Why Marry Jewish?

Okay-- maybe we weren't the target audience for this book, being fairly liberal, secular people. My serious boyfriend is Jewish and I'm not. His parents want me to convert, and we're not sure if I should. We got this hoping to find a good argument for why intermarriage is problematic. Instead, we got a fear-mongering, eye-roll worthy list of weak arguments. Our biggest disappointment with the book is that Jews are known for being a learned people, so we thought the author would have put more effort into writing a more academically rigorous book. We were almost in tears from laughing so hard at the statistics sections, chock-full of sample bias and insanely small sample sizes.As an interfaith couple, will you have a "December Dilemma?" Maybe, but you're also likely to have one if you're both Jews or both Christian and are forced to compromise on your different traditions and interpretations of your same faith. While very culturally important, Hannukah is not nearly as sacrosanct to Jews as Christmas is to Christians. It's silly holiday retail marketing that seems to have confused people into conflating the two, as if Hannukah is the holiest holiday for Jews. If there's an overlap between the two holidays and you can't spend one or two evenings with the Jewish side of the family, it's generally not going to be an issue because most American Jewish families don't get together for every single night of Hannukah anyway. I say two holidays is better than one, and I appreciate being able to celebrate Christmas "my way" as much as he appreciates our celebration of Hannukah (and every other Jewish holiday for that matter) "his way." If you're an orthodox Jew trying to marry a fundamentalist Christian, perhaps you should consider the points raised in the book. But if you are both flexible in your faith and are committed to one another, you may find that it's other people in your life who pose the conflict, rather than the differences in your upbringing.Even considering my rather negative view of anything that discourages intermarriage, this book makes me want to write my own anti-intermarriage book that forms a more cohesive argument for maintaining the Jewish culture and consults sound demographic data.

Although this book seems to be targeted at a Jewish audience, everyone in a relationship, or hoping to be in one, can benefit from the gentle, practical wisdom of Doron Kornbluth. The author uses numerous case studies of real-life couples - some Jewish, some not - to reveal the essential ingredients of a stable, happy relationship. Opposites attract - but not for the long run. Physical attraction and friendship are important - but not decisive. Ultimately, it's about reaching your spiritual potential - with someone who can help you through that journey. Read this and learn!

This is a book intended for single Jews in their twenties (or anyone concerned about such Jews). It treats its readers with respect, and presents a range of future married situations generally not thought about by young people in loving relationships, and helps them identify feelings that might rise in these situations; feelings they might be surprised to find that they still have. Much of the book is applicable to intermarriages of any kind and is more than a parochial Jewish book. I think non-Jewish couples from dissimilar backgrounds of all types would benefit greatly from reading the book and working out together the future situations they may be called to deal with. It reads easily, and I recommend it highly.

It is really about why marry ones own religion. Before marrying someone, there are certain questions that no matter how difficult, must be discussed. A person might not realize how important their upbringing is...any one of any religion should read this...it really is wonderful. I give this book as a gift all the time

Every Jewish parent should buy for their child. This give a good prespective of the martial life from a Jewish prospective.

This is a meaty book, not a brief summary/rehash of material you can find on various websites. It is much more convincing than any other book I have found.

Best book on this subject. Very insightful and helpful in many ways. Be prepared to search deeply into yourself.

I think that this book is easy to read and presents cogent arguments against inter-faith marriage. Much of the information presented relates to religions other than judaism. I think that this book is especially useful for people who are only marginally jewish.

Excellent book with sensible and logical reasons, explanations and answers. Very helpful. Highly recommended to all Jewish kids who wish to marry Jewish.