For many young interfaith couples, building a life together comes with important questions. Which traditions will become part of their home? How will they celebrate holidays? What might Shabbat look like? How can they honor different backgrounds while creating something meaningful together?
This fall, Embark Nashville will offer couples a welcoming place to explore those questions.
A program of Mem Global, Embark brings together interfaith couples in their 20s and 30s to learn about Jewish life, connect with other couples and consider which traditions and values feel meaningful to them. There is no pressure to convert and no expectation that couples arrive with a particular level of Jewish knowledge or observance.
Cantor Josh Goldberg will facilitate the Nashville cohort, which will meet from September 29 through November 3, with weekly sessions on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m., as well as a weekend retreat and Shabbat dinner.
The small cohort of six to ten couples will explore topics including personal and family stories, Jewish diversity, holidays, mitzvot and belonging, Shabbat, and building family rituals. An October 9 to 11 retreat will focus on collaboration, disagreement and values, and participants will celebrate a Shabbat dinner together on October 30.
Embark is designed to be more than a class. The small-group setting gives couples an opportunity to meet others navigating similar experiences and to have open conversations about questions that can arise in interfaith relationships. How can two families' traditions coexist? Which Jewish practices might become meaningful at home? What traditions might a couple eventually want to pass on to children?
Couples do not need to have the answers before joining. Embark provides a supportive space to begin asking the questions and discovering what Jewish life might look like for their relationship.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville is proud to help support this program through an Emerging Needs Grant.
Embark Nashville begins September 29 and runs through November 3. Each partner must register separately. Couples interested in participating can learn more and register through Mem Global's Embark program, https://memglobal.org/embark/embark-nashville/ or email jgoldberg@congregationmicah.org
The Jewish Observer is published by The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville and made possible by funds raised in the Jewish Federation Annual Campaign. Become a supporter today.