I apologize for today’s post being a bit late, but I always write my Friday posts on Thursdays instead of scheduling them ahead so that I can write something related to my week. Unfortunately, thanks to a dead car battery, I didn’t get back from my camp Shavuot experience until around 2:30am. But the three […]
Types of Headcoverings for Women
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 […]
Halacha in a Nutshell: The Laws of Family Purity
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. Now here’s a fun topic full of vague euphemisms. This will not be […]
Shabbat Shalom! The Tznius and Prejudice Edition
Happy April Fools’ Day! Assuming you can call it a happy day. Personally, I’m not a fan because I’m a gullible person. Remembering that it’s April Fools’ Day is half the battle: I’m going to assume every person is a liar today. Fridays have apparently become my soapbox day, where I write about whatever’s on […]
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 […]
UPDATED: Why You Shouldn’t Date During Conversion
NOTE: The Kvetching Editor wrote a response to this post here. I just want to point out that her situation is not what I’m describing. I’m talking about a single who enters the orthodox conversion process and then begins dating people who are already orthodox. However, for the record, I think dating is probably a bad idea […]
The Blue Jean Skirt Controversy
People often mention that certain orthodox Jewish groups hold that blue jean skirts are un-tznius and unacceptable for women, to the point of ostracizing them or their children for that. I can’t find any articles about it now, but I remember hearing about two children who were expelled from their day school because their mom […]
Halacha in a Nutshell: Tznius
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. Tznius is most often translated as “modesty,” and people usually use it […]
Orthodox Women Being Patronized by Feminists? Oh, Linguistic Irony!
I discovered a blog post today titled Frum, Fashion, and Feminism on the Jewish Women’s Archive’s Jewesses with Attitude blog. It started so well: talking about fashion becoming more open to modest designs and the orthodox women who are working towards that end (including the fabulous bloggers Chavi and Hadassah). Then I ran into the […]
Awkward Moments: When You’re Not Sure Who’s Shomer Negiah
One of the more awkward “unwritten rules” for converts to learn is shomer negiah. People just tell you not to touch men or women, but with little to no details. Or worse, they only tell women not to offer their hand to the rabbi for a handshake! Few people take the time to explain it. […]