Rena Rossner isn’t the typical writer of Fantasy novels: while many writers have fought for an inclusive voice in mainstream publishing circles, she is one of the only ones representing Orthodox Jewish women. Rossner was born and raised in Miami Beach, FL in a Modern Orthodox environment but has lived in Israel for much of her […]

Editor’s Note: Last week at my daughter’s school, I saw a wonderful quote by Abraham Lincoln. One of his general’s said, “We should pray that God is on our side. Lincoln responded, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always […]

Marilyn Monroe once sang “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” but perhaps she should have added “and siddurim are a Jewish girl’s faithful companion.” Earlier this month, the media exploded (to the tune of 30,000 plus articles!) when news that Monroe’s personal siddur was being auctioned off, but very few people knew the auctioneer is […]

While Orthodox Jewish women being relegated to kitchen is an oft-repeated barb, for some religious young ladies, the kitchen is exactly where they want to be – especially when that kitchen is on the Food Network, and they are appearing on their favorite television show! Last week, 8th grade yeshiva student, Rachel Goldzal, made history […]

“They’re having auditions for a community orchestra. It’s a women’s orchestra. They don’t play on Shabbat,” my teacher informed me. It sounded too good to be true. I had trained for years as a clarinetist, earning my degree in clarinet performance. I loved music, I lived and breathed it, playing classical, jazz, learning to compose, […]

“Orthodox Jewish nerd” may have been an insult in the past, but as “nerd” has become cool and “geek” has become chic, there is now a growing community of observant Jews who are proudly embracing this trend. How many Orthodox Jews reside in the world of fandom? No one knows exactly, but the Facebook group “Orthodox […]