It is early Shabbos morning. I’m relaxing on the couch with my ritual morning coffee, inhaling the steam, wrapping myself in the serenity of Shabbos. My siddur rests on my lap, awaiting my sacred time spent with God. Honestly, I carry God with me all the time, sometimes consciously and other times unconsciously. Sometimes I […]
Before this year’s NYC Marathon began on Staten Island, a large number of Orthodox Jewish runners joined the “Marathon Minyan.” There, participants were able to daven, stretch, enjoy a kosher bite of food and get strength and blessings from each other before the race. This is the 50th anniversary of the 26.2 mile race, and […]
Ani l’doni v’dodi li – I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me. (Song of Songs 6:3) The Hebrew letters at the start of these four words form the word Elul, the name of the month preceding Rosh Hashana. With the “beloveds” at the center of Song of Songs being metaphors for […]
When an Orthodox Jewish father of seven from London got sick suddenly last Spring, he fell into a coma and woke up to a worldwide pandemic. Originally from South Africa, Eli Seliger is grateful to Hashem for helping him survive. After overcoming Kidney failure, pneumonia, and a nerve disorder, he was also diagnosed with ADEM, […]
Dear JITC- Why do Orthodox Jews rock when they pray? Thanks, Shawn Dear Shawn- Yes, Orthodox Jews rock. We rock so hard. The swaying to which you refer is called shuckeling, from the Yiddish word shuckelen meaning to shake. While a widespread – though not universal – practice (it’s not the practice of Sefardim, for example), its […]
An initiative for Yom Hazikaron has brought secular and religious Jews together in Israel, as Haredi Jews signed up to read Tehillim for fallen Israeli soldiers. With increased tension between the populations due to COVID-19, this timely partnership has helped many Israelis make sense of this difficult time. The “For Every Victim There Is A […]
