This episode is about Reformed Judaism as a cultural identity as opposed to a religion focused on worshipping God. The Reformed movement began in 19th century Germany, and today is the dominant denomination of Jewish people in America.
My conversation is with Sarah Kate Levy, a writer here in Los Angeles. Her fiction has been published by the Paumanok Review, Carve magazine, and Armchair/Shotgun, and has twice received notable mention by the storySouth Million Writer's Award.
Her essay "Super Couple" appears in the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys from Dutton Press, and she has performed other autobiographical work on-stage in the Afterbirth reading series. Most recently she cowrote the screenplay No Way Jose with Adam Goldberg.
Sarah is also the voice behind ChecklistMommy.com, a blog about parenting, marriage, and her attempts at home organization, which draws from her own experiences as a mother of four young children, including twins. She is currently at work on a novel.
In our conversation, Sarah Kate and I talk about several aspects of being Jewish in the United States right now, including living with the fear that the Holocaust could happen again at any time, appealing Jewish stereotypes in pop culture, and how sending her kids to a temple school in LA has deepened her appreciation for her heritage. What Sarah Kate candidly shares here mirrors conversations I've had over the years with Jewish friends, but she goes a step farther, answering questions I've always been scared to ask.
Two books that have meant something to Sarah Kate: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith and American Pastoral by Philip Roth.
I do hope you enjoy our conversation.
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