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.
Discussion: Your Favorite Mitzvah Read Post »
Ilan passed a week ago tonight, and this has been the hardest week of my life. In addition to the obvious, there have been other serious issues in my life this week, all conspiring to give me panic attacks. Thankfully, and much to my surprise, I have handled the anxiety, anger, hurt, frustration, pain, etc, in
Lessons from the Gentle Giant Read Post »
Another friend of Ilan has written about his feelings of loss for Ilan here. Having heard so many stories over Shabbos about this New Zealander rabbinical student, I thought it might be healthy for me to follow his example. However, he wrote about the wonderful qualities of Ilan. For me, I think I need to
Baruch Dayan HaEmet: Ilan Tokayer Read Post »
You may have previously read When Is It OK to Say “I’m Jewish,” Even If You Really Aren’t. But what about the other side? When MUST you disclose your in-flux status, even if you really don’t want to? I make no promises that this list is exhaustive, but I will update it if other important
When You NEED to Reveal Your Conversion Candidate Status Read Post »
You’ve already heard that conversion is like falling in love. But you may not know that getting an orthodox conversion can sometimes be like an abusive relationship. In a cosmic sign that I can’t escape this topic this week, Frum Satire posted yesterday “Stop Screwing with the Converts Already!“ The world Jewish community and Jewish
The Monster that Orthodox Conversion Has Become Read Post »
I had a hard time deciding how to title this post. You can group mitzvos in any number of ways, but here I want to focus on 1) mitzvot that are primarily actions and 2) mitzvot that are primarily ethical (I also like calling them interpersonal). We each have a preference or one group that
Action-Based Mitzvot and Ethical Mitzvot Read Post »
According to me, there are three major considerations when choosing where/how to convert. These three guideposts should help you decide a) the movement you want to convert with and then b) the community/rabbi/beit din you want to convert with. a) How you feel about your conversion. At the end of the day, this should be
UPDATED: The Factors to Consider When Choosing to Convert Read Post »
Everyone hears that a rabbi “has” to discourage a conversion candidate 3 times. Some rabbis don’t hold by that at all. Some do exactly three and then will begin a congenial conversion learning process. Some may or may not obviously discourage before working with you, but will continue to discourage you regularly and to varying
Convert Rants: Discouraging the Conversion Candidate Read Post »
Halacha in a Nutshell is a new series that does not aim to actually teach you halacha. The goal is to acquaint you with the general ideas of a halachic issue so that you can follow conversations without looking like a total n00b. Loshon hara literally means “evil tongue/speech.” It’s usually translated as “gossip,” but
Halacha in a Nutshell: Lashon Hara Read Post »
For your (hopefully) lazy Sunday enjoyment, here is a great quote I heard in a recorded shiur a few weeks ago while driving cross-country. Unfortunately, I don’t remember which shiur it came from! Since I listened to over 30 hours of them, I’m not going to go through all of them to locate two sentences.
Thought of the Day Read Post »