Dear Jew in the City- There seems to be a discomfort about airing our dirty laundry in the Orthodox world. When are we allowed to publicize a problem? Thank you, P.T.   Dear P.T.- Thanks for your question. You are no doubt aware that there is a very serious prohibition called lashon hara (evil speech). […]

Dear JITC- Can a tzaddik make a mistake? Thanks, Shevy Dear Shevy- Of course! We see that our greatest, most righteous leaders were capable of errors of various kinds! This can include both factual errors and errors in judgment. Just a few examples include: Avraham and Sarah disagreed about how to handle the situation involving […]

Dear Jew in the City- I just don’t feel Jewishly inspired. What can I do? Thank you, Jackson Dear Jackson- Thanks for your question, though I don’t think it necessarily plays to my strengths. There are people who have more spiritual inclinations towards religion and people who have more rationalist inclinations towards religion. (These are […]

Dear JITC- The Yom Kippur prayers perplex me. What if we didn’t do the aveira we apologize for, and what if know that we’re going to do it again? Thanks, B.B. Dear B.B.- Thanks for your question. The first part doesn’t really bother me too much for two reasons. The first reason is because it’s […]

Dear Jew in the City- What’s the meaning of blowing the shofar and why are there different shofar sounds? Sincerely, Jessica P. Dear Jessica- Very often, to answer a question, I’ll take a roundabout path to ultimately arrive at the answer. In this case, the response is much more straightforward. The shofar has a lot […]

Dear Jew in the City- I was raised to see Rosh Hashana as a terrifying time of year, that I would be judged by God in (aka Who Will Live and Who Will Die). I’ve obviously made a lot of mistakes, but I’ve met people who approach the holiday in a more positive way. What’s […]