30 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2019

Rosh Hashanah

T

he Jewish High Holidays
can be challenging for
interfaith families if
attending synagogue is not a part
of their practice, says Lindsey
Silken, editorial director of
InterfaithFamily.com, a national,
nonprofit online and commu-
nity-based initiative that strives
to engage interfaith couples and
their children in Jewish life.
“The High Holidays come
with many questions because
they are the most synagogue-
centric holidays on the Jewish
calendar,” Silken said.
“We provide a multitude of
resources on how to prepare for
the holiday, from choosing what
kind of services to attend if your
family has small children to how
to decide on whether to allow
kids to attend public school on
the holidays and learn about the
traditions outside a synagogue
setting. Our goal is to help inter-
faith families find their own ways
to make the High Holidays more
enriching and inclusive.”
In Metro Detroit, orga-
nizations like The Well and
NEXTGen Detroit are reaching
out to interfaith families to pro-
vide services and programming
wherever they are in their spiritu-
al observance.

“In my experience, local inter-
faith couples/families celebrate
Jewish holidays the same way as
everyone else in our community,
for the most part,” said Jonathan
Schwartz, co-chair of inter-
faith couples programming for
NEXTGen Detroit. “We attend
religious services, get together
with family, participate in com-
munity events, and enjoy Jewish
traditions and stories.”
Schwartz said interfaith
couples and families,
such as his with his wife,
Stacy, approach the Jewish
holidays with “refreshing
enthusiasm, inquisitiveness
and creativity” adding
to the meaning of Rosh
Hashanah and Yom
Kippur commemora-
tions. Schwartz said that
interfaith couples want to
be a part of Jewish life and
will be drawn to religious
leaders and institutions
that are supportive and
welcoming.
“If a rabbi or synagogue
refuses to marry interfaith
couples, bans non-Jewish
spouses/family from partic-
ipating in rituals, or pens
op-eds bemoaning inter-
faith marriage as some-

thing to be ‘
tolerated’
at best,
don’
t expect to see us around
there during the High Holidays
or the rest of the year.”
Mechelle Sieglitz of Pontiac is
married to Paul Castelli, a pastor
at St. George’
s Episcopal Church
in Milford. This is the first year
their 16-month-old daughter will
be able to enjoy a taste of apples
with her honey.

When Castelli was attending
seminary in Columbus, Ohio, he
and Sieglitz would invite friends
to a meal full of symbolic Jewish
foods during many Jewish holi-
days, including Rosh Hashanah,
so she could explain the holiday
traditions to them. For some,
it was the first time they had
an encounter or knowledge of
Jewish New Year observances.
They would do the same for
Passover and Chanukah.
Castelli said the introspective
contemplative messages of the
High Holiday liturgy are very
similar to the themes of Ash
Wednesday.
Castelli does not attend ser-
vices on Rosh Hashanah or Yom
Kippur because he believes this
is a time meant exclusively for
Jews “who may need their space”
in reflective prayer. However,
he has attended Selichot prayers
and was specifically struck by the
messages of God’
s forgiveness
and compassion after one has
transgressed, as found in Psalm
51.
“I also appreciate the themes
and messages (of asking for
forgiveness after running away
from responsibility and turning
around one’
s bad habits) found
in the Book of Jonah,” Castelli
said. “I know that is read each
afternoon on Yom Kippur.”
Rebecca Goldberg Spennachio
of Bloomfield Hills said her hus-
band, Robert, has taken a liking
to gefilte fish. So much so that
he has learned to make it himself
for the whole family for Rosh
Hashanah as well as Passover.
Rebecca said that her mother-in-
law also loves to visit for Rosh
Hashanah meals because in
Christianity, there are not many
traditions that go along with hol-
idays beyond a Christmas tree or
Easter eggs.
“Robert enjoys going to
services at Temple Israel,”
Spennachio said. “Unlike
Conservative synagogues, there
is more English in the service
and he can better understand the
prayers.”

COURTESY OF MECHELLE SIEGLITZ
COURTESY OF THE SPENNACHIOS

Stacy and Jonathan
Schwartz

JOHN HARDWICK/JEWISHFEDERATION

Paul Castelli,
Mechelle Sieglitz and
daughter Aria

Robert Spennachio and
Rebecca Goldberg Spennachio

Interfaith Families

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jewish traditions play a meaningful role during the holidays.