I wrote the opinion piece for the J-Weekly because so many Jews told me they felt pressured to embrace Christmas. Please expand your idea of what other people “should” like. Growing up without a formal religion in the United States can lead many people to insist, “I have no religion. I’m certainly not a Christian.”…
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Being an interfaith couple doesn’t protect you from anti-Semitism
Being an interfaith couple doesn’t protect you from anti-Semitism, not in Nazi Germany, not in America. Having one partner who is NOT a Jew doesn’t prevent people from hating the Jewish members of your family, and even hating the person who loves Jews. Sadly there has been a spike in anti-Semitism in the bay area….
Read More »Jewish responses to Charlottesville, VA
We are reeling from the events in Charlottesville. Across the Jewish community clergy and laypeople are moved to words and actions. Here are some from the Bay Area. Cantor Chabon, B’nai Tikvah, Walnut Creek The older I get, the more I understand that living a fulfilling life depends on how we respond to the joys…
Read More »Summertime! Where are all the Jews?
It’s JUNE! Summer brings big changes to Jewish institutions and synagogues. You’d think it were the year 100 and we were all farmers again. There are very few holidays in the summer, Hebrew school is closed, rabbis go on vacation, apparently Jews are tending their gardens and flocks. However, many synagogues take advantage of…
Read More »Shavuot around the SF Bay Area
Beginning tonight at sundown is Shavuot. This holiday is a bit quirky. It is one of the three Biblical pilgrimage holidays, so very important, and yet doesn’t have the foods, actions and traditions of the other two big festivals, Sukkot and Passover. My Jewish Learning has a lot of good information and you can delve…
Read More »The wonderful Muslim response to our Palo Alto JCC’s bomb threats
Several bay area JCC’s have received bomb threats and had to evacuate their facilities. When the Palo Alto/Oshman Family JCC was the victim of a threat they got a wonderful response from the Muslim-Jewish Women’s Group. Here’s what the JCC posted on their Facebook page. Today we had a personal visit from a remarkable group…
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