Dear JITC- Doesn’t kosher for Passover bread defeat the purpose of Pesach? Thank you, Ron Dear Ron- To answer this question, I’d like to quote a 1973 episode of The Brady Bunch, “Greg Gets Grounded.” When Mike and Carol Brady discover that their oldest son, Greg, was driving irresponsibly, they decide to ground him as […]

Dear JITC- How will Covid affect Purim this year? Thank you, Rachel E. Dear Rachel E. – “I am no prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet….” – Amos 7:14 In other words, “How should I know?” Honestly, last Purim did any of us have any idea what Pesach would look like? Or […]

Hi JITC- Is there prohibition with a Jewish person enjoying Christmas lights since it’s not our holiday? Thank you, Ben F. Dear Ben F.- Here’s the thing about Christmas lights: pretty much everyone likes them. They’re pretty and they’re only around for a brief time so we don’t get too used to them. Objectively speaking, […]

Dear JITC- Is there a problem with trick-or-treating according to Judaism? If so, why? Thanks, Jamie Dear Jamie- Thanks for your question, though I don’t know how relevant it will be this year. Thanks to the global pandemic, I suspect there will be far less trick-or-treating this year than in the past, and I certainly […]

Dear Jew in the City- What is the meaning of having a birthday for trees? Thanks, Stephanie Dear Stephanie- Thanks for your question. Aside from the fact that “birthday” is something of a mistranslation, the idea of Tu b’Shevat is actually kind of a technical legal thing and not a day celebrating nature or agriculture […]

Dear Jew in the City- What’s the meaning of blowing the shofar and why are there different shofar sounds? Sincerely, Jessica P. Dear Jessica- Very often, to answer a question, I’ll take a roundabout path to ultimately arrive at the answer. In this case, the response is much more straightforward. The shofar has a lot […]