Ask the Rabbi - Customs and Practices

Interfaith marriage

Q: My wife is Christian, and I am a Noahide My wife and I would like to find some common ground that allows us to follow G-d as a family. Can I attend church with her for a few months if she also attends Noahide classes?

Q: My wife is Christian, and I am a Noahide who attends a weekly Noahide class at a local Chabad Center. We have young children, but do not have them in either religious upbringing really. My wife and I would like to find some common ground that allows us to follow G-d as a family. . She is willing to attend the Noahide class with me, if I will attend church with her. The plan being that we would see if one of us “converts” so to speak to the other’s beliefs. If not, we could go back to the way things have been in our marriage so far. I am not worried that I will be changed to a Christian, and I think there is a good chance that she will find the Noahide faith as something she can believe in. With all that being said, I don’t want to break one of the 7 commandments either. Would it be acceptable fo me to agree to this for a short timeframe? (3-6 months perhaps.) I want to be faithful to G-d while also having harmony at home.

A: You can attend Christian classes. You can go to church, but you cannot worship Jesus by prayer, prostrating or eating the bread distributed there. Good luck!

Rabbi Oury Cherki

Rav Oury Cherki was born in Algeria in 1959 and grew up in France, and he made Aliyah in 1972. He studied at Merkaz Harav Yeshiva, which was founded by Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook. He performed his military service in the artillery branch of the IDF. He studied with Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, Rav Yehuda Leon Ashkenazi (Manitou), Rav Shlomo Binyamin and Achlag. Rav Cherki heads the Israeli department of Machon Meir, and he is the Director of Brit Olam - the Noahide World Center. He teaches in many places throughout Israel. Rav Cherki is the spiritual leader of the "Beth Yehuda" community in Kiryat Moshe (Jerusalem). He has written many books on Jewish thought and philosophy.

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