A friend did a great kindness for my family and me, so I went to buy her flowers. White hydrangeas, pale yellow roses and bright yellow spray roses adorned my cart at Trader Joe’s as I proceeded to do my weekly shop. Somewhere along the way, I jarred the flowers while I was loading up. […]
By the late 1990s, Kevin Bright had everything most people dream of. As an executive producer of Friends, he was shaping one of the most iconic shows in television history. But while millions connected to the six friends on screen, Kevin felt disconnected from something he once knew intimately: his own Jewish life. As a […]
Dear Jew in the City, Why do some people approach Yom Kippur as a day of celebration? Sincerely, David Dear David, Um… because it is? On the surface, Yom Kippur may resemble Tisha b’Av, which is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. On both of these days we refrain from eating and drinking, bathing, […]
At the Memorial service for Charlie Kirk last night, his widow Erika publicly forgave her husband’s killer, saying she was following Christian practice. Would the Torah’s laws demand the same forgiveness? On September 10th conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, was assassinated by sniper fire during a debate at Utah Valley University […]
Dear Jew in the City- What’s the history of Selichos? Why did it come about? Best, Mark Dear Mark- Thanks for your question. As far as the liturgy goes, Selichos are fairly contemporary. By that I mean that they are measured in mere centuries, rather than millennia. Some of the prayers we recite, like Shema, […]
I was listening to a podcast the other day about the importance of maintenance (in business, specifically, but also in all areas of life), and how easy it is to drift off course incrementally if you’re not paying attention. This is something that I find directly relevant to my life as an Orthodox Jewish woman. […]
