Dear Jew in the City- I’ve been thinking about the Ten Plagues and how these awesome miracles happened for the Jewish people in the Passover story, as well as throughout the Torah. How come we don’t have miracles anymore? Sincerely, I’m a Believer   Dear Believer- That’s a great question. To answer that, we […]

The following is adapted from Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed. The concept that God puts people through trials is the most debated idea in the entire Bible. Most people assume (incorrectly) that God afflicts individuals not in response to their own sins but to provide them with an opportunity to earn reward. Trials are discussed […]

Dear Jew in the City – I know that George Washington once said, “I cannot tell a lie.” Is that the Jewish approach or is lying justified sometimes? Sincerely, Pants on Fire   Dear Pants, As the story goes, young George Washington once chopped down a cherry tree with his hatchet. When his father confronted […]

Dear Jew in the City, What is the exact definition of an Orthodox Jew? I see that some men have peyos and some women wear pants. Some seem to be very strictly kosher while others eat dairy in non-kosher restaurants. Where is the border? Confused by Orthodox Jews   Dear Confused- To answer this question, […]

  God is connected to everyone who reaches out to Him, as the Midrash (Eliyahu Rabbah, 9) teaches, “I call heaven and earth to witness that whether Jew or Gentile, man or woman, slave or maidservant, everything is according to their actions that the divine spirit rests on them.” Every place the Torah and Talmud discuss holiness […]

In 2013 Angelina Jolie penned an impassioned Op-Ed about her risk of breast cancer and treatment plan. Jolie’s grandmother, mother and aunt all died from breast and ovarian cancers and like her relatives, she carried a mutated BRCA gene – a gene that everyone (male and female) carries, but when mutated, increases the risk of […]