On October 7, I didn’t spiral. Like all Jews, the last seven weeks have been torturous to live through. But had October 7 happened a few years ago, I would have now been in the mud, clawing my way through a deep depression, trying to find a reason to live. Years ago, the slightest hiccup […]
When you dig into your Thanksgiving turkey this year, remember that it’s not only an American tradition, and an opportunity to express gratitude for our great country, but a mitzvah. Surprised? Let me explain. The Torah, in Leviticus Chapter 7, discusses a “korban todah”—a “thanksgiving sacrifice.” The commentator Rashi explains that a person brought such […]
When we had my son Rafi, knowing he was the last baby, I nicknamed him Rafikomen. The Ari taught that Jewish parents are imbued with Ruach Hakodesh (Divine inspiration) when they name their children. The names they choose describe the essence of their children. The gemara (Talmud) discusses a similar idea in terms of character in […]
“It feels like the end of the world,” Rosie O’Donnell shared with Allison Josephs on the latest episode of Rosie’s podcast, Onward. While she was speaking generally about the war, so many of us are experiencing a similar sentiment. If you’ve always worried about something terrible happening to the Jews, it feels like the shoe […]
Dear Jew in the City, You recently wrote about prayer and I was wondering: Do our prayers actually accomplish anything? Can my prayers make a difference in the world, or even in my own life? Sincerely, Joseph Dear Joseph, Thanks for your question. As we discussed in that previous article, the purpose of prayer […]
When Hamas terrorists came to maim, torture, rape and murder thousands of Israelis on October 7, a 22-year-old woman named Neta Portal and her boyfriend, Santiago, living in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, found themselves in a life and death situation. Neta turned to the one person she knew could save her — her estranged father – […]
