This entire article is a spoiler alert. If you haven’t watched this show and plan to, stop reading now! As a person who was pretty obsessed with my mortality for most of my childhood, NBC’s “The Good Place,” which just ended, was a fascinating and enjoyable show. As far as I know, there has never […]

What does it mean to leave everything behind? To reject the ideas a person grew up with, and commit instead to new ideals? Is it possible to maintain anything of the past when embarking on a new life? When we first meet Rivka, she seems basically perfect. Avraham has tasked his servant with finding the […]

The story of Yaakov’s surreptitious acquisition of the blessings his father intended for Esav is well known. This episode, coupled with the Torah’s declaration of Yitzchak’s love for Esav, leads many readers to misinterpret Yitzchak’s feelings for each of his sons. While some assume that Yitzchak loved Esav more than he loved Yaakov, the text […]

It was during a recent Friday night dinner with my family that the topic of Jewish divorce came up. I can’t remember why we were speaking about it or what led my husband and me to explain to my son how divorce is handled in the Torah – Biblically, the husband can divorce his wife, […]

Unlike a lot of women I’ve spoken to, I have always loved Simchas Torah. As a child, I loved it for the dancing and excitement. I loved my shul’s longstanding tradition of giving out candy apples to kids on Simchas Torah night; it was the only food with caramel and nuts that I ever liked. […]

Hi JITC- What is the point of inviting these guests to our sukkah? Thanks, Max Dear Max- Thanks for your question. I see from the subject line of your message that “these guests” refers not to your corporeal yom tov guests but to the Ushpizin. “Ushpizin” is an Aramaic word that means guests. Aramaic is […]