Madam - The statement in the article "Keeping the Faith by Moving Away" (The Irish Times, September 15th) that the Progressive Synagogue in Leicester Avenue, Rathgar "recognises mixed marriages between Jews and non-Jews", may give rise to misunderstandings.
We do not conduct mixed-faith marriages. In so far as we follow the Rabbinic dictum Dina dimalchutah dina - "The law of the land is the law" - we recognise the validity of a civil marriage between a Jew and a non-Jew as a valid marriage. The couple has all the rights of kinship and inheritance, etc., but in our eyes such a marriage confers no Jewish status on the non-Jewish partner. While the non-Jewish partner is welcome to attend synagogue services and social events in the community, he or she is not permitted to participate in our services nor to take part in any religious activities.
The other misunderstanding which may be inferred from the article is that of the status of children of a mixed marriage. A child of two Jewish parents is automatically accepted as Jewish. Traditionally, the child of a Jewish mother is always considered Jewish, even if the child's father is non-Jewish. In Progressive Judaism, however, the status of a child of a mixed union depends not on the religion of the mother, but on the upbringing of the child. As long as one of the parents is Jewish and the child is brought up to be Jewish and has a Jewish education leading to Bar/Bat Mitzvah, the child will be accepted as Jewish.
Progressive Judaism seeks to be inclusive, whenever possible, and in the case of mixed marriages strives to ensure that the Jewish partner remains in the Jewish fold and that the children are nurtured in the tradition and faith of their forebears. - Yours, etc.,
RABBI ALAN MANN, Leicester Avenue, Rathgar, Dublin 6; Dr DAVID ABRAHAMSON, Glenageary, Co Dublin.