get the maximum understanding of Judaism. This may not be the case for every intermarriage as often times, intermarriage allows people to feel more connected through their curiosity. In Diaspora, Jewish people may still practice their religion by passing down Jewish ideals, and Jewish teachings to the younger generation. This essentially does not mean that the Jewish people need their land to do so.
ReplyDeleteI believe that intermarriage does have an impact on the future of the Jewish people. However, I do not believe it is a negative thing, nor do I believe there is a direct correlation between intermarriage and the amount of Jews in future generations. It is a person’s own decision of whom they are to marry; it is up to them to decide whether the other person’s faith is a swaying factor in marriage, and it is something that should not be shamed. Just like two Jewish parents could raise their children to be secular, interfaith parents could very well raise children to be passionate about Judaism. Similarly, it is not certain those two parents will even have children, ending the bloodline that many are concerned about. Ultimately, in my opinion, intermarriage is something that should not be discouraged, as it is a matter of who you are choosing to spend the rest of your life with.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that interfaith marriage is sacrificing the Jewish religion, if anything I think it is actually helping to spread it. When a person who is Jewish marries a none Jew, they are able to teach them about our religion. In my family, all three of my uncles marries someone who was catholic. Out of the three of them, two of them converted to Judaism. Even if the person you marry won't convert, love is love and your religion shouldn't be the defining factor of who you should be with
ReplyDeleteI personally think that interfaith marriage change some things in the Jewish community and for future generations, but should not be frowned upon or blamed for diminishing of Judaism. Everyone has their own attitude when it comes to Judaism and their Jewish identities and are entitled to defining their identities in any way that they see fit. If this means marrying someone who you want to spend the rest of your life with who isn't Jewish, then you should do so. It is still very, very possible to keep your Jewish identity and values through this process and pass it down to your children. I think that Judaism is flexible and strong enough to be able to grow and prosper in the modern world without conforming to the "old way." If we can marry anyone we want, do whatever we want, live wherever we want, and still be Jewish, then we know we've won.
ReplyDeleteIntermarriage definitely will affect our future and religion. But the essence of judaism, especially reform, is its progressiveness. Allowing influence from other religions and interfaith marriage helps us grow as a culture. Interfaith marriage will definitely influence our religion, but judaism has changed throughout the years because of many other things as well. As far as diaspora goes, we have constantly been exiled or away from Israel throughout our history. Yet our religion has stayed alive through it all. Even though we live in different parts of the world we can maintain our culture, and judaism can even be positively impacted by our spreading. Our identities will vary slightly depending on what area of the world we reside in but we will always be practicing one form of judaism or another.
ReplyDeleteIntermarriage definitely affects the future of the Jewish people, but not negatively. If we want Judaism to survive, people will have to become more comfortable with intermarriage because the pool of eligible Jews is pretty small. I think intermarriage will actually have a positive affect on the Jewish future, as interfaith families can raise their kids to be welcoming of multiple religions and understand those religions from unique perspectives. As Jews in the Diaspora, we already sacrifice parts of our Jewish identity even if both of our parents are Jewish. I think the best way to sustain our identity is to attend camps or TYGs, learn about the Tanakh and Jewish cultures, and stay educated about Israel. Finally, as I also said in class, I think one of the most important ways to keep our Jewish identity through the generations is to stay true to the Jewish value of helping others in need. Regardless of our parents' religious status or where we live, observing that mitzvah ensures that one of the core aspects of Judaism will survive.
ReplyDeleteIntermarriage probably affects the Jewish future but I'm defenitly not against it at all I'd actually say I'm for it. I think the different cultures merging together allows those
ReplyDeletepeople to experience more of a variety and find what truly makes them happy as a person. Jews in the diaspora can sustain the Jewish religion by practicing it how they please. You can be anywhere in the universe and still be Jewish if that's what you want.
I think that intermarriage affects our future but only in a positive way. Reform Judaism is all about going towards the future and finding new ways to incorporate modern life with religion, and part of this is being open and accepting of all. As I argued in class, just because you aren't "Jewish" doesn't mean you are not a Jew and it doesn't mean you don't have Jewish values, making our future very bright, even if our people do not grow in number, but rather in experience. As Jews in the diaspora we have always built up our own little communities, at times even isolating ourselves from the rest of society. By limiting the contact of Jews with non Jews, the people are more likely to fall in love with and marry a person with whom they actually know, not a stranger from outside the community. Through single faith marriage, Jews have guaranteed having the ability to hold onto our history.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with the point of the article 'A Jewish Father's Plea', a Jew should not be limited to marrying inside of Judaism. What I do agree with is that you should marry who you love, share values with, and want to stay with for the rest of your life. A lot of the time, Jews find that special other person and they are also another Jew. This is because most Jews of the same sect share similar lifestyles and family values making them more compatible to each other. Still, I do not agree that Jews should only marry Jews for this reason, or that only Jews are compatible with Jews. I think you should never be forced to not marry someone you want to just because of their beliefs in something entirely irrelevant to having a happy, healthy life together.
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