I have every right to hate Jewish men, Jewish faith, Jewish Rabbis and Jewish laws.   In fact, every single Jew has that right. Because we were born with something called Bechira (choice). Everyone has the freedom to make choices to live their life with good and evil and shades of both.  Yet, I have a […]

Hi JITC- I have heard some people say that when it comes to making a mistake, “impact not intention” is what counts. But is this a Jewish idea? -Sharon Dear Sharon- Thanks for your question. I think this goes to the greater question of the complicated interplay between actions and intentions. Do results count without […]

I was about 11 years old when my mother mentioned puberty for the first time. I don’t remember the details, because she didn’t share much, but she let me know what a period was and told me that I should let her know when I get it, so she can help me. A few months […]

Last year, my 15 year old daughter asked if she could fly to New Orleans with other girls from her Orthodox Jewish high school to rebuild houses in some of the poorest areas of New Orleans that still had not recovered from Hurricane Katrina. The group was also scheduled to help a neighborhood prepare for future […]

My eight-year-old glances out the front window during Shabbos lunch and does a double-take. “Ima! What’s Mr. Smith doing?” For the last seven years, our home has looked out on our neighbors’ four lollipop-shaped ficus trees. They add a certain flair, a bit of joie de vivre to the neighborhood. Hearing our neighbor start up […]

While there have been a spate of stories detailing the lives of those who left Jewish observance, people often wonder, where are the memoirs for those who have returned? Enter award-winning author and humorist Judy Gruen, a passionate ba’alas teshuva whose memoir The Skeptic and the Rabbi: Falling in Love with Faith presents her personal journey, complete with laughs, tears, […]