Every Jewish Mother's Worst Nightmare: As a single, 42-year-old woman, I'm no longer considered just a 'late bloomer.' I'm a lost cause.(Column)

Publication: Newsweek

Publication Date: 25-AUG-03

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Byline: Wendy Aron

I was a young girl of 12 when the Yom Kippur War broke out in the Middle East in 1973. I remember sitting glued to the television news with my mother with a sick feeling in my stomach, as though it was my very own home under attack. Since that time, I've considered myself a Jew first and an American second. That's why it's incredibly sad that as a 42-year-old single woman I feel at best ignored, at worst totally abandoned, by Judaism.

There's no tradition of being happily single in the Jewish religion. Whereas a Christian woman can aspire to be the next Mother Teresa, the Jews have the likes of Jessica Sklar, best known for marrying Jerry Seinfeld, as a role model. This value can be traced...

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