My lack of faith clashed with my religious boyfriend's beliefs.
I never thought I'd be the type of woman to date a religious guy. A Reform Jew by upbringing, my family ate bagels, lox, and pickled herring on Sundays, lit our Menorah every Hanukkah, and sat through services on the High Holy Days. I learned how to pronounce the word afikomen. My mom referred to my face as a beautiful punim and hoped that someday I would meet a nice mensch and get married.
For Orthodox Jews it's forbidden to even shake your boyfriends hand.
For many Orthodox Jews, the concept of not touching—known in Hebrew as Shomer Negiah, literally translated as "observant of the laws of touching"—is nothing new. The idea behind Shomer Negiah is that sex should be kept as something special that happens between a husband and a wife. Sex outside of marriage is a no-no. Anything that could possibly lead to sex outside of marriage is also a no-no. Think of it as an attempt to avoid any possible slippery slopes. No pun intended.
Donald Trump's daughter to join Kate Capshaw in converting for love.
Ivanka Trump is a grown damn woman and can choose some things for herself. One of those things is sort of religion. It looks like she is converting to Judaism ahead of her marriage to media / real estate dude Jared Kushner. Super. The Donald is probably psyched about what sort of exclusive clubs this can get him into.
Isla Fisher postpones wedding, converting to Judaism.
New mommy and up-and-coming actress Isla Fisher has postponed her wedding to actor/comedian Sascha Baron Cohen. Now before you go getting your panties in a bunch, there's actually a good reason. Isla, like many famous women before her, is converting to Judaism before she marries Cohen. Great, except she's also in the middle of shooting the highly anticipated (well, by fashionistas and chic lit fans at least) Confessions of a Shopaholic and doesn't have the time to devote herself to her Torah studies.
A Muslim woman gave up her past to provide her family with a future.
Is religion an essential factor to the foundation of a strong family? Torang Sepah tells the story of how love brought her to a new spirituality. "Six months after we married, we began discussing the idea of conversion. Ron and I had both been raised in secular homes, and he felt connected to Judaism on a cultural, rather than religious, level. I, on the other hand, have never really felt tied to Islam. I believe in gay marriage—and I believe that a woman can do anything a man can do. I don’t think there’s a lot of room in Islam for liberal, or even moderate, viewpoints. With Judaism, I felt like there was still a way for me to be progressive. Though Ron told me early on that he didn’t need me to change religions, I decided I wanted to convert—for love, and for the family we would raise."
Amy Sohn's parents took the long way to loving her hubby.
The husband and the in-laws—they can be a combustible combination. Introducing your boyfriend to your parents and family is difficult no matter what, especially if you're Jewish and he's not and your parents don't want you marrying a goy. But interfaith marriage doesn't have to be all bad, as Amy Sohn learned. In this excerpt from her book Altared, Amy shares her personal account of finding the one and then trying to sell him to her parents.
