Still Jewish: A History of Women and Intermarriage in America

Acknowledgments

xv Acknowledgments My deepest gratitude is to the forty-six women who generously , and in three cases posthumously, shared their personal intermarriage stories that made this book possible. Their trust and experiences motivated me to persevere with the utmost resolve. Intermarried Jewish women, yasher koach (may you have strength)! Numerous members of the Brown University community participated in this endeavor. Mari Jo Buhle was an exemplary adviser: her standards exactingly high, her feedback swift, and her support unwavering. She is a model of intellectual engagement and efficiency to which I will always aspire. Howard Chudacoff taught me to remember the “forest.” Lynn Davidman showed me the ropes of contemporary ethnography. Ken Sacks and Jim McClain appointed me to teach courses related to my research. Diligent librarians located materials near and far. The Computing and Information Services folks saw me through many technical difficulties. My project received financial support from Brown University, the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, Wellesley College, the National Women’s Studies Association Jewish Women’s Caucus, and the HadassahBrandeis Institute. Eric Zinner, Emily Park, Ciara McLaughlin, and Despina Papazoglou Gimbel at New York University Press expertly guided this book from proposal to production. Paul Spickard and several anonymous reviewers supplied knowledgeable critiques that significantly improved the manuscript. Sherry Israel and Mae Shafter Rockland Tupa read the page proofs with keen eyes. I was lucky to have multiple mentors whose passion for scholarship combined with their devotion to their children provided much inspiration and encouragement by example. Thank you Joyce Antler, Hasia Diner, Deborah Dash Moore, Pamela Nadell, Riv-Ellen Prell, and Judith Tick. Deborah was an invaluable resource from when I crafted my research proposal in the summer of 2000 to the present. Joyce, too, deserves xvi Acknowledgments special appreciation for always making time to discuss a work in progress and for countless pearls of wisdom. When I began my research I was told by those in the know to contact Egon Mayer, z’’l (of blessed memory). I hesitated, thinking I should first make some headway, only to answer my phone one day and hear him say: “Hi, I hear you’re working on intermarriage. How can I help you?” His pioneering approach to studying intermarriage at the micro level of personal experiences, mixing qualitative and quantitative studies, impressed me profoundly . I regret that this book was not finished in time to share it with him. Jonathan Sarna’s continuous interest in my progress accompanied me to the finish line, as did his prolific scholarship on American Jewish history. Clergywomen and men of many faiths and denominations pointed me in fruitful directions and shared insights, namely, Jack Ahern, Binyamin Biber, Robert Bulloch, Samuel Chiel, Nicholas Ciccone, Walter Cuenin, David Danner, Steven Dworken, Irwin Fishbein, Ron Friedman, J. Robert Giggi, Zachary Heller, Gordon Hugenberger, Miriam Jerris, William Joy, Jan Kaufman, Judith Kummer, Kathryn Michael, Joseph McGlone, Jack Porter, Allan Press, Benjamin Samuels, Sanford Seltzer, Dennis Sheehan, Charles Simon, Barbara Symons, Robert “Skip” Windsor, and Elaine Zecher. I also thank the following dedicated professionals: Julie Albanese and John Hurley, Unitarian Universalist Association; Steven Bayme and David Singer, American Jewish Committee; Paula Brody, Union of American Hebrew Congregations Northeast Council; Ed Case, InterfaithFamily.com; Rhea Chapman and Dorothy Estes, Christian Science Headquarters; Kari Colella, Felitia Forger, Robert Johnson-Lally, Maria Medina, and Melissa Wodzinski, Catholic Archdiocese in Boston; Jennifer Davis, Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged; Lena Dmitrieva, Wilstein Institute; Fiona Epstein , Beth Waldorf, and Marc Sokoll, Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center; Lisa Gallatin, Workmen’s Circle; Paul Golin and Gail Quets, Jewish Outreach Institute; Leonie Gordon, Harvard Institute for Learning ; Dru Greenwood, Union for Reform Judaism; Josh Klein, Sarit Meir, Ben Phillips, and Jim Schwartz, National Jewish Data Bank; Judith Krell, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Boston; Clara Marton, Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly; Charlotte Millman, Brookline Senior Center ; Catherine MacDonald and Jay Rock, Presbyterian Church USA; Paula Panchuck, Lasell Village; Elana Kling Perkins and Diane Richler, Jewish Family & Children’s Service; Sandra Sudak, Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts ; and Stanley Wayne, Ethical Society of Boston. Acknowledgments xvii I thank the skilled archivists, reference librarians, and administrators at the following institutions: American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, Congregational Library in Boston, Cornell University, Episcopal Divinity School, Hadassah, Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich, Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Judaica Reference and the National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis University, Methodist Library...