Lisa Shimel, who is not Jewish, used to celebrate Christmas with her Jewish husband until their first child was born; now they’ve added Chanukah, reports Deb Morandi works at Jewish Family Services, where she introduces intermarried families to Judaism, though she is not Jewish.
Pat Luftman was a committee co-chair in her son’s Jewish preschool, but her Jewish husband was denied a board position because the couple was intermarried. The Rev. Eleanor Harrison Bregman accompanies her children and Jewish husband to synagogue on Saturday, then goes to church the next day on her own.
A growing number of non-Jewish parents in America who have no plans to convert are raising Jewish children, marrying Jewish spouses, building Jewish homes and playing active roles in the Jewish community. But without plans to join the faith officially, their place in the Jewish community can be a bit complicated.
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