It’s official: Jared Kushner is the least popular member of the first family — by far. This may or may not have something to do with his being an Orthodox Jew, as the Forward’s editor-in-chief, Jane Eisner argued in her July 25 op-ed. But is Kushner’s religion really the guy’s most salient feature, even in…
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — In a country where sex toys are displayed in shop windows and television commercials often feature nudity, a picture of a clothed, heterosexual couple kissing may not seem like the stuff of scandal. But precisely such an image — part of a poster campaign celebrating diversity in the Netherlands — has triggered…
For my husband and me, preparing for our wedding almost 30 years ago was a turning point. I was raised Reformed but no longer lived near my childhood Temple, nor had any connection to anyone there or to institutional Judaism at all. My husband, who grew up Catholic but was no longer practicing, was supportive…
In the 1970s, The Rabbinic Center for Research and Counseling had a secret list of rabbis who were willing to perform intermarriages (1973 – still on the books if ignored) opposing “participation by its members in any ceremony which solemnizes a mixed marriage.” In the year 2000, the American Jewish Committee asked several questions about…
Like most of my fellow liberal Jews, I find it deplorable that the Israeli government reneged on a deal for egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall. I’m also feeling something that others probably aren’t, though: hope for a lesson learned about liberal Judaism’s own walls. What the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate is doing to the liberal…
I encountered fierce opposition to a piece I wrote recently on the value of welcoming multi-faith families into our communities and adopting a posture of radical hospitality. I believe that providing a space that caters to every Jew’s spiritual needs — even if that Jew is married to someone of another faith — is the…
Marci Shegogue was raised in a Conservative synagogue in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., but she fell in love with a Catholic man, Rich. They dated for seven years, speaking often about their different faiths, but when they decided to finally marry they had a very hard time finding any cleric who would bless their…
“She is hoping to convert” a parent recently told me about their son’s non-Jewish girlfriend. “That is great news! Why do you look so disappointed then?” I asked. “I don’t know. I just am. I paid all this money for Jewish day school and this is what we get…” he responded. He didn’t have to…
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