Exploring Judaism Winter/Spring Series 2021 An exciting series of classes taught by amazing teachers that will strengthen your Jewish knowledge no matter where you are on your Jewish journey begins January 5, 2021. Unlocking the Secrets of the Prayer Book Join Rabbi Chabon to explore the liturgy and music of the Shabbat evening and morning…
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It hurt to learn I wasn’t considered Jewish or Christian
(This first appeared in my Mixed and Matched column in the J-weekly on May 15, 2019) Dear Dawn: My father is my Jewish parent and my parents did not raise me and my siblings with either of their religions. Instead they exposed us to the traditions of both. As an adult, I learned that in a…
Read More »Make the most of December
Last week I wrote to you that experiencing Christmas will not destroy your child’s Jewish identity and it won’t. Period. But that still means you have to GIVE them a Jewish identity. Going without Christmas won’t build a Jewish identity; you have to proactively teach your child that they are Jewish. So if you’re hanging…
Read More »Christmas won’t destroy your child’s Jewish identity
Many years ago Christmas fell on a Saturday. My family was invited to the annual Christmas party of some friends and the party was on Friday night, AKA Christmas Eve. My husband and I typically took our kids to Erev Shabbat services. They were under ten and a short service worked well for them. But…
Read More »Being Jewish is more than avoiding Christmas
(This article was first published in my Mixed and Matched column in the J-weekly on Nov. 11, 2014) Dear Dawn, My wife loves Christmas, and it makes me so uncomfortable. I know I’m a Scrooge every December, but I just can’t help it. She doesn’t go to church, but she decorates the hell out of…
Read More »My rabbi doesn’t understand what Christmas means to me
(This article originally appeared in my Mixed and Matched column in the J-weekly on January 23, 2019 Dear Dawn, I am single and have no Jewish relations. But I have taken years to determine that I want to be Jewish. I am working on converting. I have one problem. My rabbi tells me that I…
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