Dear Jew in the City, Why does a Jewish couple get married under a chuppah? Sincerely, Ben   Dear Ben, Thanks for your question. For the answer, let us turn to the Talmudic tractate of Kiddushin, which deals with the subject of marriage. The very first Mishnah tells us that marriage is effected through […]

“Do you love me?” Thus sings Tevye to his wife of 25 years in the classic movie “Fiddler on the Roof.” Her response? “For twenty-five years I’ve washed your clothes, cooked your meals, cleaned your house, given you children, milked your cow…” This does not sound like romance at its best. Orthodox Jews tend not […]

Growing up as a secular American girl in the 80s, I dreamed of a handsome prince/Patrick Dempsey lookalike who would sweep me off my feet to live happily ever after, like all the books and movies I had been raised on. Unfortunately, my dating experiences in high school, college, and then as a young professional […]

When you think of Kansas, you may think of cornfields, cows, rainbows and a young girl with a blue checkered dress trying to get back home. For Chani and Mendel Kleyman though, it was the backdrop for their love story. Mendel Kleyman was 23 when he decided he was ready to start dating. He was […]

  This Sunday begins the joyful minor holiday of Tu b’Av, the fifteenth of the month of Av. The Talmud says besides Yom Kippur, there was no other holy day as happy for the Jews as Tu b’Av. In the times of the Temple, unmarried Jewish women would dress in white and dance in the vineyards, […]

There is hardly anything more universal than the desire to love and be loved. It doesn’t matter what country you live in, what religion you are or what family you come from — love unites us all. One thing we’ll never tire of reading is a great love story. Everyone wants to know how the […]