Are you ready to hear a chilling story about Purim? Let’s take it back to the Talmud to start – the book of the Talmud connected to Purim. Jacob said before the Holy One, “Do not grant Esau the wicked the desire of his heart.” This refers to Germamya, a royal province of Edom, who […]

Even though I grew up in a Hindu household and was exposed to other polytheistic religions throughout my childhood, I always found myself praying to one God. This innate pull toward one God foreshadowed my eventual conversion to Orthodox Judaism. I was introduced to Judaism during my training as an auxiliary police officer for the […]

Dear JITC- How do we know that God created the world out of kindness? How do we know that God doesn’t lie? Thanks, Jake Dear Jake- I must confess that this is one of the more interesting questions I’ve received, as well as one of the more challenging in that if one assumes the worst […]

Note: This article was originally published in 2010. With four kids, ages seven and under, my husband and I have been exhausted for basically seven years straight. We’ve found that the best way to manage our sleep deprivation is by taking shifts and fortunately, the division of labor comes naturally in our house. When darkness […]

I grew up in an authoritarian home in which self-expression in any form was restricted: socially, academically, psychologically, mentally and financially. Not surprisingly, I was taught to be as stringent as humanly possible when it came to being religious. And so I was as “frum” as physically and mentally possible as I made my way […]

Dear JITC- I didn’t grow up hearing about Hashem loving me. My education focused on all the punishments in the Torah. As an adult, I’ve learned of this concept but I have two questions – what Torah sources say that God loves us? And if He loves us, why is He always killing people in […]