Met with an unprecedentedly secular crop of young adults, Jewish leaders are pressing intra-religious wedding harder than ever before. A common approach? Youth groups.

Eugene Hoshiko / AP

An acquaintance provided a number of us a ride following the yearly post-Yom Kippur feast. Full of bagels, lox, kugel, and each sort of lb dessert imaginable, the four of us chatted cheerfully about life in D.C., past trips to Israel, and shame over skipping spiritual solutions previously that day.

After which the conversation turned to relationship.

“Would you ever marry a non-Jew?” Sharon asked through the backseat. Responses diverse; one individual stated she wasn’t certain, while another stated she might give consideration to someone that is marrying had been prepared to transform. Debates about intermarriage, or marriage not in the faith, are typical within the community that is jewish but her concern nevertheless hit me personally as remarkable. right right Here had been four twentysomething women that scarcely knew one another, currently referring to the eventuality of wedding and apparently radical possibility that we might ever commit our life to some body unlike us. This discussion seemed extremely “un-Millennial”–as a complete, our generation is marrying later on, becoming more secular, and adopting cultures that are different than any one of our predecessors. In the event that question that is same been expected about every other part of our provided identities–being white, being educated, originating from center or upper-middle class backgrounds—it might have felt impolite, or even unpleasant.

The issue is particularly complicated for Jews: For many, faith is tied tightly to ethnicity as a matter of religious teaching although many religious people want to marry someone of the same faith. Read More