Welcome to Interfaith Families

 

Finding a Jewish community to call home can be difficult. We recognize that interfaith couples and families face unique challenges when searching for a Jewish community. You may be asking yourself  “will my spouse or partner be accepted by others in the community?”,  “will he or she be able to participate in the life of the community?”, or “when my son or daughter becomes Bar/Bat Mitzvah, will our relatives of other faiths be able to participate in the service?” The short answer to all of these questions is yes.

Most congregations bill themselves as “warm and welcoming” to interfaith families. These words are very easy to say.  At Kesher Israel, however, we back up our words with action. We want every member of every household to be an active, integral part of our community. We strongly encourage both the Jewish and non-Jewish spouse or partner to explore Jewish tradition in our Adult Education classes, attend worship services (we know that not everyone reads Hebrew, so we provide a transliterated copy of the service, plus translations, and also do many prayers in English), to sit on a committee that interests you, or to join Men’s Club and Sisterhood.
 
One of the ways we reach out to interfaith families is through a programs that focuses on the needs of interfaith families. Rabbi Rosin, our pulpit Rabbi, and Rabbi Cynthia Kravitz, our Education Director, lead a series of sessions with our interfaith families to discuss the challenges and concerns that they confront and to provide support during life-cycle events and ritual celebrations, as well as exploring Jewish history, theology and liturgy.
 
Kesher Israel also offers a program geared toward our preschool parents called “Interfacing with Interfaith”, which includes discussions about holiday celebrations and talking to children about God. These programs are examples of the commitment Kesher Israel has made to the interfaith members of our congregation.
 
Above all, our mission is to build sacred community with the tools of Jewish tradition. We understand that not everyone in our community is Jewish.  We can, however,  all work together to create a sacred Jewish community using these tools.
 
Please feel free to contact either one of us, or Rabbi Rosin, with any questions. We would also be happy to put you in touch with an interfaith family from our congregation. Please contact us at shalom@kesher-israel.org or 610-696-7210.
 
Sean Donovan and Nanci Hagarty
 Co-Chairs, Membership Committee