Halloween is the second biggest holiday in America according to KCBS News. Did you know that? I sure didn’t. Yes, I’ve noticed that Halloween has become dramatically more marketable than it was when I was a kid, or even when my own kids were little. Costumes are no longer homemade – with the hobo costume,…
Read More »Non-Jewish family
One of Us is Jewish But We’ve Chosen Christianity, Now What?
The Christian spouse knows how to ‘do’ Christianity and is supported in this by our American Christian culture, but you may still want to introduce a concept of Jewish heritage to your child. We’ll discuss how to offer the concept of Jewish roots without disrupting your child’s Christian identity. Also, if your child’s mother is…
Read More »How can We Deal Graciously with our Children’s Grandparents?
How do you tell your parents about the different choices you’ve made? It can be hard to say, we’re raising the kids Jewish. We will/won’t have a Christmas tree. The baby will/won’t be baptized, receive a bris, have a bar mitzvah. What can we tell the non-Jewish grandparents about what is appropriate and how they…
Read More »Summer Fun – Let’s Go to the SF Film Fest in Oakland
Let’s Go to the Movies! Join us for the SF Jewish Film Festival! BJB is co-presenting Little White Lie The film runs from 7 to 8:05pm. We’ll go for ice cream afterwards. Little White Lie tells Lacey Schwartz’s story of growing up in a typical upper-middle-class Jewish household in Woodstock, NY, with loving parents and…
Read More »What’s all that about the Jews being “chosen”?
(A bee doing her job.) The concept of ‘chosen-ness’ really messes with some people’s minds. Let’s clear it up so we can be productive. I read a drash/teaching by a friend for the parshah Kedoshim (teaching on a section of the Jewish bible). He said: The Parshah of Kedoshim begins with the statement, ’You…
Read More »Share your Experience of Growing up in an Interfaith Family
Feeling confident as a Jew can be complicated for individuals with one Jewish parent and one non-Jewish parent. For people who have a Jewish mother, Jewish law (halachah) is on your side. No matter how you were raised, if you decide you want to identify as Jewish, the Jewish world accepts you. But it may…
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