Inside Intermarriage.

Inside Intermarriage

Jim Keen

URJ Press

633 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017-6778

9780807409664, $15.95 www.urjpress.com 1-888-489-8242

Written by Jim Keen, a Christian father committed to helping his Jewish wife raise Jewish children, Inside Intermarriage:

A Christian Partner's Perspective on Raising a Jewish Family is a one-of-a-kind testimony about the unique dynamics of interfaith love, matrimony, and child-rearing. "A friend of mine recently asked me how I decided to give this 'gift' [the decision to raise the children Jewish] to my wife. She wanted to know what were the factors that made this the right choice. I had a hard time answering that one. I finally said that, technically speaking, there wasn't one thing per se that did it. Nothing forced us to decide one way or the other. The only criterion that we had was that we both had to be happy with the resolution. There is no right or wrong answer." Chapters address the author's experience as an outsider to his wife's culture, well-treated but still a "non-Jew", learning to make family connections at the Jewish Community Center, difficult choices during family celebrations of the holidays, particularly in the ubiquitously marketed Christmas season, and much more. "Fortunately, Bonnie's stepmother offered us a refreshing bit of wisdom. She said, 'One day out of the year isn't going to make or break their Jewish identity. It's how you raise your kids as Jews the other 364 days that counts." A fascinating testimony in its own right, and enthusiastically recommended reading for anyone contemplating interfaith marriage or especially interfaith parenting.