[Nobody Wants This] Intermarriage (With Rabbi Rick Fox)

In this episode, we welcome back Rabbi Rick Fox to discuss Nobody Wants This, the Netflix rom-com that sneaks a very real Jewish dilemma into what looks like a light, funny love story. The show follows Joanne, a non-Jewish woman, and Noah, a Reform rabbi, who fall for each other and quickly realize that their relationship raises some uncomfortable questions neither of them can ignore. We dig into the core issue the series keeps circling: intermarriage.

The series follows Joanne, a non-Jewish woman, and Noah, a rabbi, as they fall for each other—only to realize that love alone doesn’t resolve the deep religious, cultural, and communal tensions their relationship creates. We look at Noah’s tension as a Reform rabbi who’s trying to be honest about who he is and what he represents, and Joanne’s parallel struggle—whether conversion is something she truly wants, or whether pretending it doesn’t make her uncomfortable is already a problem. Along the way, we talk about what Judaism can bend on, what it can’t, and why these questions still hit so close to home for so many people. 

 

Here are a few questions we’d like answered:

1. Well, let’s get it out of the way - intermarriage. Good, great, grand, wonderful? Or disaster, spiritual annihilation? Bring it on. What’s so bad about it?
2. Judaism does value change. Judaism changes. We adapt. That’s how we’ve survived. So what’s so wrong with this? Why can’t Judaism change and just allow this to happen?
3. Regarding conversion: 
   1. there is something authentic about Joanne being real. She doesn’t know that she wants to convert, and she is willing to break off the relationship for her. 
   2. Similarly, Noah does say, “I don’t want to be the person who’s asking you to be someone different.”
4. Is it wrong because the kids won’t be Jewish? What’s the source for the mother determining Jewish kids, anyway?
5. Seriously, though - would this be better if it was a non-Jewish boy marrying a Jewish girl? The kids will be Jewish!

 

I am excited to welcome Rabbi Rick Fox back to the podcast as he joins us on this episode to answer our questions. Rabbi Fox formerly joined us twice. First, to discuss the Matrix, and what the Torah approach is to taking the blue pill or the red pill. Second, to discuss Pulp Fiction and the Jewish perspective on the events in our lives, whether it is Divine intervention or luck. Rabbi Fox is the Executive Director of MEOR Penn, which is a Jewish outreach organization, servicing the Jewish community at the University of Pennsylvania as a campus chaplain, educator and mentor. A graduate of the Wharton School of Business at Penn with a minor in music. Rabbi Fox began his career in marketing consulting even as he remained an avid musician. While on sabbatical in Israel, Rabbi Fox developed a passion for Jewish education, eventually returning to teach Jewish students at his alma mater in 2015. Rabbi Fox resides in Philadelphia with his wife and four children. His wife, Rivkah Fox, is an active shadchanit i.e. matchmaker and founder of BlindFate, a dating platform for Jews all over the world. You can find Rabbi Rick Fox online on his podcast, “So, What Does Judaism Say About..?”, which is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon, and on Instagram @rabbirickfox. You can find his wife Rivkah Fox on Instagram @rivkahfox.

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Rabbi Rick Fox: https://www.instagram.com/rabbirickfox/

Rivkah Fox: https://www.instagram.com/rivkahfox/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Skgi4px0z692jdlwSeiRz

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/so-what-does-judaism-say-about/id1632137067

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/66b36dd4-0052-40a4-b3c4-40241ed7616e/so-what-does-judaism-say-about