Category: religiousness
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Not so fast: Tzur Hadassah mikvah update
About a month ago, we took a walk to where the currently-malfunctioning mikvah stands in Tzur Hadassah. Apparently, ‘they’ have found donors/money to get it functional, (I understand the malfunction is a plumbing issue) and it seems the rest of the area is getting prepped as well. The road leading to it from next to…
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Like the Rabbanut… on Facebook.
A couple months ago, out in Jerusalem, we noticed that kashrut certificates for restaurants seem to have been updated: Hmmm… I didn’t even see it at first, but that ubiquitous blue F doesn’t stay out of your eyesight for too long. The Jerusalem Rabbanut on Facebook – how kosher can that be? So – would…
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Where I am religiously. Part 2.
So – did you smile? I guess I’m feeling a bit philosophical lately because today alone I managed to get myself into a gun control debate that, ahem, triggered… well… no resolutions for me… as well as a different thread about religious observance, pride, and – yeah – Rashi. Basically, a friend posted the above…
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We’ll always have Jew York…
A new study’s findings on the Jewish demographic(s) in New York City is challenging some long-held assumptions/notions regarding… Jews in New York. Specifically: “The study… challenges the entrenched image of Jews as liberal, affluent and well educated. Over the last decade wealthy, Ivy League graduates like those on the Upper West Side have increasingly lost population share…
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I was never an Israeli child so I’ll likely never get this.
Lag B’Omer. I’m leveling with you: as an adult olah, I will probably never ever understand fully the appeal and utter dismissal for environmental health and safety that is this 33rd day of the counting of the Omer… in Israel. Until this morning I couldn’t for the life of me remember what we Americanos did…
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Big boy bash, minus hair-band.
Upsherin. Chalaka. Laziness. Whatever you call the tradition of letting a Jewish boy’s hair grow till he’s three years old, well, we did it. I’m not sure why, to be honest, but here we are one month shy of Koala’s third birthday. Because it falls out at a time when (traditionally) we don’t cut hair,…
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The new American Hagaddah.
Enjoyed this. Another moment of awesome by Stephen Colbert at the end. Who’s ready for Passover?
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Segulah this.
Shared with me by an old colleague, I thought it timely to post now after yesterday’s religion rambles and rants. Definition of segulah ranges from folk remedy to supernatural cure. Best Time Tested Segulos Segulah for recovery from illness: Go to a doctor (Berachot 60a, Bava Kamma 46b) Segulah for longevity: Lead a healthy lifestyle (Rambam, Deos…
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Finally nailed it: This is where I am religiously.
For years – maybe forever – I never really mentioned here my religious affiliation outright. Part of it was because I didn’t want to be placed in a box. Part of it was because I found it so hard to define. Part of it was because I honestly didn’t know. In an article published today in Jewish…
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Orthodox Jewish dating gone raw.
There’s been heightened talk in the last year or so about how the dating practices of Orthodox Jews (not modern Orthodox) – shidduchim, or matchmaking – have gone awry. Connected to that is the issue of hyper-modesty, which has certainly been a volatile topic in the last year and decade, in Israel and outside. The…
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The rain was worth it.
In honor of Tu B’shvat and an actual sunny day, we took a lil stroll in our backyard, the (now green) woodsy hills around Nes Harim. See how green the grass is? Mashiv HaRuach U’Morid HaGeshem.