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By 18Doors

Parenting young kids is full of pitfalls where we can get stuck on the difficulties of the day-to-day of meeting...

New Parents, Parenting, Parenting Challenges, Parenting Stories, Parenting Tips and Advice

We Aren’t as Different as My Neighbors Think

By Anna Keller

I grew up in an Orthodox community in Midwood, Brooklyn. My mother still lives there and I live three blocks...

Babies, New Parents, Parenting Stories, Young Kids

Helen Turns 2 in English, Spanish and Hebrew

By Anna Keller

I can’t believe my first baby girl is already 2! In the beginning of this journey into parenthood I can remember...

Babies, New Parents, Parenting Stories

Charting a New Course

By Craig Cohen

We live in a world filled with hate. It seems as each new day dawns, we are reminded of this very concept....

New Parents, Parenting

How We Met…Our Baby

By Craig Cohen

We each have our own story about when we saw, held or heard our children for the first time and we all arrived...

Adoption, Babies, Baby Planning, Fatherhood, New Parents

Purim and My Mexican American Jewish Newborn

By Anna Keller

Purim in my neighborhood is an extravaganza. Limousines crowd the streets and rabbles of teenagers run in and...

New Parents, Parenting Purim, Parenting Stories, Purim

Mysticism and My Newborn

By Anna Keller

Adrian checks out the snow with baby Helen Rose I believe in the mystical. Tarot Cards, Ouji boards,...

Babies, New Parents, Pregnancy

Our Jewish Catholic Mexican American Newborn

By Anna Keller

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” -Lau Tzu I grew up in an Orthodox Jewish...

Babies, New Parents, Parenting Stories, Pregnancy

The Imbalance of a Working Mom

By Rabbi Keara Stein

“Mama! Mama!” “Hold on sweetheart, mama needs to send an email.” “Mama, book!” “One minute baby, I really need...

New Parents, Parenting, Parenting Tips and Advice, Young Kids

Do Today’s Women Understand What/Who Came Before Us?

By Rabbi Jillian Cameron

Anita Hill and Letty Cottin Pogrebin. Photo by Zanefa Walsh The first week of September I was privileged to...

God, New Parents, Parenting, Religion & Spirituality, Religious Education

Surviving Our First High Holy Days as Brand New Parents

By Rabbi Keara Stein

I have always loved Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. They were among the few Jewish holidays I remember celebrating...

Babies, High Holy Days, High Holy Days for Parents, New Parents

A Blessing for New Moms

By Lindsey Silken

Gomel: A Jewish Blessing for New Moms Having kids is sometimes hard. Giving birth to a baby is REALLY hard....

Babies, Blessings, New Parents, Religion

Why are We Terrified to Teach Our Kids about Religion?

By Rabbi Mychal Copeland

When it comes to religion, many parents don’t want to choose for their kids. Their hesitation isn’t just about...

New Parents, Parenting, Parenting Tips and Advice, Religion & Spirituality, Religious Education, Young Kids

“Belonging” as a Parent with a Jewish Son

By Stacie Garnett-Cook

Stacie, her husband Andrew and Sammy, the day of the aliyah This past weekend, our 5-month-old son was formally...

Birth Ceremony, New Parents, Religion, Synagogue

We Need to Acknowledge the Losses Parents Who are Not Jewish Feel When Committing to Raise their Children as Jews

By Rabbi Robyn Frisch

I recently spoke with a couple that I’ve known for a while. The husband (I’ll call him Ben; not his real name)...

Babies, Family, New Parents, Parenting, Parenting Tips and Advice

Moms and Membership

By Rabbi Ari Moffic

I recently had the honor of meeting five women who are due with their first babies in the fall (one brought...

New Parents, Religious Education, Synagogue

How Two Baby Naming Ceremonies Helped a Jew-By-Choice Come to Terms With Her Catholic Parents

By Marina Williams

I am a Jew-by-choice. I always felt drawn to Judaism and it was no surprise to anyone when I started dating...

Baby Naming, Baby Planning, Birth Ceremony, Conversion, Family, Grandparents, New Parents, Parenting Challenges, Parenting Stories, Pregnancy Stories

The Lifecycle of an Interfaith Relationship: Having a Baby

By S. Courtney Nathan

201 Becoming pregnant can be the most wonderful, awe-inspiring thing that ever happens to you. A new life...

Babies, Baby Planning, Birth Ceremony, New Parents, Newlywed, Parenting Tips and Advice, Pregnancy, Relationships

Hope, Not Fear

By Edmund Case

I started 18Doors, formerly InterfaithFamily.com as an independent non-profit in January 2002. There was a time...

Babies, New Parents, Parenting Stories, Parenting Successes, Young Kids

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