Question
Dear Rabbi
I am a young jewish woman that was born to a jewish mother and a catholic father, In the last few months I started connecting to my jewish roots and I become a "Shomeret Mitzvot" and I keep learning and learning more and more about the Mitzvot of the judaism and I never felt so close to Hashem and I feel very happy about it.
However there are few questions that bother me a little and I would like to ask your oppinion about them:
1. I noticed that some people wait 3 or 4 hours between meat and diary meals while most wait 6 hours, How much hours should I wait then? What does it depend on?
2. Am I allowed to hug and kiss my non jewish father? I am a Shomeret Negiah and I don’t really know if im allowed to or not.
3. I heared that because of my father not being jewish I am not allowed to marry a Cohen.. Is this true?
4. Is it a Mitzvah to kiss the mezuzah everytime you walk in or out the house?
5. Are the Reforms concidered jewish or not?
Thank you very much
Answer
1. According to the Talmud, one must not eat milk after meat until the following meal. This gives rise to various interpretations. The most common is that the time until another meal will be at least six hours, but other opinions exist and various customs have developed.
If you know your mother's background and can trace a clear custom from your forbearers you may follow that, or you may accept the custom that is most prevalent in your community. However, you are not obligated to one of these choices, and I would strongly recommend speaking it over with a rabbi who will understand personal considerations.
2. There is no prohibition since you grew up in your father's home from an early age and this behavior was accepted and natural. However hugging shouild be limited to the degree it shows parental respect.
3. Correct, the decision of the Shulchan Aruch and all modern poskim is that a Cohen may not marry a woman whose father is not Jewish.
4. Kissing the mezuzah is a custom. It is not necessary every time entering or leaving a room, though many do so. It is more important to think about what is written in the mezuzah, the acceptance of HaShem's dominion and Torah.
