We are not supposed to ask to be tested according to Jewish tradition. We learn this from King David who erred by asking for a test. It’s uncomfortable to see good coming out of unimaginable evil, but it seems to be how God created our world. We didn’t ask for October 7 – we’d give […]
You may have first met Fay Brezel on Jewish Matchmaking, the hit Netflix series where she quietly broke stereotypes by showing up as her full, authentic self: a proud Orthodox Jewish woman deeply rooted in Torah values and passionate about mental health and personal growth. But long before Netflix, Fay was building something even more […]
It was the first week of the war. The second shiva house that I attended. It was held in a Jerusalem hotel, because the hero who had died defending people in the Gaza envelope was a lone soldier from France. His name was Binyanmin Lev. Binyamin’s mom spoke about how Binyamin had left the safety […]
Last week, we learned that Jewish babies — the Bibas boys — could be murdered in cold blood, and countless people around the world would justify it. It’s just like the Holocaust, when much of the world seemed to turn a blind eye to antisemitism, or straight up approve of it. Despite the fact that […]
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 […]
Elul is known as the period when “the King is in the field.” Both in our tefillot (prayers) and mitzvot (commandments), Hashem is tangibly closer to us. The Shechina (God’s presence) is stronger, the kedusha (holiness) is more intense. God is more accessible at this time. The layers of camouflage which normally mask reality and make […]
