The Real Enemy

As I checked my few e-mails on Sunday night after Rosh Ha'Shanna had ended, I came across an e-mail from a good friend of mine from high school. I'd like to share one part of his e-mail:

I've recently started dating someone I like very much, and the only setback is that she isn't Jewish. While I don't care, and she isn't religious by any means, my parents seem to have difficulty grasping the concept of my appreciating someone who isn't a member of the Tribe. We can't help who we fall for, I suppose, so I make no apologies for whom I've chosen to care for at this time. Just thought I'd share that with you

What my friend is talking about here are in my opinion the greatest threats to the existence of the Jewish people: Intermarriage & Assimilation. While I responded to him being as tactful as possible as I'm sure he knows my 'real' stance on this, I'd like to make two quick points:

1. Intermarriage & Assimilation, the silent killers, have 'killed' more Jews than Hitler's final solution, more Jews than Stalin's paranoia, more Jews than the pogroms, more Jews than Ferdinand and Isabella's inquisition and the list can go on & on ... Scary point, eh?
2. We can't help who we fall for as my friend says, but if we put ourselves in the right crowd, we can make sure we don't fall for people who'll deprive our future generation of the one thing that has defined us throughout our existence.