Seinfeld has a joke that more people are afraid of public speaking than death. That means that more people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy. Not me. I was a natural born performer. Was it in my genes? Did my middle-child birth order push me to be louder in order to […]
Rosh Hashana is also known as the day of judgment. We enter a proverbial courtroom and face G-d’s judgement from the past year. The day seems solemn and can invoke terror within, but if you look at the way we celebrate the holiday, it doesn’t fit in at all. We get dressed up in beautiful […]
Ani l’doni v’dodi li – I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me. (Song of Songs 6:3) The Hebrew letters at the start of these four words form the word Elul, the name of the month preceding Rosh Hashana. With the “beloveds” at the center of Song of Songs being metaphors for […]
This class was originally given to the members of Makom, a branch of Jew in the City which helps disenfranchised charedi Jews find their place in Orthodoxy. Fayga Leah Landau is a beloved Satmar Chasidic teacher mentor who has spoken for Makom on numerous occasions.
The great violinist Itzhak Perlman contracted polio at the age of four, and for his entire life he had to wear metal braces and use crutches to walk. One time, the great violinist came out on stage, and as he was tuning his violin, one of the strings snapped. Instead of asking for another string, […]
Dear JITC- What are some possible ways the Covid pandemic might affect fasting on Yom Kippur this year? If I have symptoms, if I’ve been exposed, if I’m sick, if I’m higher risk, if I’m the ba’al tefillah, etc? Sincerely, Avi Dear Avi- Thanks for your question. As you are probably aware, all mitzvos in […]
