Interfaith inclusion

Rabbi Laurie’s Attitude & Approach

Welcoming opens the door with dignity and kindness. Belonging helps people find a meaningful place in Jewish life.

Interfaith families are an important part of contemporary Jewish life. Throughout my career, I have worked with couples and families navigating questions of identity, tradition, belonging, and Jewish practice. My role is not to judge where people are. It is to listen, teach, support, and help families take meaningful next steps in their Jewish journey.

Anyone can be on a Jewish journey. Some people enter through marriage or partnership. Some enter through parenting. Some enter through friendship, learning, grief, celebration, or a child's question at the Shabbat table. Jewish belonging grows through circles of connection: family, memory, practice, learning, community, responsibility, and love for the Jewish people.

My goal is not only for interfaith family members to feel welcome in Jewish communities, but for them to become confident participants in the Jewish lives of their families—as learners, supporters, and partners in creating Jewish homes and raising Jewish children.

I believe Jewish life is strengthened when we approach interfaith families with honesty, warmth, and confidence. Interfaith family members are not outside the Jewish communal ecosystem. They are often at the heart of it: spouses and partners, children, parents, grandparents, extended relatives, friends, and allies who love Jewish people and help shape the Jewish homes in which many children are raised.

I also believe Jewish heritage is most deeply transmitted when parents and caregivers make an intentional commitment to raising children with Jewish identity, memory, values, and practice. That commitment does not look identical in every household, and families often arrive there gradually.

Jewish life is not something to minimize or apologize for. Jewish values, traditions, culture, learning, ethical commitments, and peoplehood have enriched families and communities for generations. I believe we can extend a confident invitation into Jewish life without coercion, pressure, or judgment. Jewish life is beautiful, serious, joyful, demanding, and worth sharing.

Weddings and Interfaith Couples

As a Conservative rabbi, I am not able to officiate interfaith wedding ceremonies. At the same time, I care deeply about supporting interfaith couples and families, and welcome opportunities to help you explore Jewish traditions, create meaningful rituals, and build a Jewish home that reflects your values and commitments. Jewish life unfolds through many moments beyond the wedding day, and I am honored to accompany families as they discover what Jewish practice, community, and belonging can mean in their lives.

Every family's story is different. I welcome the opportunity to learn about yours and explore how Jewish wisdom, tradition, and community can become a meaningful part of your family's life.