Dear Jew in the City, I was curious about some of the run-ins I’ve had with the women in local Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox communities. Sadly, they’ve been pretty negative. I’m gonna guess that majority of my interactions are with the ultra-Orthodox since I can easily identify them by their conservative outfits. Any attempt I’ve made […]
Dear Jew in the City, I know that suicide is technically prohibited in the Torah, but what about people with mental illness (like the recent passing of Robin Williams who suffered from bi-polar disorder)? Is ALL suicide prohibited equally? Does Jewish law consider mental illness a justification for suicide? How do we reconcile the Torah’s […]
Dear Jew in the City, I have a few Orthodox friends who are very pro-Israel, but I have also read that some forms of Orthodoxy are vehemently anti-Zionist. I’ve heard of other sects who completely separate the concepts of Zionism and Judaism as two essentially separate belief systems. I have no idea if any of […]
Dear Jew in the City, I know you get a lot of questions about conversion, however, it’s something that I’ve been mulling over for a while. I would also like to say, that I’m fully aware of the serious nature of converting, as well as, “the righteous of all nations have a share in the […]
Dear Jew in the City, Can you explain how the basic Biblical commandments re: such subjects as the kosher laws have been vastly elaborated and expanded on by post-Biblical rabbis? For example, the kosher laws as spelled out in the Bible (in which God simply says “don’t eat this”) have morphed into a mammothly elaborate set […]
Dear Jew in the City, So I have a question that I have been pondering a great while. I am not Jewish but I live in a city with a large Orthodox population and I happen to live in this neighborhood and I truly love it. I do however find myself at times seeing one […]
