For many interfaith couples, Jewish life can feel like an insider’s club with invisible barriers to entry. Whether navigating synagogue services, holiday traditions or conversations about raising children, these couples often experience uncertainty and a sense of not fully belonging. 

Embark — an initiative of Mem Global, with support from the Laura and Gary Lauder Family Venture Philanthropy Fund — seeks to empower interfaith couples to explore Jewish life in ways that feel personally meaningful and accessible. A 2024 evaluation of Embark shows the program doing more than simply reducing barriers to Jewish participation — it is actively cultivating agency, confidence and sustainable engagement with Jewish tradition. Embark’s effectiveness stems from its three interconnected foundations: cohort-based learning, personalized rabbinic mentorship and accessible Jewish education designed specifically for interfaith couples. There are important takeaways here relevant for anyone who cares about meaningfully engaging all members of our community. 

Building lasting relationships 

Each cohort consists of six to 12 couples led by a rabbi who guides them through a nondenominational curriculum exploring Jewish traditions, values and communal life. Rather than prescribing a single “correct” way to practice Judaism, the program equips participants with knowledge and tools to integrate Jewish traditions authentically into their lives.

Rabbis serve as mentors rather than authority figures, creating safe spaces for honest conversations about Judaism’s complexities. Many participants report that these rabbinic relationships continue well beyond the program’s formal conclusion, providing ongoing support as couples navigate Jewish rituals, holiday celebrations and community engagement in their daily lives.

The cohort experience itself proves equally transformative. Couples form meaningful connections with peers who understand the unique dynamics of interfaith relationships. This shared experience creates a crucial support network, normalizing their questions and challenges while building friendships that often extend far beyond the program’s duration.

Building ‘Jewish confidence’

The 2024 evaluation documents remarkable shifts in participants’ relationship to Jewish life. At the program’s outset, many non-Jewish partners described feeling like perpetual outsiders in Jewish environments: unsure of rituals, unfamiliar with Hebrew terms and uncertain about their place in the community. Simultaneously, Jewish partners often struggled to articulate what Judaism meant to them beyond childhood traditions or family expectations. By the program’s conclusion, however, both groups reported substantial increases in confidence, participation and engagement with Jewish life.

Jewish partners, who often began with a passive relationship to Judaism shaped primarily by family traditions, developed language to articulate their personal connection to their Jewish heritage. They progressed from simply stating “Judaism is important to me” to actively thinking about how they want to practice Judaism in their adult lives and partnerships.

Meanwhile, non-Jewish partners transformed from passive observers to active participants. Rather than feeling like guests at Jewish events, they gained the knowledge and confidence to lead rituals, host Shabbat dinners and engage meaningfully with Jewish learning on their own terms.

This transformation stems directly from Embark’s educational approach. Unlike traditional Jewish education focused on knowledge acquisition, Embark prioritizes discussion-based, experiential learning that connects directly to participants’ lives. Couples engage in structured conversations about Jewish values, explore text study in accessible formats and participate in immersive Jewish experiences like Shabbat meals and holiday celebrations.

For many non-Jewish participants, this represents their first opportunity to study Jewish texts or engage with Jewish traditions outside their partner’s family context. The program’s supportive environment transforms Jewish exploration from potentially intimidating to genuinely interesting and personally relevant.

Building immersive experiences

The program’s weekend Shabbat retreat emerges as a particularly important component for many participants. This immersive experience provides structured opportunities to experience Jewish rituals, community and deep conversation in ways that weekly sessions alone cannot replicate.

Participants describe the retreat as a pivotal moment in their Jewish journey. For some, it represents their first full Shabbat experience, offering new appreciation for Jewish tradition. Others emphasize how unstructured conversation time enables deeper connections with peers facing similar questions and challenges.

Room for growth: Bridging program experience and broader Jewish community

While Embark successfully fosters strong experience of Jewish belonging within cohorts, the evaluation identifies an important challenge: helping participants transition from program engagement to broader Jewish community involvement.

The findings indicate that Embark effectively stimulates confidence and enhances the ability of interfaith couples to take ownership of their Jewish lives but doesn’t completely eliminate barriers to wider community participation. Many note that while Embark made them more comfortable in Jewish spaces generally, they still feel like outsiders in synagogue settings or other institutional Jewish environments.

To address this challenge, the evaluation recommends strengthening post-program pathways: strategic partnerships with local Jewish organizations to create structured next steps for alumni; continued rabbinic mentorship beyond the formal program to maintain Jewish learning momentum; and expanded conversations around Jewish peoplehood, helping participants view themselves as part of a global Jewish collective rather than solely their local cohort.

A model for inclusive Jewish future

The Embark evaluation demonstrates that relationship-driven Jewish education works effectively for interfaith couples. By focusing on agency, confidence-building and peer support, the program successfully moves couples from feeling like outsiders to stimulating Jewish curiosity and pathways to meaningful Jewish participation.

The ongoing challenge lies in ensuring that this newfound confidence and engagement persists beyond the program itself. Strengthening alumni networks, providing ongoing mentorship and expanding conversations around Jewish peoplehood can help ensure that Embark participants feel not just welcomed but truly at home in Jewish life.

By continuing to refine its approach based on evaluation findings, Embark is creating a foundation for a more inclusive Jewish future — one where interfaith couples actively choose how they want to participate in Jewish community, rather than simply observing from its margins.

Rabbi Ari Perten is the vice president of Jewish learning at Mem Global. 

Ezra Kopelowitz is the CEO at Research Success Technologies.