Dear Jew in the City, Is there an obligation from a Jewish law perspective to defend the land of Israel in battle? If so, why is there a large group that refuses to fight? Sincerely, Edith   Dear Edith, Thanks for your question, which is more timely than you may realize. (In fact, it’s so […]

I often walked my dog at unconventional times my senior year of high school. Sometimes after a long night of school work, I would only get out at around 1:30 AM. Somehow, without fail, my Hispanic neighbor from up the block would walk her dog Rosalina on a similar schedule. Despite the late hour, the […]

“We refute our Jewishness,” said Jonathan Glazer in the beginning of his controversial Oscar award winning speech. But does he, or for that matter, we, even really know what “our Jewishness” is about? Jewish customs seem like they can range from being deep and meaningful like reading the hagadah to startlingly unintelligible like getting drunk […]

Dear Jew in the City, Is the world supposed to be upside down before Moshiach comes? How are people accusing Israel of doing the horrific things Hamas has done?  Sincerley, Oren   Dear Oren, Thanks for your questions. I’m breaking it down into three parts, which I’ll address separately: (1) “Is the world supposed to […]

When was the last time you thought about a rare disease? If you’re lucky, it’s never. If you’ve been impacted in some way — whether you have one or someone close to you does — you know how debilitating and painful it can be. That’s what Yehuda Gelman is trying to change — and already has in […]

There are certain events that happen that give us a renewed source of hope. When the two hostages Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Har were rescued earlier this month, the whole world felt lighter for a second. Our hostages are still alive. There is still the chance we can get them back safely. Our prayers […]