Dear Jew in the City- Why do a lot of Orthodox Jewish men have beards? Sincerely, Steve Dear Steve- Thanks for your question, which we intentionally arranged to answer following last week’s question, which was on payes (sidelocks). As we mentioned there, Leviticus 19:27 contains two prohibitions, not to round the corners of the head […]

“Intimacy education pioneer” and “cutting edge medical expert” are not words most people associate with Hasidic Jews, but then again, Rabbi Yitzchak Melber, originally from Monsey, is not your average Hasid. Raised Skverer, Rabbi Melber, who now resides in Israel, became a Chasan teacher when he was first married and discovered something troubling. There were many […]

Dear Jew in the City- I understand that Jewish law requires modest dress and behavior but does it require looking unattractive too? I sometimes hear people say that a woman can only look beautiful in private. Are there Torah sources to back this up? All the best, Ashley Dear Ashley- Thanks for your question. I […]

Hi JITC- What are your thoughts on “being sheltered (from the “non-Jewish world)”? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? What’s the halacha? Thanks! B Dear B- I’m afraid that this is an area that leaves the realm of halacha and enters that of meta-halacha. You may be familiar with a famous quote […]

Thirsty for Wisdom of the Body, Finding It in Dance Rabbi Hanania Schwartz and Yuval Azoulay covered their heads with yarmulkes and mumbled a blessing before sipping from their water bottles. Then, yarmulkes off, they began to perform a short dance. The excerpt is from “Heroes,” which was performed at the JCC Manhattan when the […]

Dear Jew in the City- I was raised to believe that eating traif was the same thing as watching a movie. How are mitzvos, minhagim and chumras weighed, in other words, how do I make sense of what is really required of me from the Torah, the rabbis or just by my particular community? Thank […]