A mohel performs a circumcision during a bris (or brit milah) ceremony. (Cheskel Dovid/Wikimedia CC BY 3.0) Circumcision still a volatile topic I received the following letter sent to my Mixed and Matched column at the J-weekly. Dear Dawn: I came across your response to a Jewish mother who was upset that her daughter didn’t want to circumcise…
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Readers Offer Alternatives for Girl Who wants a Bat Mitzvah
I received a number of comments on my March 26 Mixed and Matched column about an 11-year-old who wants a bat mitzvah but would be starting from scratch because she has not been raised Jewish. I’d like to reply to all of you: “A bat mitzvah need not take place at age 13. You can have a…
Read More »Is B’nai Mitzvah Prep too Demanding on Families’ Time?
I am Jewish, and my husband was Catholic but no longer identifies with any religion. I care strongly about raising our children Jewish, and my husband supports me. Now, with three children, we find this decision to have an increasing impact on our time-strapped lives — what with weekly classes, each child’s class Shabbat, parent…
Read More »Should I baptize my baby just to put my in-laws ‘at peace’?
From my monthly advice column, Mixed and Matched. I receive a note from a well intended wife/mother/daughter-in-law I am Jewish and my non-Jewish husband and I had a baby six weeks ago. My mother-in-law is Christian and planning to visit us now that we’ve settled in. She called me and begged me to let…
Read More »Programs in 2016 for Jews by Choice
We are delighted to offer a couple of special programs for Jews by Choice. Anyone is welcome to both of these. You don’t need to be a convert to attend. Everything You Wanted to Know about Conversion to Judaism Join a panel of Jews by choice and Rabbi Delson to learn all about conversion! Have…
Read More »No one really ‘has’ a Bar Mitzvah; No one ‘gets’ Bat Mitzvahed
It is common in Jewish parlance to say that someone is “having” or “getting” a bar mitzvah. But it doesn’t really work that way. I love Rabbi Milder’s article on this topic. He covers it while talking about celebrating bar/bat mitzvah as adults. Here’s what he has to say. Let’s talk about Bar/Bat Mitzvah. No…
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