RJ Blog

My name is Rachel Jurisz-Singh. Some of you know me by the name I use professionally – Jurisz – which is actually my maiden name. Yes, I am intermarried and my family is interracial too. Growing up I never thought I would choose to marry outside of my faith. I was always involved in my synagogue and youth group. I went to Jewish summer camp and attended Hebrew school through my senior year of high school. I even chose my career path in the Jewish field, working at four major Jewish organizations in the last 14 years.

by Jordan Peck Make sure you are helping your partner get what they need. This was a simple yet powerful concept my fiancée and I learned while participating in the free ‘Inside interfaith Relationships’ workshop through Reform Jewish Outreach Boston. Emily is a self-described “C and E” (Christmas and Easter) Congregationalist Protestant, I grew up Conservative Jewish but starting in college I became a “Y, C, and P” Jew (Yom Kippur, Chanukah, Passover). Despite our different religious upbringings we fell in love and became inseparable quickly and only small things reminded us of our different upbringings. During the first three [...]

by Ellen S. Glazer Several years ago I had a running buddy who was a rabbi. We covered many miles together and many topics, among them his beliefs about interfaith weddings. As a member of the Conservative Movement, he said he would not perform interfaith marriages because he felt that Jews should be married in Jewish ceremonies and, in his words, “It’s not a Jewish ceremony if it is between a Jew and a non-Jew.” Interestingly enough, when two of our fellow runners – both Christians – asked him to marry them, he happily said yes. “After all,” he quipped, [...]

On May 20, 2012 – only 10 days from now! – I will be marrying E., the Jewish woman I love. (I call her E. here because as a therapist, she maintains strict boundaries between her professional and private life.) We will stand under the flowing, stunning, yellow, orange, red, and turquoise chuppah that she designed and painted on silk (a painstakingly challenging design process for a beginner, but that’s another blog post). We will drink from a sparkling, cobalt blue wine goblet that says in Hebrew, “Ani leh-dodee veh-dodee lee,” “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.” [...]

by John E. Hirsch, PhD A simple question from a fifth grade student in 1988 opened my eyes about “what marriage means to me”- often teachers learn more from students than they teach.  For twenty years, like many couples, every small disagreement boiled down to a single bone of contention: for me it was “status.”  I had none.  At various stages from the Spring of 1967 I had been lover, roommate, friend, companion, significant other, partner…  A mid-relationship disagreement erupted by my use of the term “spouse.” He, an attorney, lectured me that the word spouse had a specific legal [...]

by Mike Rankin, M.D. In June of this year, marriage equality became a reality in New York. The bill passed the legislature, and was quickly signed by the governor.  Most Reform Jews applauded this move toward justice for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Jews. On September 20, the odious “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy was repealed. Most Reform Jews were in support of repeal as well. However, many from more conservative faith traditions, especially military chaplains, were not. They claimed repeal would require them to violate their deeply felt objections to homosexuality, would require them to counsel homosexuals without urging [...]

By dccA few weeks ago–even if they didn’t know it–the seven California Supreme Court justices gave the state a much needed economic booster shot. The Golden State, often a bellwether of social and economic trends throughout the US, is feeling the pinch of the credit and housing collapse. However due to the Court’s ruling on the unconstitutional ban on same-sex marriage, the State’s economy may see a finacial upswing, reports NPR’s Morning Edition. California has been working with a major budget deficit for years and the millions of GLBT couples who wish to get married (and spend $684 million dollars [...]