I’m curious what you think a congregational rabbi’s role should be with the individuals who attend his synagogue. Below is a list of possible roles to jumpstart your thought process: Spiritual Leader Organizer Counselor (but what kind of counseling/how serious?) Role Model Teacher of children Teacher of adults Person who oversees lifecycle events Host Friend? […]
What Is the Proper Role of a Congregational Rabbi? Read Post »
If you don’t know the word shuckle, you probably still know what it is! In fact, if you have been davening with an orthodox congregation for at least a few months, you probably already do it. Shuckling is a swaying and/or rocking movement Jews tend to do while praying. It apparently comes from the Yiddish
Word of the Day: Shuckle Read Post »
I’m having soapbox Friday early this week. I’ve seen a lot of discussion lately about the price of kosher food and students becoming kosher. To be honest, the price argument eludes me. I don’t get it. If you think that G-d has commanded you to only eat meat in a certain way, then you would find
Priority-Setting and Jewish Life Read Post »
What if you’re considering converting to Judaism in your teens or early 20s? You face special problems during conversion. Sorry. But on the bright side, there are common problems that you will hopefully never deal with! In other words, all conversions have “problems” and frustrations. Unfortunately, when you’re under 18 (or even under 22), you
Conversion Special Cases: Young Conversion Candidates Read Post »
There is a new shidduch question on the market, and amazingly, it’s even less relevant than your tablecloth. Sidenote: Tablecloths are often joked about. It refers to shadchanim who ask what color tablecloth you use on Shabbat. It has to be white. The real machlokes is whether the white tablecloth should have a plastic cover or not.
Adventures in Shidduchim Read Post »
This post is intended for people living outside easy driving distance of an orthodox community. We’re not talking about “living outside the community” as in “living 5 miles from the eruv and shul.” I’m going to share how I would approach living in an area without any Jewish resources. As always, each situation is different
What If You Live Outside a Jewish Community – Temporary Solutions Read Post »
If you really want to pass as orthodox, you have to be able to appropriately use “mixed dancing” in a conversation to evoke the most humor possible. You may think you can be orthodox without this skill, but that simply is not true. But in all seriousness, people have thought I was frum-from-birth based solely
Orthodox Inside Jokes: Mixed Dancing Makes Babies Read Post »
I know I’ve foisted the Groggers on y’all plenty already, but it’s my blog, so you have to indulge me sometimes. Power pop is my favorite genre of music, so I can’t resist anything combining that with Jewish pop culture humor. The Groggers released their latest video yesterday, Upper West Side Story. The Upper West
New Video from the Groggers! Read Post »
Who Are We Talking About: Please take the time to read a few paragraphs instead of having a knee-jerk reaction to the title. I’m not talking about the people you think I’m talking about. I’m not talking about people who are converting liberal but are open to the possibility of converting orthodox at a later
When I began my conservative conversion process, the rabbi had a policy that all potential conversion candidates must visit the orthodox rabbi in town and ask him the following questions. I believe these are good questions to consider when deciding which movement to convert through. In other words, you should make an informed decision before
If You’re Considering a Non-Orthodox Conversion, Speak to an Orthodox Rabbi First Read Post »