Judaism and Assimilation

Paper Summary:

As far back as can be traced, Jewish leaders have lamented the degree of intermarriage that exists in the religion. This paper examines why intermarriage is seen as such a threat to the Jewish identity and whether this perception is justified. The paper questions what precisely constitutes the Jewish identity which is being threatened and how it might it be maintained. The paper also questions whether this identity should even be maintained or whether the instincts of an isolationist race are at odds with the greater moral liberation of the modern era.

From the Paper:

"Between both these two competing definitions lie the niceties of culture, elements of cultural identity which are strictly or predominately Jewish. Even apart from Kosher restrictions and so forth, there are various cultural eating habits that exist, even as there are other cultural tendencies. Much has been made of the culture of the Jewish people -- of Yiddish, of the family structure, of the work ethic, and so forth. Whether this springs from their ethnic identity or their religion, it may be the thread binding them together. However, even in terms of culture, variety abounds. Whitefield writes that "There is no essential American Jewish culture, just as there is no fixed Jewish identity in the United States..." (Whitefield 247)"

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