Since antiquity, people have been predicting the demise of the Jews, some with dread, others with glee. But despite all the travails and tests faced by Jews over the centuries, it is only of late that such predictions have seemed plausible, at least in the U.S., where Jewry is on its way to becoming half its present number. This is not altogether a cause for lament.
Intermarriage is indeed a mixed curse.
As a religious Jew myself, I want Jews to marry Jews for religious, not ethnic, reasons. The only compelling reason to stay Jewish, Mr. Abrams argues, is religious. Mr. Abrams marshals depressing data showing that Jews are the least religious group in America. He also shows how most American Jews, and their non-Orthodox institutions, have equated Jewish security with removing religion from American public life. The American ship of state may be foundering, morally speaking, but most Jews want to make sure that, as it sinks, no passenger prays publicly.