More in ‘interfaith relationships’

• During President Barack Obama’s term, the painting in the Oval Office’s private dining room has switched from a portrait of George Washington to a pastoral landscape to a Civil War-era painting of Abraham Lincoln and his generals called “The Peacemaker,” which graced the wall during Obama’s recent conference with Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu. ...

Last week, Ed Stafman—former attorney, former Floridian, former atheist, current rabbi—drove a 26-foot moving truck to Montana to start his new life. On Monday, he and his wife slept in a motel near Mount Rushmore. By Wednesday morning, they were passing through a Crow Indian reservation in the Badlands. Stafman’s destination is the city of Bozeman, where, on August 14, he will be installed as the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Shalom, the Reform synagogue where he has spent 10 days a month for the past year. The ceremony will officially make him one of two active rabbis in the state.

There’s envy in Amir’s eyes as we say good-bye, and I wonder if he’s thinking about selecting his virgin bride when it’s his turn to go. Shirin hugs me tightly, but Amir only shakes my hand, and I feel a flash of disappointment. Perhaps I am falling for his savage Afghan act. There’s some artifice ...