When we first moved to Cleveland, people warned me about the cold, snowy winters. I was undaunted, having spent much of my childhood in Des Moines, Iowa, where snow is abundant. But to my dismay, those first winters were miserable. I was cold. My feet were always chilly or wet. My fingers were numb. My […]
Why do Orthodox women wear wigs – especially if the wig looks even nicer than their hair? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose? In this video we explore the text-based sources for hair covering. It begins with a reference in the Torah, and then is expounded upon in the Talmud. But what about wigs? When did […]
There’s been a strange smell in our kitchen pantry for some time now. I’m not proud to admit it, but it’s been nothing short of an olfactory nightmare. My husband and I have searched for the stench many times to no avail. Odors do have a knack for being hard to trace, after all. We’ve […]
On the 13th of Kislev (the Jewish month when Chanukah takes place), I was 9 months pregnant with my third child. I woke up in the middle of the night confused, sweating, and very stressed. I tried to get my husband up to tell him about my dream, but he was more interested in sleeping […]
Would you set out on an important road trip if you only had enough gas for the first 20 miles and no forseeable way of filling your car up for a week? If you were a Maccabee you would. I recently started wondering why the Jews decided to light the menorah with the paltry sum of oil they found. Why bother lighting an eternal light that you […]
When Chanukah came on Tuesday night, I was drained like I haven’t been drained in quite some time. My baby had begun teething the night before and had woken up half a dozen times. My older son (who’s been screaming out randomly at night) also woke up several times. Despite barely sleeping, I had to […]
