JITC Branches
From the archives
A number of friends have mentioned that they are dreading Rosh Hashanah. Their general sense of overwhelm has made preparing for the holiday—spiritually or physically—exhausting. Looking back at this past year depresses them. Cynicism leads them to expect 5781 will be worse than 5780. It doesn’t help that due to the novel coronavirus, a lot […]
Ryan Turell is shooting for the big-time. The 6-foot-7 Yeshiva University student is forgoing his final year of college to enter the 2022 NBA draft, according to ESPN. Turell hopes to be the first Orthodox Jew in the NBA. He proudly wears his kippah on the court and wants to continue doing so professionally. Looking […]
Dear JITC- Someone close to me recently died and I never got to say goodbye. Does Judaism believe that the dead know what’s going on in this world? Thank you, Talia Dear Talia- Thanks for your question. I am not the final arbiter of what Judaism believes; I can only tell you things as I […]
Dear Jew in the City, Can Orthodox Jews watch TV and movies? Best, Shmuel Dear Shmuel, Thanks for your question. The obvious answer, based on simple observation, is that Chareidim (i.e., “ultra-Orthodox” Jews) are unlikely to partake of television and movies, while doing so is quite common among Modern Orthodox Jews. A review of […]
Popular videos
In a world obsessed with devices, it occurred to me that we are living in an age where silence dominates many situations. Silence between couples, silence between families, silence everywhere you turn as people tap, tap, tap on their devices. What an isolating existence. But what if there was an antidote to silence? What if […]
Big Bang Theory star, Mayim Bialik, asks Jew in the City can science and religion work together in a Jewish framework? While there are some Orthodox Jews who believe in a literal account of the creation story, many of us hold that the events must be understood another way. RAMBAM, also known as Maimonides, stated […]
Recent videos
Several weeks ago JITC (Jewish Institute for Television & Cinema) Hollywood Bureau hosted an official panel at Sundance Film Festival on Jewish representation in media. We presented the findings from our groundbreaking study conducted with the Norman Lear Center at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. The research examines how general Jewish characters—and also […]
UPDATE 1/21/26: Since this article was first published, Elie Kligman has made history. This spring, the University of Michigan Baseball program welcomed Kligman as the first Orthodox Jew to play Division I baseball, where he joined the team as a catcher. Now 22, Kligman is a graduate student at the university and continues to balance […]
