Dear Jew in the City- I have a question that I’m hoping that you could guide me on– I’m Jewish– my mom is Sephardic and my dad is black. Given the political climate of the past year with racial reconciliation, I was thinking about Kwanzaa. Is this a holiday that Jews can celebrate? Is it […]

Hi JITC- Is there prohibition with a Jewish person enjoying Christmas lights since it’s not our holiday? Thank you, Ben F. Dear Ben F.- Here’s the thing about Christmas lights: pretty much everyone likes them. They’re pretty and they’re only around for a brief time so we don’t get too used to them. Objectively speaking, […]

Dear Jew in the City- What’s the significance of the number eight in the Chanukah story? Thank you, Noam Dear Noam – Sometimes I read a question and I have to ask, “What’s this person really asking?” This is one of those times. The reason I don’t take your question at face value is because […]

Dear Jew in the City- How do you balance Kibud Av v’Em when you’ve chosen a different path within Judaism than your family? Sincerely, B.T. Dear B.T.- No joke, this is literally the first “Ask Rabbi Jack” question I ever received, though I received it from the parent. Decades ago, on my very first day […]

Dear JITC- How do we know that God created the world out of kindness? How do we know that God doesn’t lie? Thanks, Jake Dear Jake- I must confess that this is one of the more interesting questions I’ve received, as well as one of the more challenging in that if one assumes the worst […]

Dear JITC- I was told by my rabbi that the fifth book of the Shulchan Aruch is seichel, but what sources tell us that we should use seichel (our common sense)? Thanks, Malky Dear Malky- If you want to see a source that we should use common sense, look no farther than the Torah itself. […]