Dear Jew in the City- Covid has a weird symptom of removing people’s senses of smell and taste. What do smell and taste represent in Judaism? Also, my whole family lost our sense of smell from Covid. How do we handle the besamim part of havdalah? Sincerely, Jody Dear Jody- Thanks for your question. I […]

Dear Jew in the City- How does Jewish wisdom direct us to work through trauma? Thanks, Shua Dear Shua- Thanks very much for your question. I don’t want to answer it. That’s not to say that it isn’t important. It’s very important. I just don’t think that it’s for me to answer. (It might not […]

Dear Jew in the City- You recently wrote about keeping a clean house. What does the Torah have to say about littering? Thanks, Michael Dear Michael – The Talmudic tractate of Baba Basra addresses the responsibilities that neighbors have towards one another and a lot of these have to do with not polluting others’ property. […]

Dear JITC- I just saw my parents after 13 months since Covid started, since they have now been vaccinated. I remember there being a blessing over seeing someone you are close to after not seeing them for a year. Can you tell me about this? Thank you, Annie Dear Annie- The Sages, who wrote the […]

Dear JITC- Doesn’t kosher for Passover bread defeat the purpose of Pesach? Thank you, Ron Dear Ron- To answer this question, I’d like to quote a 1973 episode of The Brady Bunch, “Greg Gets Grounded.” When Mike and Carol Brady discover that their oldest son, Greg, was driving irresponsibly, they decide to ground him as […]

Hi JITC- Why do Orthodox Jews tend to marry at a younger age? Thank you, Alec Dear Alec- We’re going to be able to keep this one short and sweet because it’s pretty straightforward for a change. The reason Orthodox Jews tend to marry at a younger age is because they’re normal. Jewish law doesn’t […]