Thirty-six years ago, one fateful Sunday morning, my wife Rochel Leah suddenly passed away. I was 38 years old, and she was 36. We had 11 children together. I’m a Chabad rabbi; I always had faith in God. But I couldn’t comprehend this. Why would God take away a mother, a pillar of our community, […]

Dear Jew in the City, I feel like a bad Jew, what should I do? Sincerely, Joe Dear Joe, Thanks for your question. For the edification of readers, this question was received in response to the article “What’s the Difference Between Guilt, Regret and Feeling Like a Bad Jew?” In that article, I dismiss the […]

In November, our JITC Hollywood Bureau attended the Television Academy’s DEI summit where they told us to be brave and asked if they had missed any points. I was. They had. I explained that they had forgotten the Jews. An academic entertainment group at UCLA, Scholars and Storytellers, heard by impassioned speech and wanted me […]

In January 2018, I was in my last year of grad school, pursuing a Master’s in creative writing and publishing. I decided, instead of writing my thesis completely on my own, I would work with a group. Having experienced much antisemitism at the very school I was at, I’d decided to make that the subject […]

Dear Jew in the City, What is the difference between guilt, regret, and feeling like a bad Jew? For example, I didn’t fast on the 10th of Tevet when I didn’t feel well, so I feel like a bad Jew. Sincerely, Shaindy Dear Shaindy, Thanks for your question. It’s one I’ve had a lot of […]

Chesed is a cornerstone of Jewish life. We encourage our children to do acts of kindness and expect the same of ourselves. Sometimes it can feel like we are going through the motions or are not really sure what the end goal is. But the word natan, to give, is a palindrome, spelled the same […]