Web Magazine
February 27, 2007
Print entire issue
Dear friend,
Just as personalities have stages of development, so do relationships. That's especially the case for interfaith relationships. So often religion has little to do with the relationship as it begins, but as time moves on--through moving in together, getting married, having children--religious issues creep more and more to the forefront. In the new issue of our Web Magazine, we share a variety of perspectives on how religious issues evolve through the life cycle.
As she's gotten older, Rosalyn Shafter has started teaching her grandchildren Yiddish to remind them--and herself--who she "really" is. Now she and her husband must decide whether to tell her husband's 95-year-old mother that he converted, in May You Live Until 120! Also read outreach professional Dawn C. Kepler's response .
A Jew-by-choice finds an unlikely moment to share a Hebrew blessing with her daughter: before a driving lesson. Read more in Paula Yablonsky's Behind the Wheel .
Marriage and family therapist Wendy Weltman Palmer lays out the stages of an interfaith relationship, in Marriage within Marriage. Outreach professional Jeanette Bergelson shares some tips on how to deal with difficult life-cycle moments in Advice for Intermarried Couples Facing Life-Cycle Events, while the co-author of When Your Parents Are Seriously Ill, Courtney Nathan, talks to Ronnie Friedland about Illness in an Interfaith Family .
Sometimes an interfaith upbringing or an interfaith marriage can help people connect with their Judaism. In From "Half-Jewish" to Rabbi, Julie Wiener shares the stories of two women who grew up in interfaith homes and are now studying to be rabbis. In Jefferson Airplane Guitarist Searches for His Jewish Soul, Jorma Kaukonen, the original guitarist for the legendary '60s band, came back to Judaism through his (originally) non-Jewish wife.
In 33 years of marriage, Sandy Anderson and her husband have dealt with almost every kind of interfaith complication. Read more in Rhythm of Life .
Purim is Sunday, March 4. Find out why Jim Keen and his interfaith family love this unpretentious, fun-filled holiday in Purim: When You Can Throw a Sponge at the Rabbi's Face .
Arts and Entertainment
Nate Bloom explains how Britney went from dabbling in Judaism to personal disaster, how Christina Aguilera had a Jewish wedding and what interfaith kid Scarlett Johansson told an interviewer who asked about her "non-Jewish" looks. Read more in Interfaith Celebrities: Britney and Christina .
Books
Francesca Segrè was a successful 29-year-old television reporter. But when her mom gets married, she wonders: what am I doing with my life? Read more .
An interfaith couple splits because of religion, in Reuben Bibi's didactic The Decision. Read Lynn Melnick's review .
Opinion
Noted Jewish sociologist Steven M. Cohen explains why intermarriage is crippling the American Jewish community, in Stop Looking at Intermarriage Through Rose-Colored Glasses. We explain why he's dead wrong, in Don't Write Off the Intermarried.
What's New on the Blogs
On the IFF Network Blog, we've recently written about the untimely departure of Mr. Boston from "I Love New York" and a celebration of black Jews, including Rashida Jones ("Karen") from The Office .
On the Weddings Blog, Bryan and Julie get into the good stuff: plans for the ceremony and pre-marital counseling .
Coming Next
We'll return on March 13 with our issue on the threat of Messianic Judaism.
Sincerely,
 
Micah Sachs, Online Managing Editor
Write for Us!
We're looking for writers on the following topics:
-
Coming out to your family about your interfaith relationship
-
High Holidays
- Participating in a ritual because your child/parent/partner wants to
-
Divorce, Blended Families, etc.
Interested in any of these topics? Contact Web Magazine Editor Ronnie Friedland at editor@interfaithfamily.com .
Connections In Your Area--Featured Events
|
