Judge Ruchie, the Hasidic Superwoman of Night Court Ruchie Freier is a 52-year-old Hasidic Jewish grandmother who has blazed a trail in her insular religious community with so much determination that the male authorities have simply had to make room. Eleven years ago, she became one of the first Hasidic female lawyers in Brooklyn, and […]
16 years ago today, God gave me a second chance at life. I was working in a summer camp in Israel for my third summer in a row, and Thursdays were usually the day that I’d be with our cab driver from morning to night running all over Jerusalem doing errands. Every time we passed […]
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 […]
My parents made me a big bat mitzvah – like black-tie-affair-on-a-yacht-cruising-around-Manhattan-harbor-with-a-hundred-and-fifty-of-our-closest-family-and-friends big. But they weren’t just the people that planned the party and paid for it. They saw me through all my years of Hebrew school and bat mitzvah lessons. They helped me write my speeches and made me practice them. And although we had […]
Her name was Laura Dirken and she had the loveliest locks in the grade. Don’t believe me? The proof still lies in the hall of fame section of my 8th grade yearbook where you’ll see that Ms. Dirken was voted “best hair” in our class. If you think those things are just popularity contests, you’re […]
My parents made me a big bat mitzvah – like black-tie-affair-on-a-yacht-cruising-around-Manhattan-harbor-with-a-hundred-and-fifty-of-our-closest-family-and-friends big. But they weren’t just the people that planned the party and paid for it. They saw me through all my years of Hebrew school and bat mitzvah lessons. They helped me write my speeches and made me practice them. And although we had […]
