Blog - Building a Jewish Life

Convert Questions: What Is the Deal with Tattoos?

Piercings were covered here. Tattoos are a huge concern for converts and baalei teshuva. Before becoming observant, they may have gotten tattoos, and now Jews have filled them with all kinds of unfounded fears. You will not be denied burial in a Jewish cemetery. You may use the mikvah. You might not have to get […]

What All Branches of Judaism Can Agree On: Jesus Is Not Moshiach

Let’s talk a little about Moshiach (the Messiah). I’ll admit, I’m not as well versed on Moshiach as I should be because since there is no world peace, I know that Moshiach hasn’t arrived yet. The lion has not laid down with the lamb, we haven’t made our swords into plowshares, and there is not […]

Judging Others Favorably

I had an interesting thought recently: What do you call someone who always judges favorably? …Gullible. Of course, the halacha is more complicated. However, there is an undeniable trend in the stories that the tzaddikim judged favorably even when the Torah did not require them to. There is a story of the Chofetz Chaim advising […]

Purim Is Over, Now Pesach Is Coming: Start Your Cleaning!

Now that Purim is over, you can begin really thinking about your Pesach preparations! I know, right? We all love Pesach (Passover) preparations! …Not. If you haven’t prepared for Pesach before, I suggest taking it slow. Last year, I didn’t kasher my kitchen because I had just decided to be orthodox and didn’t know what […]

Dealing with Coping

How do you cope with going back to normal life when you’re not “normal” anymore? I don’t remember who originally asked me that question, but it’s the perfect way to describe things. My answer? Everyone copes, whether they want to or not. Some do it better than others. And some circumstances are more conducive to […]

Convert Questions: Can a Convert Keep His or Her Piercings?

Tattoos are discussed here. Piercings can be an issue for two primary reasons: 1) keeping your body intact and in its natural form and 2) because piercings used to indicate that a person (particularly a male) was a slave. In general today, piercings don’t appear to be an issue for conversion candidates except for social […]

Tomorrow Is Ta’anit Esther

Just in case you don’t already know, tomorrow is a fast day: Ta’anit Esther (The fast of Esther). Because Purim falls on motzei Shabbos (Saturday night) and Sunday this year, the fast is pushed forward to the Thursday before. The fast tomorrow is from sunrise to sunset. Normally, the fast would end after the Megillah […]

Revisiting the Mitzvah of Not Embarrassing People

It’s raining in Northern California, and that means driving in the rain with Californians. This is ugly. And it made me reflect on Monday’s post. I said that I put a lot of emphasis on avoiding embarrassment. However, I realized that I have an area of my life where I actually WANT to embarrass people. […]

Survival Kit: Living Without Kosher Restaurants

I’m a student, and I’m not particularly fond of cooking. (Though I’m a great chef’s assistant!) And the closest kosher restaurant is 2 hours away. How on earth do I survive?? It’s not for the faint of heart. The answer is pretty straightforward. I cook at home, I eat at the homes of others, B”H […]

Discussion: Your Favorite Mitzvah

Since it’s the first day back, I’m throwing a softball. What’s your favorite mitzvah? When all’s said and done, I would say avoiding embarrassing other people. I try to put a lot of effort into that. What do I look forward to improving? Kashrut. Only because I want to be an awesome host one day. […]