This week a Jewish woman called me and asked, “Could my husband and I come talk to you about how it is for kids to be raised in an interfaith family? What do they tell you about what works for them?” Of course, I said yes. I was thrilled that this couple is asking, what…
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Do You Have One Jewish Parent?
Do You Have One Jewish Parent? Do you see yourself as Jewish, half-Jewish, part Jewish, Jew-ish? Were you raised as a Jew, a Christian, a Hindu, some of this and that? We are looking for people who have one Jewish parent and would like to talk about their experience, share their stories, their questions, their…
Read More »Time to Pray for Rain
California’s environment is quite similar to Israel’s. Both do not receive summer rain and rely on winter for all our precipitation. So it is that with the end of Sukkot and the arrival of Shemini Atzeret (or Simchat Torah, for non-traditional Jews) a prayer for rain is introduced to the daily liturgy. The prayer…
Read More »The Practices of Yom Kippur
A past rabbi of congregation B’nai Shalom offered this useful explanation of the practices of Yom Kippur. I am sharing them here with you. Don’t worry if you don’t do all these things. If one or more of them speaks to you, you can plan to include it next year. *** Before sunset on…
Read More »Shouldn’t I Stop Being such a Pollyanna?
I was delighted to receive this letter from an annoyed reader! They wrote: Your column is always suggesting convoluted ways that interfaith couples can deal with more traditional Jewish views. Why bother? Why don’t you just tell them to join a Reform synagogue and be done with the people who don’t agree with their…
Read More »The Greatest Hits of The High Holy Days
Rabbi Fox just emailed me to be sure I knew that Beth Jacob in Oakland is again doing Greatest Hits of the High Holy Days. Anyone can drop in for a little bit of soul refreshing. If you have to dash out to work afterwards you’ll do it with more energy. The Greatest Hits of…
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