Cover Photo: Tallulah Pomeroy
Tallulah Pomeroy

A Separate Dream: Faith, Family, and Knowing When to Let Go

When a hard line on intermarriage leads to exclusion.

If you had not majored in dance, I am not sure we would have had the chance to find our bond, as I feel we have.

The clockwork nature of her home filled me with energy and purpose.

Twelve years after first moving to New York, Derek, who is now my husband, and I moved in together. I’d struggled for a long time in relationships, often holding onto painful entanglements. The first Friday night in our new apartment, seated side by side at our dining table, I silently recited the Kiddush, the blessing over the wine, and the Ha Motzi, the blessing over the bread, to myself. I might have said these words aloud, but it did not occur to me that I wanted to say them at all until we were seated, with bowls of pasta and sautéed mushrooms before us. My observance had not transcended my aunt and uncle’s home, but I suppose I wanted to share these feelings, this type of home, with him.

One is our G-d in heaven and earth Two are the tablets of the covenant. Three are the fathers of Israel. Four are our matriarchs. Five are the books of the Torah . . .

Unfortunately the examples we must set to enforce the importance of maintaining our Jewish identity is simply a line I cannot cross

Oh, we’re a thousand miles from comfort, we have traveled land and sea. But as long as you are with me, there’s no place I’d rather be

One. Who knows one? One is our God in heaven and in earth.ten are the commandmentseleven are the stars in Joseph’s dreamthe attributes of God

Amy Beth is a journalist and creative nonfiction writer based in Brooklyn. She teaches writing at Purchase College and with the Creators Collective, and edits Parks and Points, a website dedicated to public lands.   Find her on Twitter @AmyBethWright and on Instagram @amyb1021. Read more of her work at amybethwrites.com.