Dear Jew in the City- I’ve been wondering why matrilineal descent is how people are considered to be born Jewish. Do you have an explanation for it? Sincerely, Cameron Dear Cameron- Thanks for your question. Overly simplified, matrilineal descent means that “religion follows the mother.” A lot of people mistakenly think that, Biblically speaking, we […]
After a floor tile was found with a swastika burned into it outside a Union Township yeshiva, police are investigating it as a hate crime. “We are closely following this disturbing development,” Dov Ben-Shimon, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest said on Twitter. He added, “We’re grateful for our law enforcement partners, on […]
A new kind of phone call has been coming in to General Electric’s technical support: those of people who have inadvertently and unknowingly activated their oven’s Sabbath Mode. This handy feature, designed to help observant Jews keep religious laws, might be confusing to users of other faiths when they encounter it, but it is a […]
Between better employment opportunities, inexpensive housing and a school choice program that facilitates ease of yeshiva learning, families are heading south for more than just the Winter. Wimauma, Florida, a somewhat rural area near Tampa Bay, is the last place you would expect to find a Hasidic enclave. But since the Orthodox Jewish exodus from […]
My eldest left for the Holy Land this week. She didn’t just go to learn for the year in seminary. She plans to make a life in the land of her forefathers. We do too, but she’ll get there first and be the most compelling reason we’ve ever had to get there sooner than later. […]
Shmuel Silverberg of University Heights Cleveland, a 19-year-old yeshiva student learning in Denver was shot and killed in his yeshiva early Wednesday morning. He was buried last night in Lakewood, New Jersey. According to the Facebook post of a mother of another student at the yeshiva: “At least 2 shooters drove up and attacked the […]
