There is a lot that can be said on this topic, but we’re going to touch on the major causes superficially. This is basically a warning to make sure you realize what you’re getting into. After the steep cost of the initial set-up, living Jewishly doesn’t seem that much more expensive to the average single […]
Week Hiatus – Check Back Jan. 23
Due to sickness, I’m taking a week hiatus. I appreciate all refuah sheleimahs 🙂
After Conversion, What Do You Do Now?
A very wise rabbi once told me that a common problem with converts is that they fail to realize “there’s no there there.” The day of your conversion isn’t really a destination. I’ve spent well over a year thinking about that phrase, trying to decide how I interpret it. I think I like the journey […]
Should You Change or Add to Your Hebrew Name When You Have a Second Conversion?
I find it interesting that Hebrew names is the #1 topic that brings people to this blog through search engines. I wonder where all this interest in names comes from! Based on the search terms themselves, it appears to be adults choosing a name for themselves, rather than parents naming a baby. Well, this week’s […]
Word of the Day: Bentchophobia
Let’s be honest. For the new-to-Hebrew person, bentching takes a really long time, even in English or transliterated Hebrew. It feels like everyone else at the table is finished in 45 seconds flat (and yes, some of them did do it that fast, but it’s debatable whether it was words or one big slurred sound). […]
How to Make Tea on Shabbat
The “tea question” seems to be a common one, according to the grapevine and my own experience. Thankfully, it’s a question that all the authorities seem to agree on. It encapsulates a key principle of the laws of Shabbat (and that’s probably why it’s such a common question): What makes something not cooking on Shabbat? The set-up: […]
Management Update: Conversion Candidate Toolbox Updated
I guess the title says it all. I’ve updated that little list of what I think are the most “relevant” blog posts I’ve written. It’s on the sidebar on the right. I’m not sure why I tell you these things, but I do. Happy Tuesday!
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 […]
Converts and Birthright
If you’re young enough, every conversion candidate thinks about the possibility of going on Birthright. I went on Birthright after my conservative conversion, but I was on a trip organized by an orthodox organization and the specific trip was actually labeled as “modern orthodox.” I think that effectively just meant that the trip was shomer […]
UPDATED: Adventures in Semantics: Hashkafah, Hashgacha, Haskalah
Personally, my biggest tongue-twister is hashkafah and hashgacha. My brain consistently combines the two into a nonsense word: hashgafa. Hashkafah: Worldview. It generally refers to your “brand” of halacha and Jewish living. Modern orthodox, yeshivish, Satmar, etc. Hashgacha: The kosher certification of a restaurant. It’ll be evidenced by a little sign in the window, which […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- …
- 62
- Next Page »