Letter From New Haven: A Syrian Family in Trump’s America
On election night, a group of Jews welcomed a Syrian family. Now they wonder what to say when the refugees ask: Will we be safe here?
06
Mar
05
Jan
Ask The Rabbis // Is it the job of rabbis to fight intermarriage?
INDEPENDENT
Intermarriage is a reality of American Jewish life that isn’t receding, no matter how valiant the efforts to counter it. The central challenge to American Judaism isn’t intermarriage; it’s disaffected Jews who lack the knowledge and inspiration to live Jewish lives. Our job as rabbis is to offer a compelling and relevant Judaism—to rekindle Jewish passion, bring Jews home to their tradition and culture and welcome whoever makes that journey with them. What makes a home Jewish isn’t just the family that lives there but the devoted and purposeful Jewish life they live together.
When a few years ago I decided to leave the Conservative movement, in which I was ordained, to create alternative wedding rituals for intermarrying couples committed to Jewish life, I wasn’t motivated by a desire to sanction intermarriage. I was motivated by...
07
Oct
Jewish population's up. Quick, hit the panic button….
Ok, time to get your assimilation anxieties sorted out. The numbers of Jews and kinda-sorta Jews and non-Jews married to Jews or who are children or grandchildren of Jews is growing, and that's good, right? No, says Israel's Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Haifetz, that's bad. Well, it's good that the number of "real" Jews is increasing—by 70,000 worldwide in the last year, according to the Jewish Agency. But how about those kinda-sortas? The ones who can become Israeli citizens under the Law of Return, but who might not pass Halachic muster for purposes of marriage to a "real" Jew under Israeli law. Apparently we are producing too many of that sort here in the U.S. The recent population study by TJA says that there are more than 11 million Americans...