Here it comes, the most celebrated Jewish holiday of all, Passover! Where and with whom will you have Seder? A few years ago a Jewish woman participating in a Passover cooking workshop said, “I have a question. We have lived in the bay area for a few years but no one invites us for Seder….
Read More »This is Bay Area Jewry: Photo Essays on the Changing Nature of Our Community Beth El, Lehrhaus Judaica and Building Jewish Bridges present a photo essay exhibition showcasing the range of diversity in our community. The exhibition features 21 intimate portraits of individuals and families (including Beth El congregants, Renee Passy-Zale and Seidlitz-Smith family) from…
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I’m looking for a synagogue. Here are my (many) demands. (This was published in my Mixed and Matched column in the J-weekly.) I received an inquiry that, quite frankly, annoyed a number of people who read about it. A young man approached me about his desire to find the “right” synagogue. Here is his perspective….
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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…
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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…
Read More »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 »Our weekly email goes out to hundreds of interfaith couples & families in the Bay Area. Topics cover the many questions and mysteries that interfaith couples want answered.