Besides Ruth was a gentile & was more loyal & decent than most Jewish girl. She looked after her mother in-law even after her husband had died. She then married Boaz who she had children with.
She was dedicated to God & looked after her mother-in-law who was Jewish…..

I think it’s very racist in many ways. Relationship is built on love, trust & understanding. So if you with so one who has no love for you, trust or there is no understanding then what are you doing together. But if you are in relationship that has all these things then for sure there will be compromise.

If you are Jew and you believe in your faith so much so, but fall in love with a gentile “deeply”, it is your minds eye that needs to see if that gentile will take from your faith or will give. There after it is God’s gift to us – CHOICE – Whether or not you are strong enough to stand your ground or you just give in. But like I said the Jewish community has intermarried alot and there has been many men & women that have converted & lived a Jewish life in the jewish faith & have been strong than Most Jews from birth.

Yes I do believe & understand the being Jewish is for a lot of Jewish people a great responsibilty. By this I mean keeping the faith & people together & trying to live a life give by God in the Torah as well as also trying to live a life you face with today. Being Seventh Day Adventist I was denied alot of things because I had to keep the Sabbath Holy. This ment no sports medals, no going out with my friends who were all secular & it ment feeling out & different. This feeling has been discribed to be by alot of my Jewish friends & family. So understand this feeling, but, I strongly believe that if you in love & your partner (including you) feeling strongly about God & his laws, then there is no reason that one shouldnt convert & get married.

Rahab was not Jewish, she married Salmon & lived a life of faith from the moment she left Jericho.
So though I understand the importance of preserving the Faith & God’s laws, I think it’s very wrong to say do not marry outsiders at alot, because gentiles can also be good people & be faithful to God.

So think about that……
But in the same breathe dont ever forget where you come from & your faith.

PS
For Jews, “marrying within the faith” isn’t a cultural preference or prejudice. Rather, it is one the commandments G-d gave us at Mount Sinai. A Jew who marries a non-Jew transgresses a Torah prohibition.
The practice of not “intermarrying” is in fact one of the oldest features of Judaism. It dates back to Abraham telling Eliezer, his servant, not to find a wife for his son from the Canaanites. It continues with Isaac’s command to his son Jacob not to marry the “daughters of the land.” The practice is mentioned in the Bible as a legal prohibition, and is also part of the covenant that Ezra the scribe had the Jews make when they rebuilt the Temple after the Babylonian Exile.
In all the above cases the underlying idea of the prohibition seems to be ideological. As Jews, we have a unique identity that is connected to our purpose in the world. We are the “chosen people.” We were chosen to propagate the ethical monotheism of Judaism.
In the words of Leo Tolstoy:
“The Jew is that sacred being who has brought down from heaven the everlasting fire, and has illumined with it the entire world. He is the religious source, spring, and fountain out of which all the rest of the peoples have drawn their beliefs and their religious. The Jew is the pioneer of liberty. The Jew is the pioneer of civilization. The Jew is the emblem of eternity.”
We were chosen as a permanent protest group against idolatry and immorality. Intermarriage is therefore antithetical to the Jewish purpose and to the Jewish identity.
Being Jewish isn’t a cultural affiliation or a tradition. It’s being part of the Chosen People. That means a commitment to the responsibility given to us by G-d at Sinai. Someone who understands this will obviously choose a partner who is likewise committed. Otherwise, it’s entering a relay race, but choosing a partner who’s running towards a different finish line.
Whom you marry affects every single aspect of your life. It affects your community. It affects your children. It affects all future generations. The Jewish home is the single most important establishment in Jewish life. It outweighs any synagogue or temple, even the Holy Temple built by King Solomon. By marrying a non-Jew one thereby ends over 3,000 years of Jewish continuity, effectively cutting oneself and one’s offspring off from what it means to be Jewish.
There have been many other arguments offered against intermarriage. Below is a summary of some of the most famous.
1. Six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, 12 million were left afterwards. Today there are only 13 million Jews in the world. Where are the rest that by natural increase should number close to 20 million? The answer is that the silent holocaust of assimilation has caused them to disappear as Jews.
2. Intermarriages are twice as likely to end in divorce as same-faith marriages (75% divorce rate!). Some reasons for this are the different identities of the spouses and the differences in culture and family. For example a Jew will naturally turn his head at the mention of “Israel” and “Jew.” A gentile who converts in a superficial and insincere conversion only for the sake of marriage does not create a new identity that is now Jewish.
3. One is granting a victory to anti-Semites who seek to destroy the Jewish people. Think of what has been sacrificed in the past by our own ancestors to keep their Judaism. And think of the heritage that is being sacrificed for the sake of personal reasons.
Ultimately, however, all Jews must have a sense of pride in their own identity. We cannot define ourselves by foreign ideologies, nationalities or religions. As a great author once wrote:
“Pride is faith in the idea that G-d had when He made us. A proud man is conscious of the idea, and aspires to realize it. He does not strive towards a happiness, or comfort, which may be irrelevant to G-d’s idea of him. His success is the idea of G-d, successfully carried through, and he is in love with his destiny People who have no pride are not aware of any idea of G-d in the making of them, and sometimes they make you doubt that there has ever been much of an idea, or else it has been lost, and who shall find it again? They have got to accept as success what others warrant to be so, and to take their happiness, and even their own selves, at the quotation of the day. They tremble with reason before their fate.”
Let us not live by the “quotation of the day” but rather by our own heritage, the Torah. When Jews study Torah, and identify as Jews they are really just returning to their true selves.
“Who lets Untruth exist without protest, Himself becomes supporter of Untruth.”

Birth rates are declining everywhere but population decline hasn’t really kicked in yet in most places.

The population decline is happening all over the world. Even in poor countries like Mexico and India the birth rate is declining sharply as women become more educated and get access to birth control.

So its not really a strictly Jewish phenomenon.

Consider, for instance, what would happen if we assumed that all of these groups had the same spectacular intermarriage rate as the Orthodox (3%), but still had the birthrates quoted in the article. For simplicity assume that everyone marries wthin their own denomination, and that none of the offspring of intermarriages count as Jews. By the fourth generation, we would have:
O: 2991
MO: 385
C: 69
R: 58
U: 49

Now, consider what happens if we keep the current intermarriage rates, but assume every couple is as prolific as the haredi with 6.2 kids. We get after 4 generations:
O: 2991
C: 821
R: 340
U: 73

Remember, this is assuming that all of the intermarriage kids do not identify as Jews, an assumption that clearly underestimates them; at least a [I]few[/I] of them are likely to come back into the fold. If we assume that even a measly 15% of the intermarried kids end up as Jews, and all couples still have 6.2 kids:
O: 3022
C: 1060
R: 541
U: 193

The take home message: intermarriage rates obviously do make a difference here, but the population can actually withstand very high rates of intermarriage as long as the birth rate stays very high. On the other hand, if birth rates drop below replacement, no amount of kvetching about intermarriage will prevent population loss.

Sorry about the dianetics comparison. As for myth, it really is important for me at least to be clear that my Jewish observance, or lack thereof, is not about laziness, or readiness, or boredom, but about what I believe. Some people say that Judaism does not require Christianity’s leap of faith. I disagree. The details of the leap are much different of course, but (Orthodox) Judaism really does require a leap of faith to believe that the events of the Torah, particularly the events regarding God’s interaction with humans, are true. So in order to make it clear that I do not believe in those things, I refer to those things as myths. Sorry if it offended you.

Yes, I appreciate you acknowledging our differences in the Mosaic outlook.

Take care.

Jewlicious is a community of the best kind; diverse and mostly tolerant of what other people believe. I use the qualifier of mostly, because there have been a few posts that I think dance dangerously close to negating the commitment of the differently affiliated. Even this happens not because of any hatred of another group but out of personal, passionate beliefs.

As someone who is “kinda Conservadox, I guess,” (which is unfortunately fairly accurate) there are things about Orthodoxy that make me uncomfortable, and things about Shabbat and traditional observance that are difficult for me right now, which I’ve discussed before, hereand elsewhere, probably more openly than I ever have in my extra-blogular life. In fact, that whole discussion had its roots in a post that started here on Jewlicious, as an outgrowth of the Jewlicious at the Beach conference, which united Jewish students and presenters of all stripes.

So, to paraphrase Shakespeare:
If we bloggers have offended,
think but this and all is mended:
that we have just slumbered here
while these comments did appear.
Our love of Jews was of pure intent…
offense may be taken, but none was meant.

Here’s to a solid ten percent. Whatever that means to you.

Curious I just wanted to say that you are right – the example of the Yankees wasnt good as i dont care for them at all.
But otherwise I dont agree. The Culture that you marvel so much was shaped by people who were born to Jewish parents. If you not perpetuating the Jewish nation you do not perpetuate the Jewish culture. Even more than that. Jews have contributed so much to world civilization. Let’s see the theory of relativity, the magic mountain and the ET and the wedding march. You want to deprive the mankind of more Jewish contributions???
So maybe at least you should marry Jewish.
I personally (respectful enough?) belive it is not enough. I think there is a degree of seperation from the “Sinai myth” beyond which we get desolve in the multitude of the nations and disappear. And this is not cool whatever your denomination is.

I spoke to Marek Edelman and I do agree with you that all his rebelion agaists G-d is inherently Jewish.
I dont agree with you that jewlicious is bias. But your observation is interesting as I always thought there is more anti-orthodox coments. So you see there is prrobably everything, just depends what you are looking for.
So you feel disrespected, huh? I am sorry.
So what should I do? I am just suppose to say that i acknowledge our diffrences in the outlook on mosaic etnicity. Would this be respectful enough?
What you call myth is my tangible reality and the very thing i breathe. You know it kinda feels itchy when you call it myth. But it s ok because it is fine with me that you have totally opinion. But when you compare what our ancestors were dying for with thigs like dianetics that kinda hurts. But it s ok – It s Jewlicious,

ck – kol hakavod.

If this insults or offends you, I apologize, seriously. I’m not looking to fight or flame or whatever that’s called. And your existence is not an affront to me. I couldn’t care less what you believe, I just don’t like the tone of some of the postings on this site.

Anyway, you want examples. I’m looking back now, and this is probably the post that stuck in my head and ticked me off:

jewlicious.com...

Specifically, your remark:

“Who do most American Jews look to for spiritual leadership? For the most part we’re talking about uh… “Rabbis” who cannot read a page of Gemarah, whose Hebrew is fractured or non-existent, and who some times do not even bellieve in G*d.”

That’s extremely insulting and offensive to non-Orthodox rabbis, period. Do you not see how that is insulting? Just the use of quotation marks to show that they’re not authentic would infuriate non-Orthodox rabbis. And do you really believe there are rabbis out there who don’t know any Hebrew?

That ticked me off.

Anyway, as I indicated above, I wasn’t talking only about you personally, but about the endless comments, including those in the most commented posts, insulting the secular. Sure, they don’t speak for all the posters, but they certainly are vocal here. So I thought it would be nice to respond.

Well Curious, let me tell you. You offend me. But I respect your right to express your opinions and in fact I am paying for the forum and the bandwidth that allows you to insult me and my values.

Snide? Insulting? I think you’re projecting. Please, since they are so ubiquitous, please show me posts or comments where I have been snide and insulting to secular Jews.

I’m waiting. I have all night.

I don’t observe Shabbat b/c I cannot take the leap of faith that Orthodoxy — any religion’s Orthodoxy — requires to believe that our actions affect the divine.

Heh, I observe the sabbath because it’s great. I don’t think my deity derives sustenance from my prayers or rest or observance. G*d is, you know, omniscient and omnipotent. The sabbath is a gift. Really. Even by secular humanist standards. I mean really evolved hipsters celebrate Buy Nothing day once a year, we celebrate it every week – and it is liberating and restful and all that. The sabbath is my sustenance. Our actions affect each other and the world around us. That’s what my religion is all about.

So now let me bounce around a bit…

I know, I know, the reactionaries are scoffing “He cannot feel anything if he doesn’t follow Maimonides’s precepts of faith.” And others are scoffing “Another bagels and pickles Jew.” Whatever makes you feel special about yourselves.

Well as the king of the reactionaries here let me tell you what I’ve told others a thousand times before. It is entirely possible that your 10% Judaism is more legitimate and brings you closer to G*d than my Judaism and that’s by my reactionary standards. I would never presume to tell you how to lead your life or that I have an inside track to a better way or that I am a better Jew or anything. I learnt that lesson in a very humbeling manner and if you want I will repeat the story again. But the point is the way I live works for me. I like it. I like being Jewish and I am very thankful and appreciative for all the effort expended by those before me to give me this gift.

I’d like to pass this gift on to my future generations. The best way I know to do that is through traditional Judaism. You wanna chill with Kafka? Great! I’ve read Spinoza and Primo Levi and the secular Jewish canon and my Judaism is still just as rich as yours. Do what you want to do. I seriously wish you well. I may have hard time understanding how you can say you are a genuine and authentic Jew who doesn’t care abut the survival of Judaism, but hey, that’s your trip. I am just talking about my trip and, for the record, my opinion is my opinion alone and is not shared by every poster on Jewlicious. Muffti is what, an atheist? An agnostic? Esther’s kinda Conservadox I guess, Michael and Laya have their own struggles and TheMiddle is definitely not Orthodox. You should know that curious – this isn’t the first time you’ve been here after all, eh?

But I digress (as I often do). I think what we’re trying to do here is stimulate discussion and 123 posts later… mission accomplished. I appreciate your comments but just don’t try to represent Jewlicious as some kind of monolith and don’t try to put words in my mouth that I never said.

I don’t see why your compulsion to reproduce means you care about the Jews more than I do, or that because I don’t believe in the Sinai myth that I care about Jews as much as you care about the Yankees.

If you haven’t seen the posts I’m referring to, then you haven’t read the messages on Jewlicious the past 3 weeks if not the past full year.

Don’t feel sorry for me, man. I’m quite alright.

I didn’t say Edelman was fighting for Kafka OR for film festivals — and that distortion is the exact kind of “bagels and lox” cultural caricature I see here all the time, thanks man — I used Edelman and Kafka as two independent sources of Jewish inspiration for me. And Edelman is in constant war with God. Read “Shielding the Flame.” He’s shielding it from God. What an amazing, radical, and inherently Jewish concept.

I don’t think the goal of Jews is necessarily to perpetuate Jews, and I certainly don’t think the disinclination to procreate is “selfishness.” My life is not only about me, and only a person so entrenched in dogma could even imply that not having children = selfishness. In fact, one could easily argue that those who have kids are living a life that’s “only about them.” So terrified of their own mortality that they want to recreate themselves. But I’m not making that argument b/c I think it’s specious and simplistic. I’m just saying that your argument is specious as well.

I never said I was more objective than, say, you. I just said I don’t like the snide dismissal of secular Jews I constantly see on this site.

And btw I think you should marry only a nice Jewish girl! jewlicious.com...