Chief Rabbi Yisraeli Discusses The Prohibition Of Intermarriage And Its Halachic Consequences

Bukharian Jews have shown a great resolve throughout all their years under the strain of Communist Russia. Harsh seasons of bitter hate targeted Bukharian Jewry for its steadfast observance of the Torah and Mitzvot. Today, a different face threatens Bukharian Jewry of Western society. The cold and harsh winters have dissipated and given way to the embrace of warmth, friendship and inclusion. However, as time and experience affirms, the newer atmosphere has exponentially strengthened the specter of assimilation and intermarriage. Assimilation and intermarriage in the Bukharian community was once an inaudible drip which has now become a thundering storm threatening the fabric of Bukharian Jewry.

Our Rabbis tell us that all of Mankind was created in G-d’s image and shares in the wonderful Purpose of Hashem’s Creation. However, because the Jewish people alone have the duty of the Torah’s 613 commandments, it is important that they be loyal to their mission. The Torah prohibits any intimate/romantic relationship between Jew and non-Jew and categorizes such a relationship as one which detracts from the overall mission of a Jew. The repercussions of any such union are far reaching and affect all parties involved in the union including the children. Such behavior potentially subjects the offender to excommunication and spiritual excision from his people. Consequently, any children born from the union of a Jewish male and a non-Jewish female are legally outside of the pale of Judaism and are neither imbued with a claim to their father’s religion nor his inheritance.

Intermarriage, assimilation, and all of its proponents are directly responsible for the utter desolation of the once-established and firmly rooted Jewish character. The near total annihilation of the Jewish people in the past century elicited great outcries to restore the Jewish people; the same must be done regarding the intolerable percentage of Jews who disregard their nationhood. The Halachic ramifications of such conduct must therefore be unequivocally stated and conspicuously upheld. Due to his rejection of the faith, any Jewish man who marries a non-Jewish woman cannot be called up to the Sefer Torah. If such a man dies without repenting, he cannot be publicly mourned by his brothers for the usual Sheva (traditional seven-days of intense mourning); rather each brother must each mourn him in private for the short duration of a single hour.

A large contributor to assimilation through marriage is the great lack of Jewish education. Parents who willfully neglect their children’s rich spiritual heritage bear much responsibility for their child’s choice to marry out. The incentives offered by parents after high school or college to reverse a trend already established throughout a child’s formative years unremarkably fail to draw children back into the fold. How can a child make the right choice after years of negative reinforcement and constant subconscious suggestions to ignore the value of Judaism?

On the other hand, it is important to stress that nobody is ever truly lost from his religion. Every situation can be reversed and every person, no matter his circumstances, can reposition himself within the fold of Judaism. Far from a single harsh and unforgiving approach, every case should be dealt with patience and true empathy. Those who understand the weight of their choices may coordinate with a local orthodox Rabbi to repair the breach in their personal relationship with an eternal heritage.

It is therefore incumbent upon every person to review this message; every parent must measure the gain versus the immense and irreversible loss of losing a child, G-d Forbid. May Hashem bless us with wisdom and a good spirit to make the proper choices; may He implant in our hearts a love for His Torah and fear of Heaven; may we all return to our Hashem and may He hearken to our prayers; may knowledge increase in the world; and may He send the ultimate redemption speedily in our days, Amen ve’Amen.

By Adam Suionov