As Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky's big day nears, more questions have been added to the list of wheres, whens, whats and hows...namely: will Chelsea convert to Judaism? David Gibson of Politics Daily writes:
Chelsea, 30, is the daughter of a social justice Methodist (Hillary) and a Bible-quoting Southern Baptist (Bill), and Mezvinsky, 32, was raised in Conservative Judaism, a major Jewish movement that discourages intermarriage and forbids rabbis to officiate at -- or even attend -- interfaith weddings in which the non-Jewish spouse does not convert.
No details on how the couple will navigate these religious shoals have leaked out, just a few tantalizing hints -- such as Chelsea's attendance with Marc at Yom Kippur services last September at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, the flagship institute for Conservative Judaism.
Wondering minds also want to know who will officiate at the ceremony: a rabbi or a minister? How will the kids be raised? Does Chelsea make a mean brisket? (Okay, that last one was all us.)
The Jewish Week columnist Julie Wiener explained, "There is less of a stigma attached to intermarriage and more and more you are hearing people talking about intermarriage as an opportunity rather than necessarily a problem. This isn't the first high-profile intermarriage in politics or Hollywood."