Dear JITC- Are hobbies allowed according to halacha? Thanks, Margaux Dear Margaux- Thanks for your question. I assume your starting point is the statement of the Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh Deah (246:25) that anyone who is able to engage in Torah and neglects to do so is guilty of “despising” the Torah. This is actually […]
Bat-El Gatterer is a Taekwondo athlete who got her start in the sport because it was the only available after school program in her town that fit into her mother’s work schedule. Bat-El’s observance doesn’t slow her down: “Once, in Germany, I walked three hours in the snow [on Shabbos]. And when I get to […]
While Lakewood, New Jersey is best-known as a center of Torah study, there is a new trend for young, budding yeshiva bochurs: playing organized sports. RZF (Redzone Football) has led the way, founded by Moshe Reichman and Yitzchak Levy who both grew up in Brooklyn, where they met in 9th grade at Yeshiva Torah Temima. They […]
How the Pittsburgh Shooting Inspired Me to Put On a Kippah You can’t hide what they hate about you — so I won’t either. Rather, I will joyously celebrate life and my Jewish identity, and I will fight for a world free of bigotry, regardless of who is attacked. And I’ll do it with my […]
Thanks to her humble beginnings on Barbie rollerblades, Orthodox Jewish Aliza Hiller is defying stereotypes as an ice hockey player in a competitive women’s league. As a kid, she actively played basketball, softball, and floor hockey, but competitive ice hockey was not an obvious passion, rather she says, “I grew to love it.” Hiller was […]
As Israel’s Olympic skeleton athlete and current head of development for the Israeli bobsled and skeleton team, I often explain that Skeleton is perhaps the most dangerous of Olympic sports. If you have lived a life without any fear and want to go experience a taste, you need only go from the top of a […]
