Dear Jew in the City, As I get older, it gets hard to stay up all night long on Shavuos to learn. So am I obligated to? And where does this idea come from? Sincerely, So Tired Dear So Tired, Shavuos is in many ways an atypical holiday. There are three Festivals in the […]
Dear Jew in the City, What’s the deal with kitniyos? Especially being that we know now it’s not chametz, and some Jews eat it and some don’t… Sincerely, Rice on Pesach Dear Rice, Kitniyos (or kitniyot) is typically translated as “legumes” and the Ashkenazi practice is not to eat them on Passover. This isn’t because we used to […]
Dear Jew in the City, I heard that the Torah says that a woman must marry her rapist and that a father can sell his daughter into slavery? How can we possibly accept such horrible ideas in the modern world? Sincerely, Biblical Inequality Dear Inequality, That’s a great question. It is true that […]
Dear Jew in the City, Thank you for all of your posts and videos — they have been unfailingly helpful as I have been trying to navigate the often-confusing ba’alas teshuvah process. Here is a question I have for you, though. How do you respond when people claim that Judaism and the “old testament” are […]
A few months ago Jack Abramowitz suited up; though not in the black hat and jacket this New York-based rabbi often sports. No, on this sunny October morning, the rabbi’s getup was a bit more unusual. He was about to make a pilgrimage. One which some might consider a religious experience. But when Rabbi Abramowitz donned his […]
Dear Jew in the City, How do I raise my kids to be respectful of Christmas yet not have Christmas-envy? People always seem to go to one extreme or the other, but I’d like to give over a nuanced perspective to my children. Sincerely, Holiday Cheer Dear Cheer, That’s a great question. I’m no parenting expert, […]
