Finding a Synagogue

Should our rabbi care more about our feelings or which holidays we celebrate?

A Mixed and Matched column from February 2017. I’m Jewish and just married a woman who grew up with no religious traditions. She celebrates the Hallmark holidays like Christmas, but doesn’t go to church. I’m an only child and my parents are totally understanding of our relationship and are open to us raising the kids…

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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…

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Welcoming LGBT people – Say it loud & proud

I’ve been pleased and impressed by Rabbi Larry Milder‘s clear statements about acceptance within his synagogue, Beth Emek of Pleasanton. Here’s another good one that he sent to his congregation. Are You Gay? Lesbian? Transgender? We Welcome You! I am heterosexual. I expect my synagogue to be accepting of my gender identity. I was born…

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Welcoming people of color to the Shul

Another good email from Rabbi Milder of Beth Emek in Pleasanton. Are You a Person of Color? We Welcome You! Here’s the punch line that doesn’t work anymore: “Funny, you don’t look Jewish!” There’s no such thing as looking Jewish, and there probably never was, unless you go back to the very origins of the…

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