(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…
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A year ago I didn’t think the pandemic would last this long. I made due with a Zoom Seder and enjoyed the novelty of it. But a year later I’m not so enthused. I have heard many people say they are sick of screens. Last April I read a fascinating article about “third quarter” of isolation when things…
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Rabbi Avi Schulman wrote this email to his congregation, Temple Beth Torah in Fremont. (I LOVE that he included Pi Day as a “noteworthy” event in March.) Then he goes on to describe a multifaith service coming up that commemorates our completing a year of Covid 19 lockdown. This date is significant and we all…
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