Anti-Neocons Forum

Intermarriage: The Problem
To relate to the Jewish community in a positive way, you need to understand something about intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews; why it is a problem; and what you, as a non-Jew, can do about it.

Jews are prohibited both in written Torah and in oral Torah from marrying non-Jews. Period. No exceptions. There is not a bit of fuzziness about the rule. In one story from Bemidbar (Numbers), Pinchas, grandson of Aaron, responds to a flagrant violation of the rule by spearing the offending Israelite and his non-Jewish bride through the stomach. Pinchas is held up in Torah as a hero. While observant Jews today do not follow in Pinchas footsteps, at least literally, they treat offspring who marry non-Jews as if they have died and formally mourn them by sitting shiva.

Therein lies a clue. For a Jew, to intermarry is to die. Judaism is a way of life, one requiring the cooperation of everyone in the household. When a Jew marries a non-Jew, the chances of building a Jewish home are reduced to nil. The Jewish partner will find it impossible to carry out his or her obligations, and the children will be torn between the religion of their father and mother. Moreover, if their father is the Jew, the children will not be Jews at all. In practice, intermarriage is the vehicle for one's final assimilation into secular culture and represents the death of Judaism as a way of life. Statistics in America bear out this statement.

If you wish to support the observant Jewish community, you must do what you can to prevent intermarriage from your end. However, this may not be easy for a couple of reasons.

First, this culture — at least in the United States — values individuality and self-expression. Fixing up one's friend with a Jewish date, expressing approval for their relationship, and attending their wedding — complete with minister and Reform rabbi — seem like acts of great cultural sensitivity to most people. Exactly the opposite of the way they are viewed in the observant Jewish community.

Second, if you are attracted to Judaism, you will be attracted to Jews. You will be more likely than anyone else to interact with Jews and therefore to be placed in situations that encourage or lead to intermarriage. In short, you have the potential to do more damage than someone who hates Jews. Coming to terms with this irony on a practical level is the key to relating to the Jewish community in the best possible way. — KENNETH GUENTERT

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