I received an email from a Christian woman who told me this: I am Christian and my ex-husband is Muslim. I have nowhere to turn for help so I’m writing to you even though neither of us is Jewish. While we were married we raised our ten year old girl to observe both religions. Now…
Read More »Relationships
Shouldn’t I Stop Being such a Pollyanna?
I was delighted to receive this letter from an annoyed reader! They wrote: 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 with their…
Read More »Fall 2015 Interfaith Programs from BJB
There’s a little something for everyone this fall. Peruse the classes below, call if you have any questions, and I hope to see you at a program in the next few months. Dawn —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————– Do You Have One Jewish Parent? Do you see yourself as Jewish, half-Jewish, part Jewish, Jew-ish? Were you raised as a…
Read More »Interlove Story: When Jews Love Non-Jews… and Judaism
Falling in love and finding “the one” is a wonderful experience. If you are Jewish and that “one and only” isn’t, you have some sorting out to do. How will your home reflect your dual identities, how will you raise the kids, what holidays will you celebrate. There are lots of choices — and honestly,…
Read More »Orthodox Cousins get little Respect
My Mixed and Matched column for February 2015 is a response to a young woman whose family includes Modern Orthodox cousins and her secular and intermarried relatives. My answer is on the J-Weekly website. She is hurt by the conflict between the adults in her family. For many children, the most important thing is family…
Read More »Raising a Jewish Child in an Interfaith Home
You’ve made the big decision – we’ll raise our child(ren) as Jews. Now what? Does this mean no Christmas or Easter? How do we interact with our non-Jewish family’s holidays? What synagogue should we join and how can we ask for specific support in our process? Is a lot of the effort falling on a…
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