Thinking ahead to the December holidays, here’s a question that was sent to my Mixed and Matched column in the Jweekly: My boyfriend is Jewish and I’m not. I really love Christmas and he doesn’t want to have it in our apartment. I’m not religious; I just love all the fun things about Christmas….
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I don’t want to miss out on Community
Another question sent to my Mixed and Matched column in the Jweekly. My husband is Jewish; I’m not. This is a second marriage for both of us, and we raised our kids within our own religions. My husband attended synagogue as he was raising his children, but I never had a religious community. I guess…
Read More »Why do some Jews think I’m not Jewish?
A damn good question was sent into my Mixed and Matched column in the Jweekly! Why am I not considered Jewish even though my mother converted to Reform Judaism? My father is Jewish by birth. I’m dating an Orthodox Jewish guy, and his mother has asked me what kind of conversion my mother went through,…
Read More »Our differences shouldn’t divide us— we are family
I received this message from a reader of my Mixed and Matched column in the J-weekly. Your column is always suggesting convoluted ways that interfaith couples can deal with more traditional Jewish views. Why bother? Why don’t you just tell them to join a Reform synagogue and be done with the people who don’t agree…
Read More »Nothing’s wrong with the word ‘non-Jew’
Yes, being different is a fine thing to be I received this question to my column, Mixed and Matched: I’ve heard people say that Jews shouldn’t refer to people who aren’t Jewish as “non-Jews.” Is that really a pejorative term? What should one say? Many of my non-Jewish friends don’t have a religion at…
Read More »I want to raise Christian kids with Jewish holidays
One of the challenges for people who have grown up in an interfaith family that has created its own little universe is that there’s not necessarily a community that one can join that reflects your choices. Here’s one woman’s difficulty. My mother was raised Jewish and converted to Christianity when she married my Christian…
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