Half-Jews or You know a Half-Jew check-in here

[elshiva]

I'm a half Jew. Yes, my dad is Jewish and my mom is Episcopalian. We commemorate Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashannah, Channukah, and Passover. My brother was circumcised and I (being female) had a Jewish naming service. My Jewish name is Elesheva Channa. Yes, I am a baptized and confirmed Episcopalian, but I am very proud of being a half Jew. I go out of my way to sign Jewish-Episcopalian as my religion on applications.
http://www.halfjew.com/

[Ellen Forradalom]

1. Which half?

Top or bottom?

Interesting about the Episcopalian-Jew connection. I'm Episcopalian and my husband is Jewish. That makes my son 1/2 Jewish in the same way you are.

I had a long talk with a psychologist about the mysterious Jewish-Episcopalian attraction, as he was Jewish and his wife was (drum roll please) Episcopalian. I figured it's an East Coast thing--there are large populations of both out East, so there's some cultural common ground. I'm a Chicagoan, but my parents are Bostonians, and my husband is from Boston.

[elshiva]

2. What about

Drs Judith Steinberg Dean and Howard Dean (lifelong Episcopalian until very recently)?

There is a strong Episcopalian-Jewish connection!

[jdots]

3. half jew here

it made for some very strange Decembers,I was never told anything about my father's familly's beliefs but it felt like home.All Jews were orthodox in those days but made no big deal about it.
They were such warm people and not preachy in the least.

[yellowdawgdem]

4. I'm half jewish

On my father's side as well, with Mom being also episcopalian, although she more or less converted to Judaism at the point that Dad returned to it. Growing up, we went a few times to temple, but my parents didn't like it, then we checked out some other churches that they also didn't like. We did not have a big focus on religion.

[RaleighNCDem]

5. I'm half Jewish.

My dad is Baptist and my mom is Jewish. I grew up going to temple. I only went to church a few times. My dad is not very religious.

[villager]

6. same mix, in reverse...

Grew up celebrating mostly the Christian holidays, now I'm a Sunday school teacher at a temple! Though I'm glad for the "two camps" perspective I have on the cultures, and the religions...

[Sgent]

7. Half jews

With a Jewish mother are full jews -- sorry to disappoint you :) Your every bit as much of a Jew as Rambam.

That being said, I'm also the product of a mixed marrige (Jewish father), and, unlike some of you, had to undergo a conversion to join the shul -- but not to eat gifillte fish.

[villager]

8. oh I've known that since I was... well, knee-high to the Rambam,

or the BSHT, or whoever...

But there's still a cultural aspect to the "mix" that remains, "mix-y," regardless of the "halachic" laws on the "is you or is you ain't" question of being in The Tribe...

[jillan]

9. elshiva - we have alot more in common than the JK group

I am 100% Jewish, and my husband is baptist.
I am not very outwardly religious, I grew up in a reform family.
But Judiasm is in my heart.

My husband is not very religious either. I think that is because his mother was extreme, and may have pushed it on him too hard. She was a wonderful woman, who probably had a very hard time accepting my religion. But she never pushed it on me.

I will spend some time looking over the site that you posted. It may be a great resource for my daughter.

[latebloomer]

10. Mom is Polish Jew, Dad was Irish Catholic

but both were atheists-- I was raised as a "red diaper baby." We did celebrate Hanukkah (menorah and presents), Christmas (tree and MANY presents), Passover only in later years when uncle got it together to host a a Seder, and Easter not at all.

My maternal grandparents were immigrants, spoke Yiddish (grandpa was the son of a rabbi, was an actor in the Yiddish theater and also painted and sculpted scenes from his Polish childhood). Both . were very warm and doting, and very much part of my life. Grandma was a wonderful Jewish cook. Irish grandma, Annie Flynn, was a terrible cook and we saw her only on infrequent duty calls. So I always felt much more Jewish.

I married a gentile and we are spiritually minded, but we don't belong to any organized religion, though we're thinking about joining the Quakers. Again, we celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, and my kids have the benefit of a loving Jewish grandma,but that's about it.

[Metta]

11. My wife is half Jewish, on my side.

Actually, I've started celebrating some of the holidays, to a greater degree and lighting Yahrzeit candles since we've been together since she's been interested. Who'd a thunk it?

[Behind the Aegis]

12. Welcome!

There are some great Jewish resources out on the web. If you need any, let me know!

[Metta]

13. What are the best Yiddish language resources?

I.e., dictionaries, phrase sites, recordings.

[Behind the Aegis]

14. Here's a few I have bookmarked...

http://www.yiddishdictionaryonline.com/

http://www.bubbygram.com/yiddishglossary.htm (some FUNNY stuff)

http://www.travlang.com/lang/ (You can find just about any language or a link to it.)

A quick google search (this means I don't know anything about these sites...just thought they might help).

http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/learn/Yiddish.asp

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/projects/digital/lcaaj/speak.html

Hope these help!