In May of this year Rabbi Sami Barth wrote a beautiful explanation of the Torah on abortion for his congregation. (Rabbi Barth was the transitional rabbi for Am Tikvah in San Francisco.) I have his permission to share his email with you. This is a subject with which our country is struggling. For those who…
Read More »In the News
Is Being Raised “Both” Truly Freeing?
(This article originally appeared in the J-weekly and was titled: Seeking acceptance in one faith after being raised with two) The idea of a child of interfaith parents being educated in both Judaism and Christianity and then being “allowed to choose” sounds very New Age to many ears. The book “Being Both” by Susan Katz…
Read More »Sitting Shiva for George Floyd
I have struggled with how to write to all of you. Many of us are in multiracial families; those who are not, still have black and brown friends. As a white person I am horrified and yet aware that it is a luxury to be horrified when this is routine for black people. So how…
Read More »Show Your Support: #KneelAtHome
Bay Area Jews in Solidarity with Black Lives Statement from the Jewish Community Relations Council: Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, Sonoma, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties and the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund (the Federation) strongly condemn the murder of George Floyd, the most recent in a string…
Read More »Anti-Semitism expressed in Robocalls to Bay Area Jews
A few Jewish friends who happen to work in Jewish organizations have recently said on Facebook that they have received the anti-Semitic robocall that’s going around. Rabbi Milder of Congregation Beth Emek in Pleasanton was one of them and I’m sharing what he wrote to his congregation. I got the call. When I arrived…
Read More »How to tell people you’re perfectly fine without Christmas
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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