When I was a child, Christmas was my favorite holiday. My dad isn’t Jewish, but that’s not even why we celebrated Christmas; my Jewish mom grew up celebrating too. Her mother had been jealous of how much fun it seemed, so she insisted on having trees and stockings and carols. When I was growing up,…
You probably know by now that Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris and First Husband-Elect Doug Emhoff are part of a Jewish interfaith couple. And President-Elect Joe Biden’s grandkids are all Jewish, after each of his children married a Jewish spouse. Biden’s incoming Chief of Staff Ron Klain is also part of a Jewish interfaith couple, making…
Kamala Harris may not be Jewish but when Joe Biden announced she was joining the presidential ticket, Jewish journalists and Jewish mothers (i.e., my mother) were quick to point out her many Jewish adjacencies. Besides the obvious — Harris is married to Doug Emhoff, a lawyer dubbed by the Schmooze “a hot Jewish dad” —…
From its start in 1906, A Bintel Brief was a pillar of the Forward, helping generations of Jewish immigrants learn how to be American. Now our columnists are helping people navigate the complexities of being Jewish in 2020. Send questions to [email protected]. In sickness and in health, till Bubbe do us part Dear Bintel, My…
“Interfaith.” It’s so early aughts. For decades, the label connoted a family with one Jewish spouse and one of a different background. In 2001, an entire organization called “InterfaithFamily” was created. Now many such families are done with using a single label to describe themselves, so the group has followed suit and renamed itself “18Doors.”…
It was a Sunday morning, the third or fourth time I slept over. I woke up to the feeling of his hands running through my hair, like a novice hairdresser procrastinating making the first cut. “Hey,” he whispered. “Ggghhh” I mumbled. “Can I ask you something?” He sounded nervous. I opened my eyes and saw…
I’m reading Tzivia a book about Rosh Hashanah, about a community pitching in to help a little girl experience her favorite holiday tradition. “Max told Abby, who told their teacher, who told the principal, who told the rabbi — ” “Wait, what’s a rabbi?” My Jewish five-year-old doesn’t know what a rabbi is? “Oh, you know…” Her…
Last week, it was widely reported that Israel’s new minister of education likened Jewish intermarriage to the Holocaust. Like many, I felt gut-punched when I read his hateful words. Once again, interfaith families are being used as a proxy and scapegoat for disengagement with Jewish life and Israel. Once again, we hear a Jewish leader…
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