I hear this one a lot, and apparently so do a lot of other “white” or Middle-Eastern people. If you could possibly “look Jewish,” glasses will make you look even more “Jewish.” Even totally secular Jews have said this to me over the last 7 years. Just like glasses will make you look smarter or […]
“Funny, You Look More Jewish When You Wear Glasses.” Read Post »
Since I became observant of the kosher laws while living in a largely non-Jewish area, I got a lot of practice in explaining kashrut in a quick-and-dirty way. This is what I came up with, and maybe it will be useful to you! Eating kosher is essentially three levels of paying attention to what you
Explaining Kashrut to the Clueless Read Post »
“Who are you staying by for Shabbos?” The phrase “staying by” always gave me pause because it sounds “wrong” to my American English ear. However, it is standard in American Ashkenazi communities (which means most of Jewish America). Just to be clear, it is used instead of “staying with.” My understanding is that the Yiddish
Phrase of the Day: “Staying By” So-and-So Read Post »
It’s annoying that so many Hebrew words have multiple meanings in English. Most of the time, this is because multiple Hebrew spellings could have the same sound. Today, let’s talk about the English word “aliyah,” which literally means “ascent.” A. You “receive an aliyah” when you are called up to the Torah to chant the
The Various Meanings of Aliyah Read Post »
It seems that many conversion candidates discover Judaism while in school, whether high school, college, grad school, professional school, whatever. When you already feel overwhelmed (hopefully) by your studies, how on earth could you become shomer Shabbat? In my case, I fell victim to that kind of thought process in college. Just like I thought I couldn’t
UPDATED: Schoolwork v. Shabbat Read Post »
I won’t pretend this is an exhaustive list; it won’t be. However, it will certainly be more than enough to get you started! (In the future, I’ll do a post for men too, but that requires a bit more research on my part!) This post also does not discuss the halachic issue of how much hair
Types of Headcoverings for Women Read Post »
Every single conversion syllabus and potential beit din question list asks about Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith. Rambam’s list attempts to distill the key ideas of Judaism. If you can not accept these principles, you cannot convert orthodox. I don’t know how the other movements stand on these principles, but I was required to know
Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith Read Post »
Just about everyone in the Western world knows that Jerusalem is a city that is holy to Jews. However, there are four holy cities in Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel)! The Four Holy Cities are Jerusalem, Tzfat (also known as Safed), Tiberius, and Hebron. Jerusalem: Jerusalem is the center of the Jewish world. We
The Four Holy Cities of Israel Read Post »
In short, “chas v’shalom” is a Hebrew phrase that means “G-d forbid.” The Aruch HaShulchan says that it should be literally translated as “completely disgraced.” (“Shalom,” peace, literally means complete or whole.) You will hear it peppered throughout normal speech. Here is an example: “If I fail the bar exam, chas v’shalom, at least I get to
Phrase of the Day: Chas v’Shalom Read Post »
Lag B’Omer is the 33rd day of the Omer. (My understanding is that Sephardic Jews say Lag LaOmer, which is just a different literal translation of the preposition.) Forgive me for not giving you a detailed explanation of the Omer here. This year, Lag B’Omer is Saturday, May 22, 2011, at sundown until Sunday, May
Sunday is Lag B’Omer! Read Post »