One rabbi described the method he finds most effective with young Jewish men:

"I usually meet the young man late in the evening at the synagogue and ask him to come into the main sanctuary. The atmosphere is quiet, with more than 500 empty seats; the only lights are in the back and a few near the Ark. Then I tell the young man, 'Open the holy Ark.' He may ask, 'Rabbi, now?' and I answer, 'Yes, now.' After he opens the Ark, I ask him to take out the Sefer Torah. Again he may ask, 'Right now?' and I answer, 'Yes, now.' Then I tell him emphatically, 'Throw the Torah on the floor! Stamp on it and spit on it!!'

"Invariably the young man says, 'Rabbi, you must be kidding!' Then I take the Torah from him and return it to the Ark. Immediately I lace into him, 'By marrying out of our religion, you are throwing down, stamping, and spitting on the holy Torah!' Then I continue from there. Very often this proves the most helpful in changing the minds of serious young people who are considering intermarriage.

"By taking them into the sanctuary, opening the Ark (which even the most unlearned Jew reveres) and asking them to throw down and spit on the holy Torah scroll, they feel for the first time how wrong intermarriage is."

Analysis: Here the rabbi creates an emotional confrontation between the man's desire for the woman and his desire to respect what is holy. The Rabbi thus opens a channel for effective communication and change.