I don’t remember exactly when I first learned about “shelo asani isha,” but I have to imagine that I wasn’t too happy about it. There is a section of the siddur called birkas hashachar (morning blessings), which is recited every morning by observant Jews. One of the blessings within birkas hashachar is said by men and blesses God for having not […]

While there is undoubtedly a stark divide between the secular and Haredi world – especially in Israel – sometimes friendship and a shared vision can close the gap. On the surface, Yael Leibovitz and Chani Zusman, two Israeli Jewish women could not be more different. Zisman is an Israeli-born Haredi mother of four who has always […]

Dear Rebbetzin Chaya- I didn’t grow up religious, so I left a world of egalitarian Judaism. And I’m happy with that decision. Then again, on Simchas Torah it seems like there’s nothing for women to do. How do I come to terms with the fact that I don’t want to do hakafos but also feel […]

My husband is a bit of a survivalist. What I mean by that is that he longingly dreams of things like being left in the woods and having to fend for himself by eating wild mice. He got this idea from a reality show he once saw. Yes – this actually happened. (As a side note […]

  Dear Jew in the City, I read the Mike Pence doesn’t have meals alone with women who are not his wife or drink in mixed company. What’s the Orthodox Jewish approach to this topic? Thanks, Rob Dear Rob, That’s a very good question. Vice President Pence has been the object of a lot of […]

I know I don’t have to and I don’t judge women who don’t. When I was studying in seminary in Israel for the year during college (I took a year off after my freshman year), a girl in class asked my rabbi if baggy snow pants are OK to ski in. He said, “Yes.” (Though, it […]