Our Jewish community is increasingly multiracial, raising multiracial Jewish children is a relatively new phenomenon. Not many parents have the example of their own parents. Parents of multiracial kids have to consider: What is it like growing up Jewish if you consistently told “you don’t look Jewish” What comments and behaviors impact a multiracial child’s…
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How to be a Fabulous Grandparent in an Interfaith Family
How to be a Fabulous Grandparent in an Interfaith Family Your child has married someone not Jewish. You love their new spouse, but you worry. Will my grandchildren be Jewish? Will I say the wrong thing if I express my concerns and feelings? Should we invite the non- Jewish in-laws to Jewish celebrations at our…
Read More »Looking for the Perfect Synagogue
I’m looking for a synagogue. Here are my (many) demands. (This was published in my Mixed and Matched column in the J-weekly.) I received an inquiry that, quite frankly, annoyed a number of people who read about it. A young man approached me about his desire to find the “right” synagogue. Here is his perspective….
Read More »Is Judaism a Genetic Identity?
With the new availability of DNA research many people are finding that they have some Jewish ancestry. I’ve gotten quite a few emails asking, “Am I Jewish?” And some stating, “I just found out I’m Jewish.” It isn’t that simple. Recently Rabbi Milder of Beth Emek wrote a useful post to help clarify Jewish…
Read More »How to tell people you’re perfectly fine without Christmas
I wrote the opinion piece for the J-Weekly because so many Jews told me they felt pressured to embrace Christmas. Please expand your idea of what other people “should” like. Growing up without a formal religion in the United States can lead many people to insist, “I have no religion. I’m certainly not a…
Read More »My Jewish girlfriend doesn’t like Christmas. What am I doing wrong?
A holiday season email from a non-Jewish guy came to my Mixed and Matched column: I love Christmas but my Jewish girlfriend won’t participate with me, and this is our first holiday season together. I’ve told her that Christmas isn’t really religious for me. The tree and Yule log are pagan originally; they have…
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