Interfaith Marriage
Our Board of Directors adopted a resolution whereby our clergy may perform a wedding between a Jewish person and a non-Jewish person under the auspices of Beth Am Israel. It does not require them to do so and deeply respects their individual beliefs and practices.
A joint statement from Rabbi David and Hazzan Harold:
A Talmudic teaching [Tosefta Sotah 7:12] advises a student of Torah to ‘make yourself a heart of many rooms’ into which to welcome the competing views of different Sages and scholars. We see Beth Am Israel as a ‘house of many rooms’ – a community committed to diversity of Jewish practice. The wide variety of worship and spiritual practice offerings that fill our congregational calendar and space manifest that commitment. Our distinct approaches to officiation at interfaith weddings reflect that commitment as well and the Board’s decision on this issue reflects both our personal values and those of the BAI community that we serve.
Hazzan Harold will officiate at a marriage between a Jewish person and a person who is not Jewish, according to the guidelines now set in the Board’s decision on this issue. Rabbi David does not officiate at interfaith weddings, both as a personal decision to reserve officiating for two Jewish persons entering into the covenant of Jewish marriage and in accord with the Rabbinical Assembly’s longstanding ‘Standard of Rabbinic Practice’.
We fully respect each other’s approach to officiating or not officiating at interfaith ceremonies and affirm the process by which the Board of Directors of Beth Am Israel has decided this issue.
We are happy to discuss our positions and our thinking with any member of the Beth Am Israel family at any time.
“As an interfaith couple, Beth Am Israel offered us a uniquely welcoming community that embraced our desire to engage with Jewish tradition, worship, and learning in ways that were comfortable for our family. ”
“Beth Am Israel has provided my family with a loving, supportive community within which to re-establish and strengthen our bonds to Judaism and our commitment to living with love and friendship. Beth Am welcomed us as an interfaith couple and then supported us as my husband converted to Judaism. Throughout, our son has experienced the pride of being Jewish and the strength of community. We are grateful to our Beth Am Israel family and over the years have become active in many capacities to ensure its well-being.”