Intermarriage Dilemmas Under Thorough Review
(Continued from Page 10)
tzaddikim (righteous) and
hasidim (pious).
3. The marriage of Naomi
and Elimelech's two sons to
Moabite women is not re-
garded with favor. On the
contrary, their premature
death is regarded as Divine
punishment for this sin. All
traditional
commentaries
agree on this.
4. "Thou shalt not abhor
an Edomite," etc. (Deut.:
23:8) is not the same as say-
ing its okay to marry an
Edomite. The second half of
the same verse confirms
this point of logic. The chil-
dren before the third gener-
ation still could not enter the
assembly of the Lord, (mean-
ing narriage) no matter
wh
even if converted.
Only afterwards could mar-
riage be considered (upon
conversion).
5. Judaism isn't only the
Written
Scripture
(that's
Karaitic Judaism). Norma-
tive Judaism consists also
of an Oral Torah which to-
gether with the written
Torah formed the basis for
our Halakha (jurisprudence).
It can be easily verified that
Halakha regarded intermar-
riage as a threat to Jewish
existence throughout history
and this fear was incorpor-
ated into several ritual re-
strictions, to provide an ad-
ditional "fence around the
Torah" relative to Deut. 7:3.
The biblical warning in Deut.
7:4 is simply that intermar-
riage would draw our sons
and daughters away from
our own monotheistic faith
to serve "other gods." Why
limit it just to ancient forms
of idolatry? Zeitlin is essen-
tially correct in quoting it is
the danger we face today,
too.
6. What would Simon have
had the Torah say to the
- Jews going into the Prom-
ised Land more than 3,000
years ago? Do not marry
Christians and Hindus and
1_ Buddhists; or maybe French-
men, Germans, Italians and
Spa n i a r d s? Furthermore,
does Simons really regard
Christianity as theologically
more acceptable to himself
as a Jew than the polytheism
of early idolatry? I doubt it!
7. The threat of intermar-
riage to Jewish life is not
where it is accompanied by
sincere conversion but where
no conversion takes place at
all or where the conversion
is merely prefunctory and
superficial and where no sin-
cere acceptance and prac-
tice of Jewish faith takes
place.
8. The argument that an
individual who is married to
a non-Jew can still show a
sense of devotion to Israel
and other Jewish causes
leaves me cold as a justifica-
tion for mixed marriages. So
do many non-Jews! It does
not reduce the assimilationist
threat that the mixed marri-
age represents. And if one
is in a leadership position,
the threat is even greater,
for such a person is then
projected as an example for
others to follow.
Rabbi Rosenbaum
RABBI MILTON
ROSENBAUM
Temple Emanu-El
9. When cases of inter-
marriage and mixed marri-
ages were rare, no one
thought of taking drastic ac-
tion. If the call by the
Rabbinical Council of Amer-
ica seems to be drastic, it
is because the threat is be-
coming more serious. Ezra
and Nehemiah in their day
*
ewish Couples, Not Mixed
Marriages, Should Be Concern
NEW YORK— A rabbinic
leader admonished his col-
leagues for their pre-occupa-
tion with the problem of
mixed marriages and critic-
ized them for their failure
to instill a Jewish identity
into the Jewish couples they
marry.
Decrying the destruction
of values in modern society,
Rabbi Robert J. Marx, di-
rector of the New York Fed-
eration of Reform Syna-
gogues, told the group's 31st
annual assembly of delegates
at Americana Hotel,
.e'e is a shocking indif-
ference to the Jewish fate of
the couples we marry. This
indifference commands our
attention and concern."
Referring to the "hottest"
debate on the rabbinic agen-
da this year, the rising rate
of mixed marriages, Rabbi
Marx said his colleagues
were making a "mockery"
of the problem. "The ques-
tion as I see it is not shall
Gentiles be Jews, but rather
shall Jews be Jews.'
He suggested that the time
had come not only for classes
to teach. prospective converts
about Judaism, but also for
the establishment of classes
for JeVvs before they are mar-
ried.
"We feel it is important
that before they are married,
converts know what Judaism
is all about. Why don't we
feel that such a requirement
become the basic standard
for Jewish couples?"
Rabbi Marx said "We are
seeing the destruction of
values — we see men and
women who cannot cope with
their loneliness; we see mar-
ried people who cannot stand
one another and single people
who cannot stand themselves.
We see our people who are
old and our people who are
poor. We E.-- our young
people who __re bored and
feel life is
"In a worn-1 committed to
quantity — we must stand
for quality. In a world which
has perfected bureaucracy to
a point where people are be-
ginning to run away from
all kinds of institutions, can
a little institution known as
the synagogue still have sig-
nificance and meaning and
power?"
The internationally known
Rubin Academy of Music of
Jerusalem just celebrated its
25th anniversary. The patron-
ess of the anniversary con-
vocation was Mrs. Gold a
Meir,
went even further. Were it
not for the severely drastic
steps taken then, it could be
that Jewish history may well
have terminated soon after-
wards, and Jews would have
taken their place alongside
the many other ancient
civilizations who perished.
10. Indeed, I agree with
Simons only that "A Jew
living in this day and age
has to use his good common
sense" on the question of
mixed marriage. Only my
"good common sense" leads
me to different conclusions.
The articles and corre-
spondence raise two explicit
issues and a number of im-
plicit unstated issues. The
two stated issues are: 1.
Should rabbis conduct mixed
marriages? 2. Should those
who have contracted mixed
marriages be given position
of responsibility or leader-
ship in the community? It is
best to consider those prob-
lems separately.
I do not conduct mixed
marriages nor, as recent
studies have shown, do most
Reform rabbis. While civil
law allows any rabbi, minis-
ter or priest to conduct
marriages uniting any two
people who have a marriage
license, I feel that this pri-
vilege is accorded me for
the service of my religious
community. The most criti-
cal part of the Jewish mar-
riage service is the pledge
of marriage, the "Haray
Aht . . ." which is spoken
by the bridegroom to the
bride in the presence of two
witnesses.
The words of that formula
of marriage mean: "Behold
thou art betrothed unto me
with this ring in accordance
with the law of Moses and
Israel." The use of the
phrase "in accordance with
the law of Moses and Is-
rael," seems only appropri-
ate to be used between Jews
who accept Jewish law at
least in principle. Its use
seems utterly inappropriate
by people who are not mem-
bers of that religious corn-
munity.
Furthermore, Jewish mar-
riage is one of the instru-
ments of the perpetuation of
the Jewish family and com-
munity. My responsibility as
a rabbi is to further that
continuance, not to destroy
it. Therefore, I do not be-
lieve that I have a right to
conduct a mixed marriage.
My position is not without
difficulty for there are many
people whose weddings I
have conducted who qualify
as Jews through Jewish par-
entage but who are ideologi-
cally removed from Judaism
or are even opposed to it.
Jewish traditional law is ex-
tremely liberal in this re-
gard, permitting people who
are born Jews to enjoy Jew-
ish marriage despite ideo-
logical departure. In addi-
tion, those who convert to
Judaism have the right of
Jewish marriage, a right
which people who are not
Jews do not have. Tolerance
for dissenters is one side of
the issue. The integrity of
the community and the
avoidance of the adulteration
of Judaism by inimical ideas
(not racial stocks!) is the
other side of the matter.
The second stated issue is:
Should those who have con-
tracted mixed marriages be
given positions of responsi-
bility or leadership in the
community. One can easily
demonstrate Jewish loyalty
by barring such people from
communal community lead-
ership. Those who would do
that remind me of the an-
cient Essenes who withdrew
from the main stream of
Jewish life in order to pro-
tect their purity. The wiser
course was that of the Phari-
sees who faced up to the new
complications and made the
law an effective aid to every
day life. In our time we must
recognize that even without
our endorsement some Jews
will enter mixed marriages.
Many of those who do will
still try to live as Jews and
to raise their children as
Jews. The spouses of some
of them will later convert to
Judaism. If that occurs Jew-
ish marriage can then take
place. Even if it does not,
barring them from com-
munal responsibility or even
leadership will help neither
them nor the community.
What we must bar are ideas
or actions in community af-
fairs which are contrary to
Jewish principles. Jews of
impeccable Jewish lineage
are sometimes guilty of such
deeds.
Even superficial observa-
tion would show us that the
people of mixed marriage
are called upon for respon-
sible activities by almost all
segments of the community,
including the Orthodox. De-
spite all talk of "elimination
from leadership roles in Jew-
ish public life of all of those
who marry out of their
faith . . ." the contributions
of such people are always
kosher. Favors or aid by
anyone in or out of the com-
munity are apparently al-
ways acceptable. Only re-
cently I noted that an un-
observant Jew of my ac-
quaintance was honored by
a leading Orthodox institu-
tion as its "man of the year."
Assuming that the man is
willing to accept the honor,
the situation may be ludic-
rous but understandable. We
need each other. We are a
Jewish community, not a
community of saints. We
must accept what each of
us can do positively for Jew-
ish purposes in the commu-
nity. To do otherwise may
make us look "pure" but it
will not serve either Jewish
interests or Judaism.
Those two stated issues are
but the top . of an iceberg.
The unstated issues which
are more basic are below
the surface and out of view.
They deserve our attention
as well. They include cer-
tainly these problems. 1. The
integrity and purposes of the
Jewish community; 2. The
problems of purist ideology
and Orthodox hegemony; 3.
The legitimacy of Conserva-
tism and Reform as Jewish
interpretations and Jewish
practice; 4. The dangers of
a growing Jewish racism;
5. The reasons why some
rabbis conduct mixed marri-
ages; 6. The continuance or
shattering of Jewish unity.
Perhaps a few words about
these matters are in order
so as to delineate the prob-
lems rather than to solve
them.
We Jews exist as a people
and as a religious commu-
nity in order to do God's
purposes in the world. That
responsibility includes the
instruction of the world by
Jewish teaching and by our
personal examples of the
need to recognize that there
is but one God in the world
and that all men should
serve God and demonstrate
their faith in Him by living
morally and ethically with
each other. Judaism does not
ask that all the world become
Jewish for, according to Tal-
mudic thought, salvation is
assured the righteous of the
world.
A Jewish community that
exists without purpose is reli-
giously meaningless. Neither
our prophets nor our rabbinic
sages ever thought that an
unconvinced and unpracti-
cing Jewish community could
endure. The prophets saw the
cure for unconcern and im-
morality in "Teshuvah" in
spiritual return. The tal-
mudic sages worked out
Halakha, the way in which
we ought to walk. Neither
was confused about the
reasons for the way we ought
to walk or the direction in
which we should go. The last
century has not only given
us a philosophy of secular
nationalism that is alive and
dynamic but also crises,
horrors, problems and solu-
tions. These have bound us
together in need to stay alive
and in pride in our survival
and accomplishments with-
out time for reflection upon
Jewish purpose. The problem
of purpose remains and the
integrity of the Jewish com-
munity here or even in Is-
rael is dependent upon the
way we answer it. If, con-
trarily, Jewish ethnicity is
our only concern, there is no
real purpose in our continu-
ing as a people other than as
a matter of comfort or con-
venienc e. Furthermore,
neither mixed marriage nor
communal leadership should
then be issues.
Our need for each other
has also pasted over a
severe ideological rift be-
tween Orthodox purists on
one side and non-Orthodox
Conservative and Reform
Jews on the other. The latter
see their interpretations as
not only more contemporary
but legitimate and necessary
for our times. Orthodox Jews
see the non-Orthodox move-
ments not only as altering
Judaism beyond propriety
but also as threats to their
traditional role in religious
matters and as spokesmen
for the community in them.
A not too well hidden ex-
ample of this is the coming
battle for control and super-
vision of kashrut within the
community. On the other
hand, the Reform and Con-
servative movements are
eager to be accorded equal-
ity as legitimate forms of
Judaism not only within
their own groups but by
Orthodox Jews not only here
but in Israel as well. We of
non-Orthodox but organized
movements will have to ac-
cord the same recognition to
Reconstructionists, Human-
ists and a wide variety of
secularists. Community need
alone dictates this accomo-
dation.
Each of us needs a co-
herent philosophy of his be-
ing a Jew no less than does
the community. Prayer, Sab-
bath observance, kashrut,
philanthropy and social ac-
tivism are all means of ex-
pressing one's Jewishness.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
They are not ideologies in
theroselve. In the absence of
coherent Jewish tho u ght, we
rei n the ri oz,f7T of having a
community thsit. is freunded
on ideological emptirie;..g. and
identity only by Jewi::h birth,
In its extreme fr,rrn, thi. ran
lea d to a .1" ewiah ram ::rn in
which our people, apart front)
birth to Jewish parents,
distinguished only by a pref-
erence for corned beef sand-
wiches and wall to wall car-
peting. The crisis of vast
Jewish ignorance and reli-
gious unconcern have led to
the proliferation of the cur-
rent "Jewish identity" non-
sense. Identification is a
legitimate concern of scien-
tists encountering strange
animals or a coroner doing
a post-mortem examination.
It is a matter of no special
interest to living creatures
themselves. Just as I do, my
father and my grandfather
surely doubted whether they
were good Jews, living up
sufficiently to their Jewish
responsibilities, but they
knew why they were Jews.
Only if you don't know if
you are alive as a Jew does
an identification crisis occur.
The reasons rabbis con-
duct mixed marriages vary.
They range from the noblest,
though, in my view, mis-
taken motives to the most
ignoble of motives. Some
want to win people for Juda-
ism and can even cite im-
pressive statistics and cases
in support of their actions.
Some do not want to break
up families or to lose people
from Judaism. ("If you
don't marry them, they will
be married in the church
because they want a reli-
gious ceremony"). Some see
the low state of Jewish
loyalty and usage and have
been reduced to a defeatist
apathy that makes them only
sacerdotal funcionaries. In
self-justification, they point
to Jews of impeccable Jew-
ish lineage whose weddings
they have conducted who are
more removed from Judaism
than some non-Jews, some-
times even to the point of
antagonism. Some rabbis are
pressured by influential con-
gregants and, in the effort
to retain their posts, submit
to "offers that they can't
refuse." At the low end of
the scale are those rabbis
who are simply mercenary
and who deserve our con-
tempt.
The range of these prob-
lems involves the entire
fabric of Jewish life. Only
the critical need of facing
immediate problems has kept
them from shattering the
community. Eventually we
must face them. When we
do, we may follow the lead
of Christian Protestantism
and segment ourselves into
a series of little groups, each
thinking it has the only path
to salvation, perfection or
legitimacy. If we are wise,
we will take a path honored
in our tradition of trying to
understand each other, of
helping each other, of recog-
nizing our common need for
each other and dealing pati-
ently, compassionately and
altruistically with each other.
Ahavat Habriot, love of one's
fellow man, could be the
enzyme that could dissolve
the rancor that surrounds
our difference and lead us to
continued and valuable com-
munal unity.
Friday, May 11, 1973-11