"You know, there's nothing wrong with young Jews trying to hook up with other young Jews.

My understanding is that they now have Birthright for that."

they also have JDate...and Aish...and SawYouAtSinai...and MJE...and Jewster...and JRetroMatch...and the Missed Connections section of Craigslist...am i forgetting any?

just because a person chooses not to dress tzniut, it does not mean they are giving up their religion. i know plenty of people who grew up Orthodox and are no longer observant (some are on the total opposite end of the spectrum as Atheists, others merely dropped a notch to Conservative Judaism) but still have a profound sense of pride in their heritage. Orthodoxy is incredibly rigid and restrictive, and many people find they can't handle it once they reach a certain age. i'm by no means bashing the Orthodox. i have a great amount of respect for them and do find that their structured lifestyle can be positive in some ways. but i myself could never follow such a strict way of living. it's very similar to the Amish. the only difference is the Orthodox use electricity...unless they're totally living in the past.  

i cannot speak for Ben as i have not seen him in many years. but i've kept up with his life via interviews conducted by the media. yes, he's dated non-Jewish women. he grew up Orthodox, but isn't anymore. he is still somewhat observant, but on a much less stringent degree. nowhere in this or any article related to him does it mention that he requires his future wife to have an Orthodox conversion should it come down to it. yes, you could say if Ben really wanted a Jewish wife he would have dated only Jewish women. but he didn't, and you can't hold that against him or anyone else. furthermore, it's none of your business what he or anyone else does in their personal life just as it's none of my business why Ms. Marcil is converting. like Yaakov, said, give her the benefit of the doubt. you're probably one of those gossip mongers at shul who has to talk about everyone behind their back, especially if they're involved with a Gentile or convert. shut up already. stop telling people they're not "real Jews." elitist snob.

apparently, there was an error in the "who got married" piece of my comment when i was referring to my former Day School classmates that i met up with at a reunion. the girl that was engaged at the time later got married, but it wasn't to an Israeli...it was to a Puerto Rican. oops. not sure if he is Jewish or not. but they looked very happy in their wedding photos.

what crack are you smoking and what's the deal with your rouge obsession? freak.

this is almost as creepy as those wacky FLDS folks in Texas. it also reminds me of when Jessica Simpson's father made some crack about how his daughter has amazingly perky boobs. *cringe*

what Jon and Jess pointed out in regards towards people using synagogue services as a means to socialize with the opposite sex is one reason why i don't attend these kinds of events very often. events that are geared towards the 20's and 30's group have only one clear agenda- to hook people up and make more Jewish babies. that's all fine and well, but it also takes away from other things like feeling connected to G-d. there is nothing more awkward than going to services where a bunch of strange people swoop in on unfamiliar (and possibly unattached) individuals of the opposite sex like seagulls ready to take a dook on unsuspecting passers-by.

one of the few JCC events i attended recently was a book reading with author Scott Shay. he belted it out loud and clear: "Jews were not put on this earth simply to make more Jews." Mr. Shay voiced his opinions on anti-semitism, intermarriage, Israel and everything else that Tahl mentioned in this article, some of which were quite good. he feels that more needs to be done to combat anti-semitism. he considers intermarriage a threat but feels the intermarried need to be welcomed (but also seems to relentlessly push for conversion of the non-Jewish spouses). he feels more support for Israel is in order. when it comes to procreating, he thinks more Jewish babies should be made but that this should NOT be the main focus in Judaism.

in brief, the point of services is to increase your spirituality and to talk to G-d, not to scope out potential spouse material. for the organizations and congregations that have that solely on their brain, they need to consider that it may not work to their advantage.

as a former Birthright participant, i admire the concept of enriching Jewish identity in Jews (and half-Jews). but i find it slightly ironic that the dude who is so dedicated to this cause- Birthright founder Michael Steinhardt- is an Atheist. but even though he eschews organized religion, he's still a Jew...one with some very good ideas.

i recently read an interview with Steinhardt in The Jewish Week where he states that although Birthright is a monstrous success, he feels he hasn't done enough. his main concern is transmitting Jewish values to the younger generation. he doesn't care if they marry other Jews or if they join synagogues. he is well aware that he can't influence us to in-marry or to join a shul. instead, he wants to create an environment for young Jews (and half-Jews) to feel free to express their Jewishness any way they choose.

i'd also like to point out that i read "A Place In The Tent" and i thought it was very well-put together. it was mindful of halacha, but it also didn't attack the Jewish partners for intermarrying. rather, it attempted to make sense of why interfaith couples choose Conservative Judaism considering it hasn't always been so ready to receive the intermarried (unless conversion is in order), and to show them what they can and can't do in Jewish life. one thing i especially liked was that it featured interviews with real people as opposed to numbers and statistics.

i'm so appalled at Leib Topper's behavior, i don't even know where to begin. let's see...he convinces a 16-year-old boy to drop out of high school to study Torah all day long in a filthy hovel and is more concerned with how he looks in a black hat than whether he's eaten lunch. he tries to dupe the boy's father into quitting his job and moving his family to Monsey, where they will leave all ties with their former life behind. and then there's the revoking of a conversion in Israel all because the woman stepped outside of her house?! excuse me, but i see Orthodox women on the streets of NYC shelepping their 5 kids to go shopping without their husbands all the time (my office is in the same building as a women's clothing outlet and the majority of customers happen to be Orthodox women...or tourists from the South). this dude clearly has no concept of "real life."

my opinion on EJF is conflicted. on the one hand, i feel they're trying to do the right thing by attempting to turn intermarriages into Jewish ones (but they don't seem to care that not every intermarried couple wants to live a sheltered Orthodox life). on the other, stories like this portray them as religious fanatics who take people's physical and mental well-being for granted. while i respect Orthodox Judaism, i don't respect the nutjobs involved in certain sects of it. there are nuts in every religious group though, so this is nothing out of the ordinary.

side note: my father went to RJJ. when recently asked what he got out of it, his reply was "not much." at least he got to go to a public college.

and let's see if anyone can guess what movie my subject line is from. hint: it's directed by a bunch of Jewish guys.

like Cori and Aviva, i am also a former Birthright participant. after years of putting it off, i finally went in May 2007 as i was nearing the age cut off to go on the trip. the descriptions that Aviva and Cory mention are indeed generalizations that every Birthright participant has, and obviously not everyone has the same experience on the the trip. some come back more religious, others don't.

a free trip to Israel sounds like a vacation...until you step off a plane at 7 am (Israel time) after sitting uncomfortably on a 10-hour international flight. from there, you are wisked away to your first activity, which generally involves playing silly ice breaker games to remember everyone's name. for the next 10 days, you are woken up at the crack of dawn and are shuttled all over the country on a bus. the only time you're allowed to sleep in is on Shabbat. throughout this time period, you are constantly reminded to drink gallon after gallon of water so you don't wind up dehydrated. your Israeli tour guide reminds you of Borat, only not Anti-Semitic. all kidding aside, it was actually a really cool trip. but that part about the Borat-esque tour guide was true on my bus. he was a really cool guy but he had a corny sense of humor. but he made our 10 day stay in Israel very enjoyable.

i had my reservations before signing up: worrying about being the oldest in my group, security precautions, wondering how religious everyone would be, wondering if i'd actually get along with people, concerned about people's reactions towards my relationship with a non-Jew, etc. well, to sum it up: i wasn't the oldest, we were safe the entire time, i went with the Reform movement, everyone was really nice, and no one was offended by my relationship (in fact, there were a few others who were involved in interfaith relationships- one of the girls i roomed with was engaged to a non-Jew but broke it off not because he wasn't Jewish but because he was a tool). all in all, not bad.