Dear Jew in the City- A non-Jewish neighbor asked me out on a date. I said “no,” thinking that that would be it, but it wasn’t. When I saw that he was not giving up, I realized that I had to have a conversation explaining that because I am Jewish, specifically Orthodox, I only date within […]

Dear JITC- Why do Orthodox Jews wear black? Sincerely, Rosie Dear Rosie- The short answer to your question is this. Now, I would love to link to that and be done but, unfortunately, while Allison is cool enough to let me include it, she’s not cool enough to let that be my answer in its […]

Building Bridges: An Interview with Allison Josephs Allison Josephs’ website Jew in the City is all about celebrating the intersection of Orthodox Judaism and the realities and conundrums of everyday life. Browsing through this beautiful site, one encounters articles that range from the light-hearted (for instance, a recent post was titled “Why Judaism believes in […]

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 […]

Competitive gymnastics used to be off-limits for most Orthodox Jewish girls above the age of bat mitzvah. Regulation leotards, mixed with male judges and male spectators would compromise the modesty standards for many of these young women. In addition, most competitions are held on Shabbos. All of this has changed now that there is an […]

Dear Jew in the City- Why do a lot of Orthodox Jewish men have beards? Sincerely, Steve Dear Steve- Thanks for your question, which we intentionally arranged to answer following last week’s question, which was on payes (sidelocks). As we mentioned there, Leviticus 19:27 contains two prohibitions, not to round the corners of the head […]