What will liberal Judaism look like in 25 years? The simple answer is that no one really knows for sure. The most bleak answer is that it will disappear completely, leaving Orthodoxy, albeit in various forms, the sole attestation to the Jewish tradition. A more optimistic answer, discussed in my recently released book The Myth of the Cultural Jew: Culture and Law in Jewish Tradition (Oxford University Press, 2015), is that the more liberal denominations will continue to attract an audience by retaining the essence of a meaningful and significant Jewish tradition even if some of the content of their messages may change.
The 2013 Pew Report devotes an entire chapter to intermarriage and other demographics. According to the Report, before 1970, 89 percent of individuals who identify as "Jewish by religion" had Jewish spouses; today that number is 55 percent. The Report also shows that although virtually all Orthodox Jews marry within the faith, the same is true for slightly less than 75 percent of Conservative Jews, half of Reform Jews, and around 30 percent of Jews who do not claim a denomination. These figures suggest that today, many young Jews, from even identified and affiliated non-Orthodox families, are choosing non-Jewish spouses who do not necessarily convert at the time of marriage.
In my anecdotal experience, I know of several intermarried young adults from kosher homes where Shabbat was celebrated regularly (both in the home and at synagogue). These young people often attended Jewish camps and sometimes even Jewish day schools. In their book, The Case for Jewish Peoplehood, Doctors Erica Brown and Misha Galperin have written that Jewish identity among millennials "is based on layers of personal choice." Indeed, this phenomenon of a multi-faceted Jewish identity has impacted even those millennials reared in more traditionally observant Jewish homes. And it has impacted their choice of life partners.
It seems to me that for many such young people, the decision to marry a non-Jew is not necessarily about rejecting their Jewish values and the values of their parents. Rather, in many instances, it is about growing up in an environment where there are essentially no cultural barriers. Indeed, as a society, we have been taught to value and appreciate the benefits of "multi-culturalism." But this reality means that as a people, we must work harder to insure that the Jewish tradition continues to be part of the "multi."
The Jewish tradition embodies both Jewish law (known as halacha) and Jewish culture. Nowhere is this connection more evident than with respect to Shabbat observance, a cornerstone of the Jewish tradition. In addition to a substantial list of halakhic "do not's" such as driving, spending money, writing, using computers, and cell phones, there is an attractive lists of "do's" including spending time with family, friends, community prayer, enjoying good food, reflecting, and relaxing. Further, given that the essence of tradition is passing down from one generation to the next, it may be a fairly safe bet that millennials whose families valued the celebration of Shabbat will one day want their own children to enjoy a similar Shabbat experience, regardless of who they marry.
For liberal Jews, the reality is that Jewish law (including the observance of Shabbat), is not necessarily seen as binding authority. Instead, the tradition is evaluated from the standpoint of whether and how it benefits them personally. Some Jews may vehemently object to this reality, but it is the reality nevertheless. This means that liberal Jews (clergy, lay leaders, parents, and grandparents) need to concentrate on education that emphasizes the beauty and value of the tradition. In other words, the educational focus needs to be more on the "do's." If this can be accomplished on a larger scale, I believe there is a greater chance that those Jews who do intermarry (or for that matter, who marry Jews with a lesser degree of observance or identification) will be able to successfully model the beauty of the tradition for their partners and their children.
Roberta Rosenthal Kwall is the Raymond P. Niro Professor at DePaul University College of Law. She is the author of the recently released book The Myth of the Cultural Jew: Culture and Law in Jewish Tradition (Oxford University Press, 2015).
