Then… Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret feels solidly set in 1970, the year of its publication. The interfaith issues are, by now, stereotypical – the Christian family that disowns their daughter for marrying a Jew and the distracted Jewish father who has no interest in religion and is usually at work. If you…
Read More »Adult Child of an Interfaith Family
Preparing for Bar/Bat Mitzvah for Interfaith Families
Planning a b’nai mitzvah is stressful enough if you had one yourself, but if you weren’t raised Jewish it can be truly nerve wracking. There are the questions of how the study process works, timing, sessions, amount to be learned, how to help your child succeed. Then there’s the non-Jewish partner and extended family. How…
Read More »Are Our Children Jewish?
Patralineal Descent, Reform Judaism & Those Other Jews In 1983 the Reform movement officially recognized children of Jewish fathers as Jewish. But if you read the statement it says that every child of a mixed marriage, whether the mother or father is Jewish, must establish their identity as a Jew “through appropriate and timely public…
Read More »Coming this Spring…
The Spring 2015 line up of Building Jewish Bridges workshops and classes! January What’s in a Jewish Name? Join B’nai Tikvah congregants for services on Friday January 9 at 6:30pm, when I will be speaking in the sermon slot. My subject is the special place name and naming rituals holds in Jewish tradition. This dovetails…
Read More »Do you have one Jewish Parent?
Do you have one Jewish Parent? A couple years ago I asked Dr. Bruce Phillips to direct me to research done regarding the experiences of adults from interfaith families. He told me that there was none and that WE should do a study. So that’s what we’re doing. We want to offer a picture of…
Read More »Parents’ divorce set young Jew adrift at the Holidays
The High Holy Days can bring up some intense feelings for every Jew. One young man contacted me with a unique issue around the Holidays – his interfaith parents’ divorce and the subsequent lack of clarity about his status. My dad is Jewish and my mom converted before they got married. Her conversion was…
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