Dear Jew in the City, How do I raise my kids to be respectful of Christmas yet not have Christmas-envy? People always seem to go to one extreme or the other, but I’d like to give over a nuanced perspective to my children. Sincerely, Holiday Cheer Dear Cheer, That’s a great question. I’m no parenting expert, […]

Dear Jew in the City, On a recent flight after dealing with hours of a cancelation, a reschedule and then a delay, I finally boarded the plane with numerous other exhausted passengers. I noticed quite a few fellow Orthodox Jews on this flight, the one closest to me was a twenty-something guy with a short […]

Dear Jew in the City, I have a question regarding the belief in the coming of moshiach (the Jewish messiah). That is the simple version. The longer is: I was not born a Jew, but I believe with all my heart that I have a Jewish soul and I am supposed to be Jewish. Because of […]

Dear Jew in the City, Thank you for this wonderful site. As a “frum BT,” (returnee to observance) for over 30 years, I have continued listening to and relaxing to my favorite type of music (from before I became “frum“) namely soft rock i.e. love songs with feelings. I am 50, married for 27 years […]

Dear Jew in the City, I know that the Torah tells us to honor our parents. But what is one to do when those parents are not good parents. When they hardly raise you, possibly resent you and are often distant?  If a child is neglected or even hated by his mother- how is he to […]