My family didn’t know any Orthodox Jews personally was I was growing up, but we knew “of” them. They were “extreme,” “closed-minded,” and “chauvinistic.” Then, when I was 16, I met some for the first time up close, and something surprising happened. These people were educated, open-minded, and kind. The women were empowered and the […]

When I was first making the transition from Conservative to Orthodox, an observant Conservative family I knew invited me over for Shabbos essentially to have an “intervention.” “Look,” they told me, “you can be kosher and shomer Shabbos without becoming one of THEM. If you become Orthodox – you’ll become a rock-thrower.” Where did an intelligent, […]