1 Minute Insight: Closeness to Hashem In Elul
Just as you have to pass by the thorn to get to the beauty of the rose, so follows the process of teshuva during the month of Elul.
How Baking Challah in a Chinese Village Brought Me Back to Judaism
My internship with the Beijing Academy of Sciences came to an end — unexpectedly. I was 26, it was 2014 and I didn’t know where to turn. I was hoping to find a new internship that could turn into a job in China didn’t have a plan B. I hardly knew anyone where I lived (a […]
Jews Are A Middle Eastern Ethnicity, And We Deserve Accurate Representation
Maestro, an upcoming Netflix drama focusing on the life and love of Leonard Bernstein, just saw its first official trailer released to Youtube. Herein we see Bradley Cooper – a non-Jewish actor of European descent (i.e. a white actor) – taking up the role of the esteemed Jewish composer. If that act of whitewashing isn’t […]
What is the Jewish Perspective On the Soul?
Dear Jew in the City, What is the Jewish perspective on the soul? Sincerely, Ezra Thanks for your question, Ezra. Rather than reinventing the wheel, I’m going to share an excerpt from one of my books, on the nature of God and other spiritual matters, appropriately named The God Book. Sources in the excerpt […]
Meet All Star AJ Edelman: First Orthodox Jewish Male Olympian
Update 1/28/26: AJ Edelman, an American-Israeli athlete who represented Israel in men’s skeleton at the 2018 Winter Olympics, will lead Israel’s first-ever qualified bobsleigh team at the 2026 Milan–Cortina Games. The historic team includes Menachem Chen, Ward Fawarseh, and Omer Katz, with Uri Zisman heading to Italy as an alternate — marking a major milestone […]
Stop Calling Orthodox Women “Oppressed”: Why I Dress Modestly At The Beach
A couple of weeks ago, The Washington Post featured a story about religious women at the beach in Herzliya, Israel. Three days a week, the beach is closed off to men, and women are able to enjoy a day at the sea solo. The story covered a photography series by Ofir Berman, who captured women […]
