Lakewood Hires Its First-Ever Orthodox Jewish Police Cadet With an Orthodox Jewish community making up most of Lakewood’s rapidly growing population, the township has hired its first-ever Orthodox police cadet, officials said. “I’m excited about it,” Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles said Thursday. “I think it’s significant for any community to see one of your own […]

Baruch C. Cohen, a Los Angeles civil litigation attorney, has taken a special interest in creating awareness in the community about the dangers of chillul Hashem, which literally means a “desecration of God’s name” and is used when a Jew does something that bring shames to Judaism. “I appear in court, state and federal, and […]

On a recent flight from LA to Israel, my husband and I settled comfortably in our assigned seats near each other, when a seemingly secular fellow approached us. The man claimed that my husband was sitting in this man’s seat, that we had been given it mistakenly by the airline. My husband checked his boarding […]

Hi JITC- The idea that there’s a halacha that we don’t have to return lost money to a non-Jew has always bothered me. Maybe I could see it making sense if we are in a society where non-Jews are anti-Semitic. But does this also apply when non-Jews treat us nicely? Thank you, David Dear David- […]

When my father was in the final weeks of his life, languishing in Cornell hospital, I found myself reaching my breaking point. I was the only relative nearby that could come to the hospital on a regular basis. As a single parent, I was away from my kids for five Shabbosim in a row. It was […]

I was raised in an extreme religious environment that stressed fear and punishment over love and joy. Anti-Semitism was taught as a rebuke from a vengeful God. And it’s followed me everywhere. Because of this negative messaging, my relationship with Judaism was fraught from a young age. By early adulthood, I found myself drifting away. […]