There are so many nuances to the concerns that patrilineal Jews have. It is VITAL that we listen to them and not get stuck in our own opinion. After receiving four different messages on this topic I merged them into a single letter for my Mixed and Matched column. I have a Jewish father…
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My Daughters are put off by N.Y. Jewish Culture
A worried Jewish father with a non-Jewish wife wrote to me about the take his college age daughters had towards New York Jewish “culture”. I answered him in my Mixed and Matched column. I’m Jewish, my wife is not. Our two daughters, who have been to Israel, were raised Jewish with all the Jewish lifecycle…
Read More »4 Things that Make a Synagogue Uncomfortable for Me
In a conversation with a young person who is Asian and Jewish (yes, halachically Jewish, as in has a Jewish mother) I asked, “Are you comfortable in a synagogue?” The answer was, no, so I asked why. The answer: 1. I didn’t get much Jewish education so I don’t really know what’s going on…
Read More »This Is Bay Area Jewry – terrific evening
The photo exhibit This Is Bay Area Jewry opened last night in Oakland. Three of the individuals who participated in the portraits spoke about how they see themselves, their community and their hopes for an increased understanding of the tremendous diversity that we have here in the Bay Area Jewish population. The exhibit will hang…
Read More »Growing Up Interfaith – how are we defining “interfaith families”?
We are very much hoping to see YOU and many others at the May 22 conference, Growing Up Interfaith, about adults who grew up in interfaith families. How are we defining “interfaith families”? An interfaith family may have a Jewish home. That means there may be non-Jews living in a home that is Jewish in…
Read More »This Is Bay Area Jewry!
Tonight the photo exhibit, This Is Bay Area Jewry, will hold it’s opening reception. We’ll begin at 7pm with some wine and cheese. Have a brief tour of the exhibit at 7:15, more wine and nibbles. Then at 7:45pm 3 of the groups who participated in the exhibit portraits will speak about their reasons for…
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