I grew up in western Michigan, which was largely populated by Dutch immigrants who all seemed to have perfectly shiny, straight, white blonde hair. It was the total opposite of my frizzy, brown “Jewish” looking hair.  Our town had very few Jews living in it, so my family was always in the minority. This was […]

One of the biggest disadvantages I had growing up in an extreme, unhealthy Orthodox Jewish community is that I learned from an early age to view the world as black and white. They’re wrong. We’re right. We follow Torah correctly. They don’t. We’re living the life that God intended when He created the world. They’re […]

On the 13th of Kislev (the Jewish month when Chanukah takes place), I was 9 months pregnant with my third child. I woke up in the middle of the night confused, sweating, and very stressed. I tried to get my husband up to tell him about my dream, but he was more interested in sleeping […]

There’ve been times in my life when I’ve had plenty, not really thinking about how my good fortune have may affected those around me. I never gave other people’s money much consideration. I just assumed that there are some who enjoy luxury while others value simpler lives. It never occurred to me that I might […]

I never considered myself a misogynist, but several years ago, during my senior year of college as I headed to yeshiva, I began taking on a number of wonderful Jewish observances. It was at that time that I learned about shmiras eynaim, the responsibility of Jewish men and women to treat their eyes and ears as […]

Dear Jew in the City- I came from the secular world and the hyper-sexualization is so disturbing. Women are treated like objects, sex is ubiquitous, taking away the boundaries of private and public. I am proud to be raising my kids in a sheltered environment. But at the same time, I don’t want them to […]