The Guide to Jewish Interfaith Family Life : An Interfaithfamily.com Handbook [Paperback]

Ronnie Friedland (Author), Edmund Case (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2001

The Guide to Jewish Interfaith Family Life is a helpful, practical book that offers the perspectives of many intermarried families, as well as people who work with them, on how to handle issues that can be delicate. Some of these issues are: working out a wedding ceremony that is comfortable for you and their families, choosing a religion for your child, telling your parents, handling holidays, creating life-cycle events that honor both families, and much more.

We respect each family's need to work things out for themselves, and therefore present several points of view for each chapter, rather than one way that things should be done.

We also include chapters on divorce, adoption, gay relationships, stepparenting, and grandparenting, as well as conversion and relationships with synagogues.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Interfaith relationships and marriage are facts of Jewish life. They involve struggles that many of us have experienced ourselves... -- The Jewish Western Bulletin

It gently encourages interfaith couples to establish Jewish homes and to raise their children with one religion, not two. -- Christian Science Monitor

Practical and personal, this handbook will offer comfort and advice to... Jews who are now part of interfaith families. -- Publishers Weekly, Religion in Review

Under..."Raising My Kids Jewish, When I'm Protestant," contributor Jim Keen...explains how he handles... Santa...with his children. -- Boston Herald

From the Publisher

Practical ideas, wisdom, and encouragement on strengthening interfaith relationships from the experts--those involved in them. "This is a book about my family. And about your family. But truly, this is a book about the entire Jewish community and its future...A generation ago, my family constellation might have been seen as an abberation. Today we are typical. Which is why this book is so timely, and so important. The essays in this book describe the life and challenges of the Jewish family at the start of the twenty-first century. And although there are dilemmas and problems on these pages, there are also helpful strategies and spiritual epiphanies. There is wisdom, humor, and hope." --from the Foreward by Anita Diamant

In this first-of-its-kind resource, Jewish and non-Jewish members of interfaith families--grandparents, parents, children, dating and committed couples, Jews-by-Choice, and extended family members--and the rabbis, cantors, family educators and outreach professionals who work with them, offer your their own first-hand experience. An ideal gift, this book offers essential support for families of any constellation who are exploring Jewish life while respecting the heritage and traditions of those they love.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580231535
• ISBN-13: 978-1580231534
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,138,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too biased to be informative, November 5, 2003

By 

Jennifer A. Kern (Ozone Park, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Guide to Jewish Interfaith Family Life : An Interfaithfamily.com Handbook (Paperback)

I picked up this book hoping to find inspiration and guidance about my upcoming wedding to a Jewish man. I was hoping to find out what other people did when faced with real dilemmas about holidays, weddings and raising the children. The book is not helpful in that regard. Every anecdote assumed that the non-jewish partner would be converting to Judaism and/or that the children resulting from the relationship would be raised Jewish. The anecdotes are very helpful if your situation falls into that limited category. If not, the authors seem to think you're doing the unthinkable. The book fails to consider the possibility of a partner not converting, or other ways of raising children, such as an integrated interfaith family, or children raised in another religion, but in a household where Judaism is alive. The anecdotes are cute, but have limited value and are "preachy", obviously biased toward conversion and raising children jewish. The book does not show equal respect for the non-jewish partner.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I agree with Jennifer Kern, January 8, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Guide to Jewish Interfaith Family Life : An Interfaithfamily.com Handbook (Paperback)

She is absolutely right about the limited scope of this book. Look at the title -- it presumes there is such thing as "Jewish" interfaith family life. (Any book or class with only one faith listed in the title should be an immediate tip-off for people hoping to find a broad view of a very complex topic)

I'm a Catholic with two Catholic children married to an observant Jew. We keep a kosher home and celebrate both sets of holidays. We go to church and synagogue regularly. Sadly, there is absolutley nothing useful in this book for my family since I (and my kids) are not planning to convert.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great reference for the interfaith family, January 31, 2002

By 

elizabeth cary (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Guide to Jewish Interfaith Family Life : An Interfaithfamily.com Handbook (Paperback)

This book should be in every interfaith family's library! The book is made up of short segments that deal with almost every interfaith scenario possible. When I feel the need for some interfaith moral support, I open the book up and realize that I/we are not alone.

This book has taught me that there is a community of interfaith families out there - and that many, many people make interfaith families work (really well!)