None of the above. The response should be that of whichever gadol is supposed to have said rather than yelling "Shabbes" at someone breaking Shabbat, we should whisper it to ourselves.
Some of the choices make it seem like an intermarried couple cares what we think. This isn't true about the couple who you know in real life, and it certainly isn't true of high-profile people.
I wish there was a separate answer for "if a reporter asks you what you think" and "if your child asks you what you think."
I also wish there was an answer that said "express sadness that not all Jews find their Jewishness so important that they can't imagine marrying someone who doesn't share it."
What's with all the hostility to their happiness? puppy love? Seriously, if I haven't been following your blog for so long, I'd suspect you were jealous of their happiness. Good thing I know better.
I understand your passion for this topic, but I think it's misdirected.
I would go with Sarah's suggested answer of: Express sadness that not all Jews find their Jewishness so important that they can't imagine marrying someone who doesn't share it.
I also think that this answer would be appropriate both if a reporter asks you what you think and if your child asks you what you think. Indeed, it is for such situations that we should prepare our answers; since, as has been mentioned before (also by Warren Burstein in the comments here), there is very little chance that the intermarrying couple will be concerned about our answer to such a question. However, I actually think that the above suggested answer would also be appropriate if the intermarrying couple did pay attention to our answer.
If indeed an intermarrying couple did pay attention to us expressing sadness that not all Jews find their Jewishness so important that they can't imagine marrying someone who doesn't share it; we might have an opening to explain to them that Judaism is something of great importance, and perhaps the Jew should consider learning more about it before marrying a non-Jew, and the non-Jew should learn more about it also.
In the end, maybe the Jew would become involved enough in Judaism not to desire to marry someone who in not Jewish, since that someone would not be involved and concerned with such an important part of his/her life; or maybe the non-Jew would see that Judaism is so special that he/she would decide that it is worth adopting and would convert sincerely to Judaism (and if the Jew found Judaism important enough they might marry, otherwise the former non-Jew might search for a committed Jew to marry).
None of the above. The response should be that of whichever gadol is supposed to have said rather than yelling "Shabbes" at someone breaking Shabbat, we should whisper it to ourselves.
ReplyDeleteSome of the choices make it seem like an intermarried couple cares what we think. This isn't true about the couple who you know in real life, and it certainly isn't true of high-profile people.
unfortunately I cant add it to the selection. as people already voted, I cannot edit the answers..
ReplyDeletegood response though.
I wish there was a separate answer for "if a reporter asks you what you think" and "if your child asks you what you think."
ReplyDeleteI also wish there was an answer that said "express sadness that not all Jews find their Jewishness so important that they can't imagine marrying someone who doesn't share it."
What's with all the hostility to their happiness? puppy love? Seriously, if I haven't been following your blog for so long, I'd suspect you were jealous of their happiness. Good thing I know better.
ReplyDeleteI understand your passion for this topic, but I think it's misdirected.
I would go with Sarah's suggested answer of:
ReplyDeleteExpress sadness that not all Jews find their Jewishness so important that they can't imagine marrying someone who doesn't share it.
I also think that this answer would be appropriate both if a reporter asks you what you think and if your child asks you what you think. Indeed, it is for such situations that we should prepare our answers; since, as has been mentioned before (also by Warren Burstein in the comments here), there is very little chance that the intermarrying couple will be concerned about our answer to such a question.
However, I actually think that the above suggested answer would also be appropriate if the intermarrying couple did pay attention to our answer.
My great aunt married a recent German immigrant, who had served in the German army in WW2, but claimed not to have been involved in killing Jews etc.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the family broke off all contact with her, "until she got divorced". Which indeed happened, about 15 years later.
Nowadays, of course, the chance that a marriage will end in divorce are higher.
Adding to my previous comment,I note:
ReplyDeleteIf indeed an intermarrying couple did pay attention to us expressing sadness that not all Jews find their Jewishness so important that they can't imagine marrying someone who doesn't share it; we might have an opening to explain to them that Judaism is something of great importance, and perhaps the Jew should consider learning more about it before marrying a non-Jew, and the non-Jew should learn more about it also.
In the end, maybe the Jew would become involved enough in Judaism not to desire to marry someone who in not Jewish, since that someone would not be involved and concerned with such an important part of his/her life; or maybe the non-Jew would see that Judaism is so special that he/she would decide that it is worth adopting and would convert sincerely to Judaism (and if the Jew found Judaism important enough they might marry, otherwise the former non-Jew might search for a committed Jew to marry).