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How to Prepare for Your First Beit Din Meeting

You finally have a date with your full beit din! Yay! …Now what? Whatever you do, don’t panic. Google “how to cope with stress” if you need tips on how to keep your calm over the next few days or weeks. Nervousness will trip you up in the meeting and make you forget basic facts. […]

A Hebrew Breakthrough!

Yesterday, I had a Hebrew breakthrough. It may sound silly to some of you, and certainly not worth a post, but hey, it’s my blog! I think this was a major milestone in my Hebrew education, and it’s not a milestone I expected. We spoke recently about the concept of internalization. When you internalize a […]

The Mandatory Matisyahu Post: Must Jewish Men Have Beards?

I guess I have to be like everyone else and weigh in on the Matisyahu Beardgate 2011. In case you don’t have access to any news source, Facebook, Twitter, etc…Chassidic singer Matisyahu shaved his beard. GASP! Shock! Disbelief! This is ridiculous. My initial thoughts on the news: “Oh. Interesting.” And then I moved on to doing […]

Frum and Fabulous: The Stereotypical “Shell” Look

Most of the time, dressing tzniusly just looks like a woman who works in an office. Unless you want to go with the seminary look. (The seminary look for fall and spring adds a hoodie, preferably from Stern.) But there is one look that just screams frum girl: when you’re obviously wearing a shell. A […]

How to Pronounce the Word “Judaism”

I bet you’re wondering what on earth this post is about. Of course you know how to pronounce the word “Judaism”! Isn’t that a prerequisite to joining the religion?! I’m not saying there’s a correct way, but American English speakers have several very distinct ways of pronouncing the word. I’m somewhat trained as a linguist, […]

Getting Ready for Chanukah: The On-Going War with Candle Wax

Just a short tip today. One of the most annoying things about orthodoxy is the sheer volume of candlewax that invades every part of your life. (Drip cups are always a good idea, but they can only lessen the inevitable.) I know Chanukah is getting close when I begin thinking, “Ok, it’s time to clean […]

A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism

A book has just been released that you should consider buying or checking out from the library. (Since it literally has just been published, you may have to request that your library get a copy of the book. It’s a simple procedure.) Disclosures: I did not receive this book to review it. However, I did […]

Why I Am “Modern Orthodox”

I get very annoyed at how “modern” is thrown around like an insult. Conversion candidates seem to feel this struggle more acutely than the frum-from-birth crowd. Baalei teshuva are probably in the same boat as the conversion candidates, but at least they’re still Jewish at the end of the day. Even the people who act […]

Word of the Day: Mezumen

When you bentch, you may notice that sometimes a person leads the bentching and sometimes not. Chances are, you won’t be leading the benching anytime soon, but you may be confused what’s going on. I wondered about this constantly, but by the time bentching was over, I’d forgotten my question! Before we start, go grab […]

Proselytizing to Drunk People?

Just a subtle suggestion if you happen to find yourself worshipping the porcelain god: So if you thought you saw this before, you probably were not crazy. I actually did take this picture, at a Dunkin Donuts in Brooklyn.