I grew up in an authoritarian home in which self-expression in any form was restricted: socially, academically, psychologically, mentally and financially. Not surprisingly, I was taught to be as stringent as humanly possible when it came to being religious. And so I was as “frum” as physically and mentally possible as I made my way […]

From the Start, There Were Ground Rules Before their wedding, Modern Orthodox Jews Shanee Markovitz and Nathaniel Kay celebrated the signing of a religious prenuptial agreement. “I’m very interested in the law and in social justice, so it hit all the right spots for me,” Ms. Markovitz said. She later became a fellow at that […]

As current events have the U.S. in a challenging  place, Torah guides us in how we to judge historical figures, like our founding fathers and others. Independence Day reminds us of the freedoms we can celebrate while living here. In previous years, we’ve explored where to catch a minyan in Colonial America, but this year, we […]

Someone once asked how my skullcap stays put on my head. I jokingly replied, “Peer pressure.” Wearing a yarmulke, otherwise known as a skullcap or kippah, 24/7 is something I said I would never do. At a certain point, I had no interest in being identified as a Jew everywhere I went. While I was […]

NFL Quarterback Kirk Cousins Wishes a ‘Mazel Tov’ and Cites Torah in Message to Jewish Students Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins scored a touchdown with his congratulatory message to the graduates of a Jewish student program. Cousins wished the graduates of the Jewish Student Union, a program of the Orthodox Union’s youth group NCSY, a […]