Monday Dec 10, 2007
Posted by Cynthia Blair Kane
Is it okay to tell a lie to repair a relationship? This is a question I have been struggling with for a couple months now. Where does the question come from? Well, as you may have gathered in my previous posts, my grandmother and I have different views on what it means to be Jewish.
Although we both feel it necessary to preserve the Jewish faith, the way in which we go about it is different.
At the moment, I am dating a non-Jew. Because I am dating a non-Jew, my grandmother is not a happy camper. Don't get me wrong; I definitely understand where my grandmother is coming from. If I do not date a Jew it is more likely that I won't marry a Jew. And if I don't marry a Jew my children are less likely to remain Jewish.
Statistically, this is true. The National Jewish Population Survey found that only a third of interfaith couples raise their children Jewish and are less likely to involve themselves in Jewish activities.
"Have you met any nice Jewish boys over in Spain?" she asks me over the phone.
"No, grandma. I haven't met anyone."
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About this blog
Generation Bubelah
A mid-20s American perspective on Judaism, assimilation, relationships and travel by Cynthia Blair Kane.
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Recent Comments
David Kosky,London: Perhaps you should have consulted a guide book before arriving in Warsaw.You obviously missed not only the Ghetto Uprising Memorial but the memorial at Mila 18,the Umschlagplatz Memorial and numerous other remnants of Jewish Warsaw.Above all the Jewish Cemetery at what used to be Gesia Street but is now Anielewicza is a must.Here you will find the mortal remains of Zamenhof,the creator of Esperanto,J.L.Peretz,the father of Yiddish literature,Ansky wrter of the Dybbuk and numerous others.
Remnants of the Ghetto wall remain not only on Sienna but elsewhere and can be easily traced with a map.
James, New York: Judaism and Poland? Not even the great REMA the polish rabbi Rabbi Moshe Iserlish would make these sorts of conections. To do so is like to speak of Judaism and France because of Rashi, or Judaism and Germany because of the majority of the Tosafists (RI, RaSHBaM, Rabbeynu Tam, Rabbi Yehuda heHasid, i t.d.), or Judaism and Spain because of RaMBaM, RaMBaN, and others. That's why the Jewish synagogues must face a different direction.
Jack Goldfarb: Dear Cynthia: Your nostalgic search for Jewish Warsaw left me hanging in mid-travelogue as you abruptly ended it. You were in Twarda Street where many of the active Jewish institutions are thriving: the Ida Kaminska Yiddish Theatre, the bustling community offices, including that of Chief Rabbi Schudrich, the editorial offices of MIDRASH, the vibrant literary voice, even the several Jewish restaurants. In your description of the Ghetto Wall remnant, failed to mention Rappaport"s impacting monument to the Ghetto fighters, or the Museum of Polish Jewish History now under construction.
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