The rate of interfaith marriage in the Jewish community is over 50 percent nationwide, and it is on the rise. Out of three million Jewish households, there are more than over one million intermarried couples in the United States. In the past such statistics were greeted with great alarm and consternation. Today, Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, executive director of the Jewish Outreach Institute, and Joan Peterson Littman, an educator, see these developments as opportunities for spiritual growth. They have put together this helpful guide for couples, rabbis, and Jewish community leaders.
Chapters cover navigating an interfaith relationship before getting married; relating to parents, grandparents, and siblings; making decisions about children; dealing with the holidays; handling lifecycle events; and nurturing the Jewish spirit and soul. Olitzky and Littman counsel couples on this sacred journey to be both patient and appreciative of each other. We would go one step further by emphasizing that interfaith marriages are pioneering adventures where dogmatic beliefs can give way to common spiritual practices done together. This paperback nicely complements Harvey Cox's Common Prayers and Donna Schaper's Raising Interfaith Children.
