USCJ Responds to Intermarriage Proposal
Interfaith Ceremony: Chelsea Clinton married Marc Mezvinsky in 2010 in Rhinebeck, New York. Image by Getty Images
Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s research, analysis and essay on officiating at an interfaith wedding is interesting. It is clear that his proposal comes from a place of thoughtfulness and love of Judaism, the Jewish people and those connected to them. Rabbi Lau-Lavie, like all of us, is struggling with our generation’s most complex problem: how do we navigate a radically inclusive society in an authentically Jewish and dynamic way?
I have great respect for Rabbi Lau-Lavie and am curious to see how his experiment develops as he seeks to strengthen the relationships of non-Jewish partners to the Jewish community.
Will the institutions of Conservative Judaism embrace this approach? I can only speak for USCJ, which is the network of nearly 600 Conservative Jewish communities across North America — our role is to strengthen communities, not to make halakhic decisions on behalf of the Conservative movement.
We believe a range of viewpoints and backgrounds — religious, racial, ethnic, sexual, socio-political — strengthens us all and will continue to partner with kehillot in our network, and others in the movement, to ensure we demonstrate what an authentic and dynamic Judaism looks like.
Rabbi Steven C. Wernick serves as the chief executive officer of The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
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