Rabbis condemn interfaith marriages

Three rabbis guided 12 eager participants on "an exciting voyage of Jewish discovery" Sunday afternoon in the first installment of a lecture and luncheon series sponsored by Sinai Seminars and the University's Hillel Foundation. The lecture, "Intermarriage: The Erosion of the Jew," considered the question of marriage between cultures from an intellectual perspective. Guest speaker Rabbi Sholom Kaminetzky defined marriage as an institution where two separate people unite in mind, body, will and emotion. He said intermarriage complicates this fusion process because the two parties are often incompatible. Expanding on an analogy from Fiddler on the Roof, he noted that "the bird and the fish may fall in love but never can they entertain the concept of marriage." Kaminetzky examined inherent differences between Jewish and non-Jewish lifestyles, but stressed that discussions about such differences are often equated with racism. He based his argument against intermarriage on the concept of a distinct Jewish identity -- which he quickly noted should not be confused with Jewish identification. Kaminetzky explained that while Jewish identity centers around the development of lifelong values, Jewish identification deals more with the cultural flavor of Judaism. He compared the concept of Jewish identity to a baseball player who actively participates in the game, as opposed to a baseball fan who is relegated to the stands -- his definition of identification. Once Jewish identity "kicks in," intermarriage is "doomed to failure," he said, adding that the divorce rate for intermarriage is double that of the average divorce rate. And although society encourages its members to test out the "melting pot," Kaminetzky advises against dating between religions since it acts as a "means to an end." Third-year Villanova University law student John Morgenstern argued that dating between religions is like "playing with fire. Fire can be good if you don't get burned. But Kaminetzky countered that "asbestos gloves are not always available." Another of the panelists, Rabbi Dov Wachman, noted that "many believe that by the year 2075 there may not be a significant population of Jews in America." Both rabbis agreed that research is the key to making any well-informed decision -- including important ones such as those of marriage. And as Wachman concluded, today's learning opportunities allow Jews to "discover the value, the beauty, and the meaning of our own heritage. "Today is not the end of the journey -- it could be the beginning," he added.