Inter-"faith?"

These two books are under our bed. Sometimes we read them lying next to each other before we go to sleep.

When I came home from the Israel-Palestine religious dialogue, we cooked dinner in our kosher kitchen, blessed the food in Hebrew, and shared a meal on kosher plates. From where we sat I could see my collection of Shalom Aleichem short stories, and another anti-religion book in his Christopher Hitchens collection.


So, does this make us an "interfaith" couple? I have something like faith, and he's anti-faith. Rabbi S. says that he knows many devout atheist Jews, but I'm not sure Cai falls into that category. When I asked him how he would define himself if someone outside Hillel asked him his religious beliefs. He'd say "I'm an atheist, and the son of an ex-Catholic and an ex-Jew. I relate more to Judaism culturally." To me, he says "The food is the best part."

I find all of this humorous instead of upsetting. Somehow, it works. We don't step on each other's toes, we have great conversations over our kosher meals, and most of all, he knows that Jewish practice makes me happy and relaxed. He also appreciates the historical value of the traditions, and he swears he will help me raise a Jewish family in a Jewish home, because it's important to me. Cai likes coming to Shabbat services, he knows what I used to teach in Reform Jewish temple school, and as far as I know, he feels good about it.

Sometimes I wonder if all of that will change when we actually are raising a family.

But we'll cross that (very narrow) bridge when we come to it, and for now, I think it's hilarious that those two books are snuggling under our bed, one on top of the other (for the record, Hitchens is currently on top).