Hi JITC- Can I cover my sukkah if it rains? I heard there is something called schlach? Thanks, Aidel Dear Aidel- Thanks for your question. You’ve created a portmanteau of two words. Schach is a mass noun (i.e., a thing whose discrete components are not counted); the roof of your succah is made from schach. […]
People have so many questions about Orthodox Jews. If you want proof, just ask Google and see how many searches come up. So who has the best answers to these questions? Orthodox Jews, of course. BuzzFeed asked Orthodox Jews Serach, Tiki, and Yoni to answer some of the most commonly googled questions about living an […]
Dear Jew in the City- I’ve been wondering why matrilineal descent is how people are considered to be born Jewish. Do you have an explanation for it? Sincerely, Cameron Dear Cameron- Thanks for your question. Overly simplified, matrilineal descent means that “religion follows the mother.” A lot of people mistakenly think that, Biblically speaking, we […]
Dear Jew in the City- What’s with the business of a man being “koneh” a woman and the way the girl’s father gives ownership to the husband with the kerchief at the wedding? Thank you, Z.C. Dear Z.C.- The first thing to know is that words don’t mean the same thing in all times, places […]
Dear Jew in the City- When it comes to supporting Israel or speaking out against antisemitism, I see some Jews who seem to be throwing us under the bus. On the one hand we are supposed to focus on Jewish unity, and on the other, four-fifths of the Jewish nation didn’t make it out of […]
Dear JITC- What prophecies are we supposed to be seeing during the times of Moshiach that we may be seeing right now? Thanks, MM Dear MM- Thanks for your question, though I don’t love it and you’re probably not going to love my answer. The reason I don’t love your question is because it presupposes […]
