The J-Weekly ran an article, The State of Our Shuls, that I found inflammatory. It pushed lots of the usual fear buttons. I’m against fear so I wrote a reply.
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Interfaith/Intercultural Couples Discussion Group
Interfaith/Intercultural couples have unique questions and needs. They may know they need to ask questions but not be sure just what those questions should be. Make the process easier by joining other couples negotiating similar concerns. Create an outline of how to approach a conversation with your partner that is honest, caring, and supportive. This…
Read More »Finding Your Own Way
Recently I was with a couple of women, each of whom is married to a non-Jewish man. The first, I’ll call her Lisa, expressed her opinions with great intensity. She had strong beliefs on how to deal with an interfaith marriage, what to do, how to act, what to teach your children, how to…
Read More »Rosh Hashanah Bird Rolls
Why Bird Shapes? According to “Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook” (Schocken, 2004), bird-shaped challah rolls, called feygelekh (Yiddish for “little bird”) symbolized “the protection of God’s people as stated in Isaiah 31:5: ‘As birds hovering [over their fledglings], so will the Lord of hosts protect Jerusalem.’” Another interpretation, offered by Linda Burghardt in “Jewish Holiday…
Read More »Books for planning your wedding
There are a lot of books for planning weddings! I’m only going to mention my top favorites. A book aimed specifically at interfaith weddings is, Celebrating Interfaith Marriage by Rabbi Devon Lerner. I wouldn’t be recommending this book if I thought it suggested watering down EVERYONE’s traditions. Rabbi Lerner walks you through the wedding traditions…
Read More »Are you stuck? Uncertain? Trying but not succeeding?
This is a true story. A Jewish man called me because he was worried that his Christian wife couldn’t raise their kids as Jews. He told me that she had promised to do so before they got married but she just doesn’t really know how. He sighed and said, “I guess when I married someone…
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