Rabbi I have a question. My Hebrew name is Rachel bat-Baruch and I am Jewish from India (mother and father are Jewish). My boyfriend of 3+ years is Indian Hindu and we are deeply in love with each other. His family is religious while my family is not observant as Jews. So a few days ago me and my boyfriend were talking about marriage and kids (both of which is still a long way from now) and he joked about raising our future kids as Hindus since me and my family are not observant. He said it in a joking way so we both laughed and I agreed to it. I may not be observant but now I feel a little bothered by it. You seem to know about Hinduism even as a Rabbi so I am asking what you think should be done? I heard Children of Jewish women are Jews, so will our children be both Hindus and Jews? My knowledge on Judaism is very limited so sorry if I said anything wrong 😅😅

Shalom Rachel,

     You are named after one of the four Jewish mothers; Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel and Leah. You are a Jew because your mother is a Jew and your children will be Jews no matter who their father is because you are a Jew. Jews are a 4000-year-old people.

     We also have a religion, the religion of Torah, called Judaism. The Torah warns us, "Do not let your daughters marry the non-Jews or they will take your children away from Hashem." Children usually follow the religion of their fathers. If the boy you are referring to becomes the father of your children, almost certainly your children will grow up worshipping the 330 million gods of India and forsaking the One G-d, the Infinite One Whom the Torah teaches us to worship.

     One of the central prayers we say three times a day is, "Do not follow after your eyes and after your heart for they will lead you astray." I strongly recommend that you take a break from the boy and spend time studying about your own religion before you throw it away in order to follow your heart. Is there a Chabad Lubavitch center somewhere near you that you could visit and learn with?

     When you thought that your children would be followers of the idolatry of India it bothered you. This is a blessing from Hashem. Do not ignore it. Your Jewish soul is reminding you that you are a Jew. 

     Hashem bless you to make the right decision. This is without doubt one of the most important decisions you will ever make in your entire life.

Shalom