Jewish Blogs

The F Word. Yiddish Division.

I have an old college friend who uses the word friggin’ in every conversation. Even when he leaves messages on my phone, writes letters or sends emails, there’s always an “I can’t believe that friggin’ guy in my apartment” or an “I had such a friggin’ headache today” thrown in.Sometimes he’ll pronounce it as frikkin’ or freakin’, always without the ...

The erev Shabbos post shower clothing dilemma

I typically show up about an hour before Shabbos when I am staying somewhere new. If I am a seasoned guest at someone’s house, the time I arrive depends on past experiences. But what I am about to discuss is something I’ve always had trouble with. People will typically tell you to hop in the shower before all the kids and ...

The Engaging Shabbos Table

If the goal of your Shabbos table is to create a positive and unifying experience for participants of all ages and backgrounds, here are some simple techniques that encourage everyone’s participation. This format is wonderful for those who would like to invite guests who may be less familiar with Shabbos customs, but it works equally well any family or group, ...

The Dynamic Etta King Talks Shop: Education, Feminism, JWA As Bridge

Enjoy this interview with the dynamic Etta King, JWA’s Education Manager. She entertains and enlightens with her astute takes on feminism’s relevance, the role of education and engagement in unconventional ways, and a little professional advice to those young graduates beginning their careers.Etta also discusses the Natalia Twersky Educator Award, an award given annually to an educator working in a ...

The different crises of the frum community

For those of you who didn’t read last weeks post and comments on the different crises plaguing the frum community over the years, the following comment from Andonymous who was featured on erev tisha b’av as the author of the modern day eicha – made the following gem of a comment.Some crises I would expect to see in the future:-The ...

The Death of Osama bin Laden Marks the end of a Cosmic War of Religious Terrorism

The death today of Osama bin Laden marks the end of one terrible Cosmic War of Religious Terrorism. Previously we taught about this subject in our course on Religious Terrorism, War and Violence, as summarized in our post here below.What is a cosmic war?Marc Juergensmeyer, in Terror in the Mind of God, makes a convincing case that the religions that practice ...

The Dark Days Are Over

This morning at 3am, I was lying on the front lawn watching a red shadow creep across the moon.If this had been 1991, this might have been attributed to a bad acid trip followed by cheap Mexican food. Back then, seeing the moon go dark on the Winter Solstice would have been proof positive that the world would be ending ...

The Dangers of Prematurely Banishing the Bread

Like many Jewish mothers, I am going completely batsh*t this week trying to clean my house for Passover.Tradition dictates that all chametz(leavened bread, including cookies, cakes, stale ends of rye your daughter has insisted on saving for the ducks and the old pizza at the back of the fridge) be banished from the house before the holiday, a mitzvah calledbedikat chametz. This ...

The Cutest Ever Hanukkah Gift Wrap!

I can’t tell you why exactly, but this Hanukkah gift wrap makes my heart sing! I think it’s the combination of colors, the bold shapes, and the aqua and red, that I’m just in love with at the moment, and not to mention the cuteness of the pom pom…..oh and to top it off, this is for Chanukah!Those of you ...

The confrontational face of Miriam

When we are first introduced to Miriam in the Bible, the times are bleak. The Egyptian Pharaoh has decreed that all baby boys born to the Hebrew slaves be immediately put to death. This is an edict or gezera to be carried out by the midwives. Judging it best not to “beget children for nothing,” Miriam’s father, Amram, separates from ...

The Circus Is Coming, The Circus Is Coming!

Savannah bloggers and Facebookers were all abuzz yesterday over the announcement that our little city will be a stop on the Westboro Baptist Church Tour of Crazy Hate.Ya know, the “God Hates Fags” people? The group of “Christians” that holds up signs like “God Hates America” at soldiers’ funerals? Declared Islamic prophet Mohammed a whoremonger and President Obama the Anti-Christ? ...

The cholent sucks here

When I first moved out here I didn’t mind the green kiddush much, some chips and salsa, veggie sticks, guacamole and several varieties of cookies seemed alright to me – but I’ve been here a year and this is one of the true sides to living in the west.I’m sure there are shuls in LA that know how to throw ...