Dear Jew in the City- Every year I read about the Orthodox Jews who use chickens in some sort of atonement ceremony. It seems incredibly cruel to have chickens handled like this. Is there no law against animal cruelty in Orthodox Judaism? All the best, Jon Dear Jon – Thanks for your question. The ceremony […]

I once tried to run away from God – much like Jonah. I wasn’t swallowed by a giant fish at sea, but I did get pretty big wake up call on land. It was 1997, my senior year of high school. I was on a journey towards becoming more observant that year. I had started […]

I have been known to go to the gym for literally 6 minutes at a time. And those are my good days. I spend most of my life on the couch. (Like right now – I’m on the couch. Why do you think I made an entire YouTube show about a woman sitting on a […]

Dear Jew in the City, The month of Elul is a beautiful concept, but can be hard to relate to. What do I do actionably in Elul? What should we be trying to accomplish pre-teshuva? Best, Matt Dear Matt- Thanks for your question. First, let’s examine what Elul is. You might not realize how much […]

Beloved singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen died last week at the age of 82. Most famous for penning the hauntingly poignant ballad “Hallelujah” among other songs in the past 40 years, as well as poetry and novels, not many people were aware that Cohen was born and raised Orthodox, spent some time involved in Buddhism then returned […]