With all eyes on Pyeongchang and the 2018 Winter Olympics, a worldwide interest in K-Pop, Korean television dramas and Kimchi is booming. Korean pride is nothing new to Chana Bilek, an Orthodox Jew from South Korea, with equal pride in the cultures she calls her own. “I was born in Korea. When I was just […]

The other day, as I was sitting in the kitchen after school with my children, I started thinking about how fortunate I am to have such wonderful kids. (In other words, everyone had slept through the night, and no one was fighting that moment!) I told my kids, “I can’t believe that Hashem gave me such wonderful children. […]

When one person hurts another, even if she did so unintentionally, she should still apologize. That’s why I’ve decided to write this post. Because I didn’t understand the pain that some people who grew up Orthodox experienced until pretty recently, and not understanding made me not sensitive enough. During my proud secular Jewish childhood, I […]

Houston is in recovery mode. It’s just beginning and it’s going to be a long and arduous journey. Driving through the streets in areas that have been hit hard is breath stopping. There are no words to describe what it’s like seeing people’s whole lives laid out in huge piles on their front lawns. House […]

My illness recently left me in the Neuro-ICU of one of New York’s finest hospitals for over a week. The medical care I received there was truly exceptional. That was the good news. All too quickly, it became clear that mine was no ordinary hospital room. There was no bathroom to speak of. There was […]

The following is adapted from Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed. The concept that God puts people through trials is the most debated idea in the entire Bible. Most people assume (incorrectly) that God afflicts individuals not in response to their own sins but to provide them with an opportunity to earn reward. Trials are discussed […]