Growing up not religious, I distinctly remember noticing Orthodox Jews passing by on the streets of New York City with seemingly no emotions. I saw men walking quickly and not smiling and women pushing strollers filled with children, and not smiling. I simply assumed they didn’t smile, laugh, feel, or have emotions like the rest […]
Whenever I see an Orthodox rabbi on TV or in movies, I brace myself for impact. While I have personally had a couple disappointing interactions with a couple rabbis in over 2 decades of being observant, by and large I’ve had positive, supportive and meaningful experiences. The rabbis that I am privileged to know are […]
Netflix brought Israeli hit TV show Shtisel back for a third season, but inconveniently released it right before Pesach, so my Shtisel season 3 watching has only just begun. I watched the first episode Monday night, and I was blown away on many levels. Twitter users have told me it only gets better! So excuse […]
NBC recently removed a libelous anti-Orthodox episode from their show “Nurses,” but until their writers, producers, and the rest of Hollywood meet Orthodox Jews and learn about our lives, these inaccurate and one dimensional portrayals will continue. To keep the conversation going a small (Covid-friendly) group of JITC staff and volunteers from across the different […]
As we enter the month of Nisan – the month of Passover freedom – numerous Orthodox Jewish women are relishing in this joy, as something historic has occurred over these last two weeks. While social media often gets a bad rap for trapping people in a world of their phones and causing divisiveness, it has […]
I didn’t know any Orthodox Jews growing up, but knew I hated them. I heard bad things about them from my father and friends, watched the news, and consumed media. I’d see them when my family took trips to New York City and felt both ashamed by them and sad for them. Life has a […]
