Hey JITC- Why do Orthodox Jewish men have sidecurls? Thanks, Ivan Dear Ivan- Thanks for your question. Those sidecurls are called “peiyot” in Hebrew, meaning corners. This is commonly Yiddishized as “peiyes” and is usually rendered in English in a variety of less-phonetically-accurate spellings, including “payes” and “peyot.” (By the way, the common English-language term […]
This Jewish Comedian Has a Lot to Kvetch About Imagine John Oliver in a yarmulke, minus the Trump remarks. That’s Ashley Blaker, the Orthodox Jewish stand-up comedian who, in his cultured, aggrieved British way, looks and sounds amazingly like the host of “Last Week Tonight.” He’s a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge, and a […]
Of course I believe in Hashem, but he’s the Boogey Man waiting to strike me down. These horrifying words were uttered by an attendee at the first Makom shabbaton several years ago during dinner. Where did such an abhorrent idea come from? How could a person possibly have a relationship with God if she felt […]
There is a misconception that Orthodox Judaism calls for a repressive, ascetic life and that sex between a married couple is only meant for procreation. This could not be further from the truth. Judaism believes that we are supposed to be in the physical world and then elevate it to the spiritual. In the proper […]
Dear JITC- I heard that people don’t cook food on Shabbos. So do you have to just eat cold food the entire day? All the best, Karen Dear Karen- Thanks for your question. Before we discuss cooking, I’d like to discuss fire in general. To do that, I’ll quote myself, from The Taryag Companion: “The […]
When most people think of an Orthodox Jewish woman they conjure up a lady in a skirt, armed with a great challah recipe. But not all Orthodox women are alike. Ziesel Miriam Rahimi wore fatigues (with a skirt!) and was armed with a rifle. As a young ba’alas teshuva Rahimi decided to join the IDF. […]
