Adult Child of an Interfaith Family

(This article originally appeared in my J-weekly column, Mixed and Matched on September 28, 2021) Dear Dawn: My mom was raised noncommittal Christian and my dad was raised noncommittal Jewish. Around the time I was born, my dad was exploring Judaism and he wanted to raise me, and later my little brother, as Jews. My parents…

(This column for Mixed and Matched in the J-weekly originally appeared May 4, 2021) I was delighted by the many responses to my April column, “At a loss after my rabbi said I’m not allowed to read Torah.” Let’s walk through the concerns that were raised. One man wrote, “You need to tell the Conservative…

(This letter originally appeared in my Mixed and Matched column in the J-weekly on April 14, 2021) Dear Dawn, I am from an interfaith family; my dad isn’t Jewish. I was raised and identify as Orthodox. Jews assume that it must be OK to criticize Orthodox Jews to my face. When they realize they are…

Dear Dawn: My dad is my Jewish parent and I was raised Reform. Being a “patrilineal Jew” was never discussed in my shul. My dad did tell me more traditional Jews wouldn’t accept me as Jewish, but honestly he seems more angry than helpful. In college I learned more about my status as I was…

(This article originally appeared in my Mixed and Matched column in the J-weekly on June 7, 2019) Dear Dawn: My father is 100 percent Jewish and my mother is Christian. They tried to have an interfaith wedding in the ’70s and the Jews wouldn’t accept them. Unfortunately, my father turned his back on Judaism and…