An acceptable offense on intermarriage

I am a Kansas City native. While I agree with not pushing away people who made the decision to intermarry, I believe that is not the only thing that should be done concerning intermarriage.

I believe the best and most important way to begin discouraging intermarriage in not when a child starts to date, but when the child is born. My family has belonged to Kehilath Israel Synagogue all my life. I was sent to religious school, but that wasn’t the extent of my Judaism. Our family celebrated holidays and Shabbos regularly. My parents encouraged me to participate in BBYO and later NCSY. My parents embraced our Judaism and I was able to see that.

Many of my peers are getting married, engaged and dating right now. Of the 11 people from my confirmation class at K.I. (whose parents did many of the same things at different levels), at least five of those 11 people are married, engaged or dating someone Jewish. (I don’t have all the numbers because I not kept in contact with the others, but I would guess many of them are also marrying Jewish people.)

Parents should not just rely on religious school and rote traditions to encourage their children to marry someone Jewish. Instead, find out why Judaism is important to you, and then communicate it with speech and action to your children, and they will listen.

Craig Kohn

Overland Park, Kan.