Netflix Synopsis: “Pressured to marry a nice Orthodox Jewish woman, Motti is thrown for a loop when he falls for classmate Laura, who his mother will never approve of.” Dear Netflix, As an avid fan and writer of romantic-comedies, and an Orthodox Jew, I found the Netflix film, The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch to delve […]

“Did you hear that The Oprah Magazine covered Footsteps?” a text message from a friend read. (Um, no. I had no idea Oprah even had a magazine.) I quickly scour Google to find the piece and realize I have seen O on the newsstands but never saw this site before. “Are you going to respond […]

Watching Haredim on TV is all the rage since Shtisel came to Netflix. Everyone told me I HAD to watch it, but committing to being awake enough late at night to read subtitles was not something I was ready to do right away. Finally, last month, I took the dive and joined the masses. (I […]

In 2017, I attended a conference in San Francisco for Jewish video creators. During the 3 day program, I got to meet some wonderful people, including Alli Thresher, who is the Digital Content Lead at PJ Library. PJ Library is the program that sends free children’s books to families raising Jewish children. While I grew […]

Growing up as a Reform Jew in Southern Connecticut, I knew very little about the Orthodox Jewish community, let alone Hasidim. I knew that theirs was a separate kind of Judaism. I knew that many religious Jews wouldn’t even consider me a Jew. At least this is what my father would tell me. (Though in […]

While there have been a spate of stories detailing the lives of those who left Jewish observance, people often wonder, where are the memoirs for those who have returned? Enter award-winning author and humorist Judy Gruen, a passionate ba’alas teshuva whose memoir The Skeptic and the Rabbi: Falling in Love with Faith presents her personal journey, complete with laughs, tears, […]