Chelsea: Under the chupah?
The Associated Press tackles a burning question: Will Chelsea Clinton -- engaged to her Jewish fiancee, Marc Mezvinsky -- end up tying the knot under a chupah?
Her mother is a churchgoing Methodist. Her father is a Southern Baptist. Yet could Chelsea Clinton be planning one of the biggest Jewish weddings of the year? ...
The families have revealed no specifics about the wedding.
Representatives for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton declined to answer questions about it, noting the family's wish for privacy. In a Feb. 7 interview on CNN, Hillary Clinton would go no further than to say her daughter hadn't yet found a dress.
That hasn't stopped the speculation. The bride and groom have a range of choices, including conversion or a melding their two traditions into one ceremony.
The talk has been strongest in the Jewish community. There has been more rejoicing than lamenting about this interfaith union that brings a former first daughter a step closer to the fold. Still, they wonder: Has Chelsea been searching for a rabbi along with her gown? ...
Among those quoted in the story is Ed Case, president of InterfaithFamily.com:
"If they had a Jewish wedding officiated by a rabbi, I think that would be something really positive," said Ed Case, president of InterfaithFamily.com, which supports Jewish outreach to interfaith couples. "It's so important for the Jewish community to have interfaith couples engaging in Jewish life."
Over at his Web site, Case has kicked off a discussion group: "Should Chelsea Clinton have a Jewish wedding? What kind? Who should officiate?"
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Howard, you are wrong!
You don’t “need” a rabbi to have a Jewish wedding- just a ketuva with two (kosher) witnesses! Judaism even recognizes a common-law marriage. Indeed, David Ben-Gurion got married at a City Hall in Israel in a non-religious ceremony, and Orthodox rabbis attended his grandson’s wedding- so that original ceremony must have been recognized as valid. Thus, if there is no ketuva,at any ceremony, a rabbi can be there in “symbolic’ status. Actually, in the U.S., at a Jewish wedding, the rabbi officiating is serving as the representative of the state!
leroy - Although you are right that a Jewish wedding doesn’t require a rabbi to be valid, you miss one key point. For a Jewish wedding to be valid (as a Jewish wedding - not in terms of civil law) it MUST be a webbing of two *Jews* Unless Chelsea converts, there can be no Jewish wedding—only a Jewish flavored civil ceremony.. I believe this was Howard’s point.
It’s great for Chelsea Clinton that she met somebody with whom she wants to spend her life. If she does not convert before marriage then one can infer things only about the importance of Judaism to her fiance.
A difference which makes no difference is no difference at all.
If her fiance sees no distinction between Jews and non-Jews, then why make an effort to have some Jewish flavor to a civil ceremony?
Obviously it means something to him. But he does not seem to value Judaism enough to make a difference in how and whom he will marry, which are very important things in life and in Judaism.
And if her faith means so little to her that she doesn’t need her religion incorporated into both the wedding she should embrace Judaism and convert.
I do not get it. Why do they want a Jewish wedding when she isnot Jewish and religion to him means so little that he wants to marry someone who is not Jewish. Please enlighten me.
I would agree that conversion is really the only solution for a good orthodox Jewish family to result, but take a good look around you folks. That has not been the case for a while and it may take a generation or two for their offspring to realize their heritage as it did for me and return home to Judaism. I question some of the motives here because it sounds more like racism then religious requirement, but I could be taking it wrong. I hope this couple gets the advice of a good orthodox rabbi and makes a wise informed decision, free from the bias and vitriol of the crowd around them.
Unless things have changed in the last 30 years, there are few rabbis who will officiate at a Jewish wedding. In my family, there were two mixed marriages, and even our Reform rabbi, whom we had known for years, refused to do the weddings. If Reform won’t do mixed marriages, no rabbi will. This being such a high profile case, I doubt they can find a rabbi to do it, as he/she will be heavily criticized for approving of a mixed marriage. It is NOT racism, it is Jewish law and practice. The reasoning is that, in this case, the kids won’t be Jewish, and even in cases where the woman is Jewish, there is still the concern the children won’t be raised Jewish. We are trying to fight assimilation, and this is one way to do it. So the question asked is not one for discussion; no opinions count except those of the rabbis.
Leroy you are correct that one does not need a rabbi for a Jewish wedding, but as I wrote and K. Worrel stated, for a wedding to be a Jewish wedding, the two must be Jewish and follow Jewish ceremonies. As to Ben Gurion, he could not have been married in a City Hall in Israel because if the wedding took place pre-’48, it occurred in the British Administrated Palestine Mandate. Since his wife was Jewish, their offspring was also Jewish, thus no problem for an Jewish wedding for the grandchild as long as the grandchild’s mother is Jewish. There is currently no Civil Marriage ceremonies taking place in Israel. To get married in a civil ceremony, Israelis must leave the country to get married. Their external marriage will be registered by the government.
You think it would be difficult to find a rabbi willing to officiate at the marriage of a Jew and non-Jew? Just check out the wedding pages of the NYTimes Sunday Styles section and you’ll come up with a list of them. They’re clearly not embarrassed about what they’re doing—and a high-profile Clinton wedding would get them lots of publicity, no doubt including space in the Times.
This whole conversion business has gotten out of hand. Converting from one religion to another isn’t like changing your name, or the color of your kitchen wallpaper. It doesn’t truly happen overnight or after taking a 6 week - or even 6 month class. Religion isn’t just academic; it’s visceral. It becomes REALLY complicated - and often ugly - when children arrive.
As for Chelsea and her parents, I’d be just as happy if they stayed in their own little corner - far, far away. Judaism has enough trouble. Oh, and by the way, the groom’s uncle Norton Mezvinsky is rabidly anti-Israel - not that it’s the nephew’s fault, but one has to question his choice in hooking up with The Clintons - including their daughter who was incredibly abrasive toward a student who asked her a question when her mother was running for president. The apple doesn’t fall far…
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Howard Cohn
03/08/10 06:39 PM
As long as she converts to Judaism, there is no problem about a Jewish wedding.. If she remains Christian, then a Jewish wedding cannot take place. One can call a chicken a duck but it will remain a chicken.