Jewish Blogs

Adrienne Rich: Navigating Hope

The news of Adrienne Rich’s death yesterday at age 82 sent me immediately to my bookshelves and an extended swim through the currents of words she has left behind. All writers believe in the power of words—and maybe especially poets, whose words are fewer and so carefully chosen—but for me Rich’s writing particularly and persuasively argued for the ability of ...

Adorable Adornments for A Fabulous Seder Entrance

Just doin’ a little online window shopping…Some folks follow the tradition of buying new clothes for Passover; I personally prefer to dress up last season’s frock with a little fresh Judaic bling:First up is this pretty sterling silver pendant from HolyLandPrecious.com. The dove is surrounded by a magnetic detachable Star of David—don’t you just love jewelry with secrets? This one ...

Adding to Shabbat

In Parshat Vayakhel, the Torah tells us, “Six days you shall work and on the seventh day you shall rest.” When does the seventh day actually begin? Can one accept Shabbat early? The earliest time when one can voluntary accept Shabbat is plag mincha, approximately one and half hours before sunset. It has become accepted in many communities to have an early minyan for ...

Action More Than Words

In this week’s Torah portion called Vaera, the Lord speaks to Moses, saying, “Go and tell Pharaoh King of Egypt to let the Israelites depart from his land.” However, Moses protests. He raises doubts that the people will listen to him. He uses a kal vachomer – the hermeneutical device often used by the rabbis in midrashic literature. Applying the ...

Achieving Balance Class 8

Question:I feel frozen because of all the critical comments I keep getting from people. What can I do to feel free enough to be myself without worrying about all the people who are watching or judging me?Answer:Don’t delude yourself into thinking that you can be anonymous in this world. You are constantly being observed and evaluated. The one who is ...

Achieving Balance Class #13

Question:I feel as if I have declined spiritually over the last few years. I try to listen to shiurim, but I find that although I am inspired to grow in the short term, after a while I end up letting my observance slack again. What can I do to get back on track?Answer:The Navi tells us that there are times ...

Achieving Balance Class #12

Question:Can you give me some guidelines on questions I should ask singles before I try to set them up?Answer:You should try to obtain as much information as you can about their background, nature, and goals. The more you get them to talk, the more you’ll find out about them. The way they speak about their siblings, family, and life in ...

Abolish the Rabbinate in Israel

The official Israeli rabbinate is in trouble, and has been for years. Now there are new calls for altogether abolishing the bureaucracy.We have had bad experiences with the rabbinate officials as recently as May 2011. We found that the rabbinate in Jerusalem’s Maaleh Adumim is seriously out of line. And in keeping with the verse in chapter one of Ecclesiastes, ...

A Year Later

Last year, b’etzem hayom hazeh, on this self-same day, As It Is Written: Project 304,805 opened. Another important event in my life happened on this day as well: sixty-one years ago, on October 8th, 1949, my mother, z”l, was born.While this convergence may seem a mere interesting coincidence, there is precedent in our tradition for the notion that related events occur on ...

A Year-End List You Can Dance To

I tend to shy away from the inevitable lists that appear that last week of the year on websites since they activate a neurosis that I must read every single one of them to catch up on all that I’ve missed before I can start the new year, which might put me way into March.But Tablet’s 100 Best Jewish Songs ...

A Wovel is 10 times easier than a snow shovel

Like Albert Einstein, like Isaac Newton, like Thomas Edison, Mark Noonan had an idea….The Wovel (rhymes with shovel), looks like one of those high-wheeled 19th-century bicycles incongruously transported to that pile of snow in the driveway. It relies on two simple principles of physics, the wheel and the lever, to revolutionize the humble art of shoveling snow — at least ...

A Woman’s Place in Frum Society

I found this gem on Matzav.com some time ago…Since when does the Torah have to support Feminism? Why is it that so many women have a hard time understanding that they have their place in society much like men have their place in society? I really don;t understand why so many people get slammed for saying it; that’s how it’s ...