Rabbi Brown Reflects On Rabbinic Officiation 
At A Wedding In Which One Partner Is Not Jewish

If you are in a committed relationship (whether interfaith or not) and have general questions, or if you might be interested in having Rabbi Brown or another Scarsdale Synagogue clergy person officiate at your wedding, please email Rabbi Brown at rabbibrown@sstte.org, or call him at (914) 725-5175.  He looks forward to speaking with you and your significant other.

General resources for interfaith families can be found here.  Extensive resources for any couple thinking of building a Jewish home together can be found here.

During the 2012-2013 year, Rabbi Brown engaged in a wide-ranging study and dialogue process around the question of rabbinic officiation at a wedding ceremony where one partner is not Jewish.  

• For the text of Rabbi Brown's first 2012-2013 public lecture on the subject, entitled "Can/Should Jewish Law Change Over Time?", click here. 
• The second public lecture, entitled "Interfaith Marriage in Jewish History," can be found here.
• The final lecture in this series, entitled "The Role of the Non-Jew in Jewish Ritual," can be found here.
• The letter that Rabbi Brown sent to the congregation in June 2013 to reflect on his study, on the dialogue he had with Scarsdale Synagogue, and to announce the new policy that would guide his decision-making on officiating at all future weddings can be found here. 
• The reflection that Rabbi Brown wrote about the entire process, published in the 2014 book Keeping Faith in Rabbis: A Community Conversation on Rabbinical Education, can be found here.

Rabbi Brown welcomes your questions, comments, and reflections.

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