I find it surprising that someone as bright as Professor Feldman, educated at a flagship modern orthodox school, would express surprise that he could be ostracized from the Orthodox community for marrying out. But no worries. The 90% of the Jewish world that is not Orthodox will accept him if he chooses to affiliate Reform, Renewal, Reconstructionist or even Conservative.

There's a reason Feldman doesn't, or won't, "affiliate Reform, Renewal, Reconstructionist, or even Conservative." It's because he has a yeshiva education. As such, he knows how intellectually dishonest and theologically distant those movements are from authentic Judaism.

How about a controversial statement like that to get everyone's panties in a bunch?

The problem with intermarriage is not "continuity" or "Jewish babies." The problem is that it goes against one of most unequivocal and rigorously enforced prohibitions in the Torah: "Don't intermarry." All the rules separating Jews from Gentiles (kosher food, kosher wine, adopting pagan customs) are designed to prevent intermarriage. God says that. Feldman says it, too.

So he went ahead and broke the rule. In a public, all-consuming and whole-life way. If Maimonides wants to equivocate, it's their right. But if they choose to side with Torah and Judaic law, who's to criticize them? By acknowledging Feldman as a graduate--specifically in their publications--they are lending tacit approval to his choice.

And even if one is sufficiently sophisticated and can separate the personal choices of one graduate from the school as a whole, what kind of marketing message does it send to include an intermarried couple in their literature? "Send your children to Maimonides. Support Maimonides. Look how our graduates may end up!"

It's an economic and religious decision to ostracize Feldman, and I think both arguments are 100% defensible. Ahavat Yisrael, in this case, must apply to personal relationships, but not institutional ones.

And Tamar, if you can't relate to 'missing' the Temple in Jerusalem, read Mishnayot Tamid, read Tikkun Chatzot, read "Woe, Jerusalem" and countless other books that may help you gain some appreciation of the magnitude of our loss.

What does it mean to be Jewish? What does it mean to be authentic? Does the unethical practice of demeaning another group of people ensure the Jewish practice? Why won't the Jewish people be brought back to its bare shoots? With all this infighting and trying to identify who is a better Jew, it is ridiculous, and a sure indicator baseless hatred.

A man gets married to a woman outside his faith. It is an opportunity. It is an opportunity for us as a community to show her the path and provide her a reason to embrace the Jewish people.

It may be wrong to intermarry. It is our job to show the right way. We are taught to correct people and show the right way but this should be done in private not in public. Let's not worship at our own idols of perfection. Only Hashem knows, only He knows what is in the heart and actions of people.

Tamar, I like you and your blog, you say great stuff...most of the time. I gotta say that this post is flat out D U M B. Boo hiss hiss

Noah Feldman is like a prince of Israel, like Zimri, who brought the Midianite princess Cosbi to the Israelite camp so he could get a hechsher for a porn performance. Alas, Noah Feldman met up with Pinchas, who slew Zimri and Cosbi by not including them in the Maimonides photos. What does Noah Feldman think that the Rambam would have done? Given him a gold star and a prescription for viagra? If you want to understand the philosophy of Noah Feldman, look up Pablo Christiani and Nicholas Donin on wiki

unfortunately, because of the traumas of exile, the prohibition on intermarriage was accepted by almost all jews, for a very long time.  That gives it a halachic strength, that only a sanhedrin could reverse it. 

Also there IS pshat torah that at least partly forbids intermarriage, with certain nations.  Although it is also clear from pshat torah and neviim and ketuvim-- including Moshe, David, Shlomo, and others-- that intermarriage was widespread and accepted until late second temple times.  But we don't live in those times.

No, while I support changing the halacha to accept intermarriage again, I cannot condone Feldman's intermarriage from an orthodox point of view.  He needs to wait till it changes (if), and barring that, he needs to accept that in the most important identity-defining choice of his life, he married out.  Fine, G-d makes shidduchim, he fell for a non-jewish girl.  They can have a wonderful, fulfilling relationship and beautiful kids, but don't call that relationship or the kids Jewish. 

And mr. Feldman, don't complain that you're not in the pictures.  You know that the school can't afford the smear on its reputation that implied condoning of intermarriage would bring; orthodox families won't send their kids there.   

i converted to judaism this past year. my fiance and i have been together for seven years (most of that time living together.) he was raised orthodox, so judaism has been a big part of my life and it seemed only natural after six years to take that step to conversion. we've made great supportive friends within our conservative synagogue. we're getting married on sunday and his parents, brother, and uncles won't be at our wedding because they still don't consider me jewish. his parents won't answer the phone when he calls anymore. and i don't really care what they think about me, but i find it so terribly sad that one's own parents could display the same rigidity as feldman's school. If they don't want to be at the wedding, fine. But to screen their son's phone calls?

May G-d bless your union and may your future in-laws' hearts soften over time.