Nobody Wants This? Jewish Grandparents, Mixed-Heritage Families, and Welcoming Without Letting Go

For many Jewish grandparents, the questions are deeply personal: Will my grandchildren be Jewish? What does it truly mean to welcome a non-Jewish partner into the family? How do we honor our hopes for Jewish continuity while embracing the family our children have created?

In the age of the Netflix series Nobody Wants This, millions watched a fictional family wrestle with love, faith, and Jewish identity. For many Jewish grandparents, however, these questions are not entertainment—they are deeply personal.

Drawing on nearly two decades of rabbinic experience accompanying couples and families across the Jewish denominational spectrum, Rabbi Samuel Klein invites grandparents into an honest, compassionate, and thought-provoking conversation about multifaith relationships, mixed-heritage families, and the evolving nature of Jewish family life.

This is not a conversation about choosing between welcome and continuity, or between love and Jewish commitment. It is about learning how to embrace both. Together, we will explore how grandparents can acknowledge their sense of loss without allowing it to create distance, how to remain rooted in Jewish values while genuinely welcoming those who join our family, and how to become trusted sources of love, wisdom, and Jewish meaning for the next generation.

Participants will leave with practical tools for welcoming non-Jewish family members, navigating holidays and life-cycle celebrations with sensitivity, supporting adult children without overstepping, and helping create the conditions in which Jewish life is experienced as joyful, authentic, and deeply meaningful by children and grandchildren alike.

About Rabbi Samuel Klein

Rabbi Samuel Klein is the Director of Jewish Engagement at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, where he leads initiatives that foster meaningful connections to Jewish life—including the Loeb Leadership Institute and Reset & Refresh, a nationally scaled learning experience for mixed-heritage couples developed in partnership with the Jewish Federations of North America. He holds advanced degrees from Cambridge University (Theology), University College London (History of Art), and the Spertus Institute (Jewish Studies), and completed the Master Teaching Artist program at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, with a focus on museum education and cultural engagement. He is currently a PhD candidate at Gratz College, where his research explores how Jewish ritual shapes identity in diverse Jewish contexts. A frequent speaker and writer on Jewish identity, memory, and belonging, Rabbi Klein brings two decades of experience accompanying couples and young families as they craft meaningful Jewish journeys. He has developed inclusive retreats and learning series in partnership with synagogues, JCCs, Federations, and cultural institutions across the U.S. and Europe. He currently serves as Rabbinic Advisor to Togethering, a national initiative supporting mixed-heritage couples. Originally from the UK, Samuel lives in Seattle’s Seward Park neighborhood with his spouse, Gilah, a lecturer at the University of Washington. He is the proud father of four children. An avid runner and hiker, he’s often found looping the trails of Seward Park or heading into the Cascades with a good book in hand.