The Jewish people are an interesting group. I love my brethren dearly, but sometimes they frustrate me. To our credit, many of us are quick to think about the needs of others. We are overrepresented in groups like the Peace Corps, various social justice causes, and we give a tremendous amount of charity as a […]

Over the last few years, there have been a number of high profile agunah cases in the media. While there is a certain shame in having the world know about your problems, there is also an added motivation to fix them. And fixing problems is the Jewish way. As more and more stories were being […]

A couple years ago, on a plane ride home from L.A., I sat next to an ex-Mormon woman who had an abusive childhood and suffered from bi-polar disorder. As she described the extreme and loveless environment she grew up in, not only did my heart break for her, but it also recognized her pain because […]

I don’t think Seth Rogen is a self-hating Jew. That term gets thrown around far too often, so I don’t use it without good cause. I think Rogen, like many Jews today, has a complicated relationship to his Judaism. He’s said as much in recent interviews. He is a proud cultural Jew, thinks there are […]

When I was around 8 or 9 years old, my grandfather told me that when he was younger he tried to get into a pool which had a sign on the gate which read, “No Jews, No Blacks, No Dogs Allowed.” From the youngest age, I saw so many similarities between the histories and plights […]

I had a dream last night about Tisha B’Av. As one does. And in it I got into a theological conversation with a less observant friend of mine. Theological conversations are not uncommon in my dreams. Occupational hazard, I suppose. We were sitting on the floor – one of the customary ways that Jews mourn, […]