Every day in the news it feels like our world is repeatedly being turned upside-down. Travel restrictions followed by orders to self-quarantine. The name of the culprit: the Coronavirus – “corona” meaning “crown.” It was named this because of its physical structure, but I think we can learn a great deal more from its name. […]
Hi JITC- I’m a non-shomer Shabbos Jew. I go to shul a few times a month and keep mostly kosher. I would love to see a post about how shuls are changing their traditions in light of the coronavirus. Especially interesting to me would be kissing the mezuzah, drinking from the Kiddush cup that the […]
Dear Jew in the City- Can we ever sin in order to do good? On one hand, I know you can’t do an aveirah to do a mitzvah, but on the other, I heard that Queen Esther committed a sin for the good of the Jewish people. Which one is it? Thank you, L.E. Dear […]
Dear Jew in the City- Harry Potter was just translated into Yiddish but isn’t witchcraft prohibited in the Torah? How is this book okay to read? -MM Dear MM- Why should it not be okay to read? Witchcraft is prohibited in the Torah, reading about witchcraft isn’t. Along similar lines, murder is prohibited by the […]
Hi JITC- I grew up religious but haven’t kept Shabbos in ten years. How do I know that there is a World to Come if no one has ever returned? Keeping Shabbos does not make me feel better or more holy, why is it important for me to keep it? Thanks, N.T. Dear N.T.- Thanks […]
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 […]
