Do your politics matter while converting to Judaism? No! (Yes, of course they do.) Should you be open about your politics while converting? Only you can answer that, but let’s give you some useful information to make that decision. Disclaimers! Lawyers love disclaimers, and I’m no exception. I’ve been a part of and visited more […]
Chilul Hashem and Kiddush Hashem
You know when you have a brilliant realization and then realize that it’s so self-evident that there is no way you’re the first person to think of that? I had one of those moments. “Sometimes it takes a chillul Hashem to finally motivate people to make a kiddush Hashem.” That’s been rattling around in my […]
News: Gwyneth Paltrow Announces She’s Raising Her Children Jewish …Huh?
Gwyneth Paltrow has announced that she is raising her children Jewishly. US Weekly has one version of the story: “Gwyneth Paltrow: I’m Raising Apple and Moses Jewish.” However, the story is wrong in that the episode did not show anyone giving Paltrow lessons in Jewish halacha about matrilineal descent. While I’m sure it came up in […]
Adventures in Semantics: Chutzpah
The word “chutzpah” has received a lot of attention lately, thanks to Michelle Bachmann, American Presidential Candidate of Insanity [personal opinion]. While many Americans cannot correctly pronounce it (or know that there is a different pronunciation), the word chutzpah is absolutely part of the English language today. Like schlep, maven, and klutz, this Yiddish word […]
Coping with the Kletzky Tragedy
If you would like to send your condolences to the Kletzky family, please email leibykletsky.letters@gmail.com The organizers of this e-letter drive hope to collect 10,000 letters before the end of this weekend, and 100,000 letters by the end of the shiva. Please put your social media to work and advertise this through your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, […]
News: Tragedy Strikes Brooklyn and the Larger Jewish Community
Being in New York and friends with many Jews in the tri-state area, I feel like this news is pervasive in the Jewish world. However, my dad told me that it didn’t even make the national news. This shocks me. (The combination of fear-mongering, gruesome details, and the ability to gawk at chassidic Jews should […]
News: Rabbi Angel on Parsha Hukkat and Conversion
Rabbi Angel, former President of the Rabbinical Council of America and author of Choosing to Be Jewish: The Orthodox Road to Conversion, has written a pretty scathing commentary on this week’s parsha and conversion. Here is an excerpt. The full version is located here. Some years ago I attended a meeting of Orthodox rabbis to discuss policies […]
News: Memorial Held for Convert Who Died Fighting for the Founding of Israel
“Today” (Already Wednesday in Israel), there is a memorial for a Jewish convert who died in the service of the Irgun in 1948. The Irgun was a “rogue” paramilitary force in Israel during the days of its founding. Learn your history! And who else but the Jews would manage to not even unite for self-defense […]
Halacha in a Nutshell: What Is an Eruv?
Halacha in a Nutshell is a 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. For many people, an eruv is an essential “feature” of any orthodox community. […]
News: Religious Services Minister Calls for Bill to Outlaw Non-Orthodox Judaism in Israel
Here’s a news story for you: Margi Calls for Law Against Non-Orthodox Movements. Just to be clear, no bill exists at this time. To give you the general idea, “To strengthen its status, Margi called for legislation making the Chief Rabbinate the supreme rabbinical institution in Israel and the world, and wants to move the rabbinate […]