I am in a relationship with a non jewish woman. She does not want to convert. Can my kids still be jewish?

Question

She and I have talked about marriage. even if she isnt jewish, can my kids still be raised jewish?

She seems to be open to the idea of them being jewish, she just doesnt want to convert. I know jewish law says about jewishness being passed through the mother and such. But. Is there also a way for the children to be converted/raised as babies? Even if she isnt jewish?

Answer 1

Yes your children can be raised any religion that you choose. Theproblem will be that this is going to cause conflict in everyones lives. You need to decide how important religion is in your life, and ask yourself if she and you can still maintain a healthy relationship due to the difference of opinion with the religion issue.

Answer 2

Actually, according to most Jewish customs, the children take on the faith of the wife. That is why in the Torrah and most OT texts, there is admonitions against marrying out of the faith. There is the assumption that the mother would have the faith based influence over the children due largely to the amount of time she spent in their presence. If this bothers you, it will definately be a point of strife in the future!

Answer 3

It depends on what your future wife wants. If your wife doesn't care about what religion your kids are, then you should raise them Jewish. The answer is "yes," you can raise Jewish kids, even if your wife isn't Jewish.

However, if she does care, then you should have a clear discussion with her about how to compromise between them. You will still practice Judaism, so I think that you would want your kids to be Jewish.

Answer 4

Maybe if she feels that strongly about her religion, you can sit and have several discussions before making the marriage commitment, you never know. you may CONVERT!!!!!