I grew up in western Michigan, which was largely populated by Dutch immigrants who all seemed to have perfectly shiny, straight, white blonde hair. It was the total opposite of my frizzy, brown “Jewish” looking hair. Our town had very few Jews living in it, so my family was always in the minority. This was […]
It was the lowest point in my life: I was in the middle of a messy divorce, on the brink of bankruptcy, and everyone was against me. I blamed God. In a fit of anger, I tore the mezuzot from my doorposts, took them to the barbecue outside, poured lighter fluid on them, and watched […]
One of the biggest disadvantages I had growing up in an extreme, unhealthy Orthodox Jewish community is that I learned from an early age to view the world as black and white. They’re wrong. We’re right. We follow Torah correctly. They don’t. We’re living the life that God intended when He created the world. They’re […]
I was raised in an extreme religious environment that stressed fear and punishment over love and joy. Anti-Semitism was taught as a rebuke from a vengeful God. And it’s followed me everywhere. Because of this negative messaging, my relationship with Judaism was fraught from a young age. By early adulthood, I found myself drifting away. […]
Since 2007, Jew in the City has been reversing negative associations about religious Jews by highlighting an approach based on kindness, tolerance, sincerity, and critical thinking and making engaging and meaningful Orthodox Judaism known and accessible. At first, we thought we only needed to disseminate this information to non-Orthodox Jews. Several years ago, we sadly […]
My paternal grandfather’s family assimilated so long ago that my great-great-grandmother used to spoil my grandfather by sneaking him pork chops in place of veal chops! Only one of my four grandparents was raised religious – my mother’s father. But like the rest of my recent ancestors, he too walked away from the ways of […]
