We have written a great deal about non-Jewish women who have chosen to raise Jewish children in the context of intermarriage, and have an entire program dedicated to this population called The Mothers Circle . We don’t speak as much about Jewish women who have married non-Jewish men. For any woman, Jewish motherhood is a journey; for Lila Hanft, a staff reporter for the Cleveland Jewish News, it has certainly been an inspiring one.

Perhaps we speak less frequently about these women because the traditional rules of matrilineal descent make it a little easier, at least in terms of community recognition of the religion of the child. But these women face similar challenges. For too long the Jewish community has pushed them aside, translating their decision to marry a non-Jewish man—the man that they happened to fall in love with—as tantamount to discarding their personal Jewish identity and severing a relationship with the Jewish community. But who can blame them if they do withdraw from Jewish communal life, when the organized Jewish community makes it hard for them to be a part of it?

This past Mother’s Day we sent out thousands of electronic Mothers Day cards to women—regardless of their background—who are raising Jewish children. We recognize that these are not easy decisions, regardless of whether they are married to Jews or non-Jews. Perhaps the path that Lila Hanft took can be an inspiration to us all, especially those of us who are in a position to lower barriers for these women, rather than erecting ones that are nearly impossible to traverse.