(This column first appeared in the J-weekly on Feb. 10, 2021) Dear Dawn: I was raised Reform, but am now a nonpracticing Jew married to a non-Jewish woman. We were married by my Reform rabbi and are expecting a baby. My wife has no religion and has agreed to raise the child Jewish and even…
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Last week I wrote to you that experiencing Christmas will not destroy your child’s Jewish identity and it won’t. Period. But that still means you have to GIVE them a Jewish identity. Going without Christmas won’t build a Jewish identity; you have to proactively teach your child that they are Jewish. So if you’re hanging…
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Many years ago Christmas fell on a Saturday. My family was invited to the annual Christmas party of some friends and the party was on Friday night, AKA Christmas Eve. My husband and I typically took our kids to Erev Shabbat services. They were under ten and a short service worked well for them. But…
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(This letter originally appeared in my Mixed and Matched column in the J-weekly on July 7, 2020.) Dear Dawn: I need some objective advice. My husband is Jewish but no longer feels connected to Judaism. He openly states he has no interest in meeting with the Jewish community in our area. I’m a second-generation…
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(This originally appeared in my Mixed and Matched column of the J-weekly on 9/26/19) Dear Dawn: I married my Jewish husband a decade ago. We agreed to raise our children as Jews and joined a Reform synagogue when our daughter was born. Through my daughter I have become more and more involved in Judaism and…
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(JCC Maccabi Sports Camp from Camp Collective website) Right about now I would be making suggestions and referrals to Jewish summer camps – day camps and sleep over camps. But one by one the camps are announcing their closure for this season due to COVID-19. It is terribly sad and disappointing for kids and their…
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