by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow

Half-Jew

Halves: Is less more?

Here are some snapshot images of the holiday season from my childhood: my dad retreats to his study while my mother, brother and I decorate the Christmas tree, which my mother has “reclaimed” as a pagan symbol. We light the menorah for the first night of Hanukkah (to be forgotten for the seven subsequent evenings), while Dad excavates the prayers from the depths of his memories and Mom hums along gamely. On Christmas Day, we tear open presents, make our annual expedition to an other-wise empty movie theater, and then attend the klezmer concert at the local synagogue.

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Half, Whole, Holy

The articles in this special section:

Jewish…with a Problem

by Natasha Rosenstock

What’s a twentysomething newly religious woman to do when she find out that her own mother’s conversion wasn’t kosher enough?

Half-Jew

by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow

She says that she isn’t missing a thing, and that her ability to live in two worlds is shared by more and more of her peers.

Wearing the Pants in Shul

by Rachel Barenblat

Married to a non-Jew, she’s the expert on ritual, law, and Hebrew pronunciation.