The Basis

The primary source upon which the prohibition for a Jew to marry a non-Jew is based is to be found in the Bible (Deut. 7:3): "You shall not marry them (the gentiles, about which the Bible speaks in the previous verses), you shall not give your daughter to their son and you shall not take his daughter for your son."

The reason for this prohibition is clearly spelled out in the following verse: "Because he will lead your son astray from Me and they will serve strange gods…" ("Strange gods" can also be interpreted to mean those ideals and ‘isms’ that do not conform to the dictates of the Torah, and before which one bows his head and dedicates his heart and soul.)

The Talmud (Yevamot 23a) points out - and Rashi quotes it in his commentary on the aforementioned verse - that from the precise expression of the verse (he -and not she- will lead your son astray) we can derive two things. In the event that your daughter marries "their son," he will eventually lead astray your sons (in other words, your grandchildren, who will still be considered your sons) from the path of the Torah. In the event that your son will marry their daughter, her children are no longer considered your children, but her children. They are not considered Jewish.

It is clear then, that we are not dealing here with racial discrimination which is borne of a personal and subjective attitude that the Jew has vis-à-vis the gentile. What we are talking about here is an objective, Divine command that is accompanied by an explanation. If your son will marry a non-Jewish woman, the children born of this union are no longer considered to be your children. In the event that your daughter marries a non-Jew, inevitably your grandchildren will stray very far from the path of Judaism even though they will still be considered Jewish.

Taking into account the primary responsibility that the Jew has to fulfill the precepts of the Torah, it is evident that it is mandatory that Jews marry within the faith, because if not, it will be impossible to continue fulfilling the obligation that one has to manifest Divinity in this world which is possible only by fulfilling G-d’s will. Intermarriage is a clear contradiction to G-d’s stated will.

In order to better understand this issue, we must clarify another point. Not only is it prohibited for a Jew to marry a non-Jewess, it is impossible for a Jew to marry a non-Jewess. It is possible for them to live together, it is possible for them to cohabitate, it is even possible for them to procreate, but there is no possibility for marriage to take place.

The laws of the Torah are as (or more) objective and inalterable as the laws of nature. The same way that one cannot alter the law of gravity, for example, one cannot alter the laws of the Torah. The Torah student or sage does not look to create laws, but to discover the Divine structure that is inherent in the universe and life.