Dear Jew in the City, What are the basic halachic requirements for tzniyus? Sincerely, Teri Dear Teri Thanks for your question. I try to avoid answering “what’s the halacha?” questions because of the lack of universal parameters in matters of halacha. For example, I once made the innocuous observation that the bracha after eating rice […]
The overturning of Roe v. Wade has brought forth heated debates about the rights of the mother vs. the rights of the fetus, but there are other lives that could potentially be affected by this Supreme Court ruling that we’ve heard less about: the desperate parents who are trying to conceive healthy babies. We recently […]
Last week, I answered a question about the difference between Chasidim and Orthodox Jews. Around the same time as I received that question, I was forwarded an email with a lot of questions on that very topic. I had hoped to consolidate both emails into a single Q&A but it became far too long, and […]
Dear Jew in the City- Why do Orthodox Jewish women shave their heads? Thank you, Kylie Dear Kylie- Thanks for your question. To say that Orthodox Jewish women shave their heads is a huge generalization, and not a particularly accurate one. What the majority of Orthodox women do is cover their hair. The parameters of […]
Dear Jew in the City- Now that the summer is here, I have a question. Is it proper for an Orthodox Jewish married woman to wear sandals/open-toed shoes in public? Thanks, JJ Dear JJ- Thanks for your question, though I’m not sure where marital status enters into it. (The only law of modesty that hinges […]
Dear JITC- In Netflix’s “Unorthodox,” the husband, Yanky, makes a comment to his soon to be wife, Esty, indicating that a woman would never play an instrument in front of men. Are women allowed to play instruments in front of men according to Jewish law? Thank you, Shiri Dear Shiri- Thanks for your question. Women […]
