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Dear Dawn: I am Jewish and planning my wedding to a non-Jewish man. I have not been very involved in Judaism since my bat mitzvah almost 20 years ago. I don’t want to have a rabbi, but I want to have Jewish accoutrements at my ceremony. My fiancé is open to whatever I want. I want to include his parents if I can. I want his non-Jewish family to be comfortable. What advice can you give me about deciding what to include? — Bride-to-Be Dear Bride: Mazel tov on your coming celebration! It should be quite easy to get what you want. First you need to decide which elements of a Jewish wedding ...

Dear Dawn: My dad is my Jewish parent and I was raised Reform. Being a “patrilineal Jew” was never discussed in my shul. My dad did tell me more traditional Jews wouldn’t accept me as Jewish, but honestly he seems more angry than helpful. In college I learned more about my status as I was getting very involved in Jewish prayer and practice. I learned to daven in a traditional minyan, learned more Hebrew and embraced a more Conservative Jewish view. Fast-forward, and I started attending a Conservative synagogue after college. I talked to the rabbi about becoming involved in services but...

Dear Dawn: I was raised Reform, but am now a nonpracticing Jew married to a non-Jewish woman. We were married by my Reform rabbi and are expecting a baby. My wife has no religion and has agreed to raise the child Jewish and even to convert our infant. I couldn’t promise to raise my child Orthodox, but I am a proud cultural Jew and feel connected to my people. I know that it will be hard to have a confident Jewish identity if people around my child are telling him/her that (because of matrilineal descent) he/she is not really Jewish. I want my child to feel real and to be accepted as Jewis...

Dear Dawn: My uncle recently had his DNA tested, and it turns out that we are from Jewish lineage. I had always wondered because my mother’s great-grandfather’s last name was Jewish. I’m trying to find out more about that branch of my family. None of my relatives know anything about Judaism; all of them are practicing Christians. When I talked to a Jewish coworker about this, he didn’t accept me as a Jew. I felt rejected and hurt. Am I Jewish? How would I find out? — Curious Dear Curious: You are not alone, and you raise an important and pertinent topic. The popularity of the curre...