Why Do We Spin A Grogger From Below And A Dreidel From Above?
Did you ever consider that both Purim and Chanukah contain toys which spin? But why does one spin from below while the other spins from above?
Who’s a Better Female Role Model, Queen Esther or Disney Princesses?
Did you ever consider that Queen Esther is a much better female role model for our kids than the Disney princesses we give them from the youngest age?
Shomer Negiah: Why Not Touching Before Marriage Is Less Crazy Than You Thought
Several years ago, I was at a conference, and a guy at my table started up with me after he found out that I was observant. “I’m not religious,” he began, “but I get Shabbat. I see the value in kosher. But that whole no touching before marriage thing that you Orthodox Jews do – that […]
How Dressing Modestly Gave Me More Confidence About My Body
I was recently talking to a reporter from a major women’s magazine who’s working on a story about Orthodox women and modest dress, and as I was giving her the lowdown, she commented that I seem so confident about my body. Did dressing modestly help me with that, she wanted to know. It was weird, […]
Black Jews: Discovering A Prejudice I Didn’t Know I Had
I have always considered myself an open-minded, non-judgmental person. As a kid, although we were not particularly religious, my parents were strict that that my sisters and I had to marry someone Jewish (for the sake of Jewish continuity), but they were always very clear that it did not matter what color or ethnicity the […]
Seeking Out A Hidden God
Recently, as I daven (pray), there is something that continues to leap out at me. Each time I say a bracha (blessing), I think about the fact that it begins by addressing God in the second-person, Baruch ATAH (Blessed are YOU). As I utter those first two words I am speaking to God, rather than about Him, […]
