Another good email from Rabbi Milder of Beth Emek in Pleasanton. Are You a Person of Color? We Welcome You! Here’s the punch line that doesn’t work anymore: “Funny, you don’t look Jewish!” There’s no such thing as looking Jewish, and there probably never was, unless you go back to the very origins of the…
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Interlove Story
When Jews love Non-Jews and Judaism In 1994 Anne was a graduate student at Stanford University in the Film Department. For her Master’s Thesis she made a short film (9 minutes) about her parents’ intermarriage and titled it Interlove Story. In it she uses old family movies and current interviews with her parents to tell…
Read More »I want my Parents to be Buried Together
Here’s a question I got from a teenager: My mom is Jewish, my dad is Catholic, and my brother and I were raised Jewish. Last month they told us they had recently written their ethical wills and each plan to be buried in the cemetery of their own faith. I was so stunned that I…
Read More »It’s coming & it’s not Jewish!
I love Valentine’s Day! I can’t say exactly why – maybe because I love red and hearts or because I love LOVE. In any case I also love making and sending Valentines. No, it’s not a Jewish holiday or practice, but isn’t it fun? I hope it puts you in the mood to join me…
Read More »I was Born Black and Jewish
Kim Carter Martinez is born Jewish and is tired of the questions: How did you get to be Jewish? OR How long have you been Jewish? She said, “I feel like saying, I got to be Jewish through my mother’s vagina.” I told her to go ahead and say that. People won’t forget. Kim in…
Read More »“We are an intermarried congregation”
I wanted to share with you this message that Rabbi Larry Milder sent to his congregation earlier this month. Are You Intermarried? We Welcome You! We are an intermarried congregation. I haven’t counted; I don’t know what the numbers are. It’s just an impression. Honestly, I don’t always know who is a Jew and who…
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