Dear JITC- Why do Orthodox Jews rock when they pray? Thanks, Shawn Dear Shawn- Yes, Orthodox Jews rock. We rock so hard. The swaying to which you refer is called shuckeling, from the Yiddish word shuckelen meaning to shake. While a widespread – though not universal – practice (it’s not the practice of Sefardim, for example), its […]

Dear Jew in the City- What language do Orthodox Jews speak? Sincerely, Madison Dear Madison- Thanks for your question but it’s a little like asking what language Catholics speak. (I doubt very much you’d expect all Catholics to speak Latin!)  Hebrew is the traditional language of the Jewish people – that’s the language in which […]

Hi JITC- Does Orthodox Jewish law recommend the COVID vaccine? -Sruly Dear Sruly- This is an important topic and we absolutely should discuss it but I know what comes with this territory: hate comments.  I get it; there are those who oppose vaccinations. The rest of us know what you have to say but we […]

Dear Jew in the City- Covid has a weird symptom of removing people’s senses of smell and taste. What do smell and taste represent in Judaism? Also, my whole family lost our sense of smell from Covid. How do we handle the besamim part of havdalah? Sincerely, Jody Dear Jody- Thanks for your question. I […]

Dear Jew in the City- How does Jewish wisdom direct us to work through trauma? Thanks, Shua Dear Shua- Thanks very much for your question. I don’t want to answer it. That’s not to say that it isn’t important. It’s very important. I just don’t think that it’s for me to answer. (It might not […]

Dear Jew in the City- You recently wrote about keeping a clean house. What does the Torah have to say about littering? Thanks, Michael Dear Michael – The Talmudic tractate of Baba Basra addresses the responsibilities that neighbors have towards one another and a lot of these have to do with not polluting others’ property. […]