(This letter originally appeared in my Mixed and Matched column for the J-weekly on Nov. 17, 2020) Dear Dawn: Can I first say how impactful and helpful I have found your writing? I am a non-Jew in a relationship with a Jewish man. I love him, and his Orthodox identity is a big part of…
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Dear Dawn: My dad is my Jewish parent and I was raised Reform. Being a “patrilineal Jew” was never discussed in my shul. My dad did tell me more traditional Jews wouldn’t accept me as Jewish, but honestly he seems more angry than helpful. In college I learned more about my status as I was…
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(This letter is from my Mixed and Matched column in the J-weekly and appeared Jan. 19, 2021.) Dear Dawn: My uncle recently had his DNA tested, and it turns out that we are from Jewish lineage. I had always wondered because my mother’s great-grandfather’s last name was Jewish. I’m trying to find out more about…
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(Image by Kim Hansen – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7421277) Keeping traditional kashrut is not for every Jew. Rabbi Larry Milder of Beth Emek in Pleasanton wrote a thoughtful email to his congregation about keeping an “ethical kashrut” and he describes his approach. I hope everyone, not just Jews, will consider how the daily…
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Have you found a “place” to go for an online Shabbat experience? If you are not affiliated with a synagogue that is offering services online consider joining Rabbi Bridget Wynne of Jewish Gateways any Friday evening at 6pm. I’ve visited her service. It is only about 30 minutes but provides all the blessings and a…
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(This column first appeared in the J-weekly on Feb. 10, 2021) Dear Dawn: I was raised Reform, but am now a nonpracticing Jew married to a non-Jewish woman. We were married by my Reform rabbi and are expecting a baby. My wife has no religion and has agreed to raise the child Jewish and even…
Read More »Our weekly email goes out to hundreds of interfaith couples & families in the Bay Area. Topics cover the many questions and mysteries that interfaith couples want answered.