I sometimes find myself looking at random pictures on Facebook (like really random). What will happen is that one of my Facebook "friends" - usually someone I haven't seen in person in the last decade (and frankly, probably didn't know too well even back in the days that we did see each other) will get "tagged" in a photo whose caption somehow catches my fancy. (For those out there who are blog readers, but not Facebook users, this just means that on my Facebook homepage random pictures of my "friends" are featured and labeled as they get uploaded to the site.)What happens next is that I check out the picture and think about how much this person has changed in the last ten years (or maybe it's just that I never really knew what the guy looked like in the first place). Curious about more pictures, I click the "next" button, except there are no more pictures of my good old "friend". So now I find myself looking at pictures of my "friend's" friends (or maybe even he doesn't know them so well - they only included one shot of him, right?) So anyway, suddenly I'm clicking through pictures at a random party where people seem to be having loads of fun, or maybe there's a bunch of cute blond haired kids running around a park somewhere, and then all of a sudden after about a dozen or so clicks, I stop and think to myself - who the heck are these people?
But you, my dear readers, are not random. I used to know most of my readers (Hi, Mommy!), but with nearly 150 subscribers to this blog (and more nearly every day!) I'm realizing that I haven't a clue who's following my weekly quips, rants, and philosophizings. And it's gotten me curious. So although it's perhaps a bit un-Orthodox for a blogger to do this, if you wouldn't mind, I'd love to hear from you this week.
Some of you have written to me already -- I love to get messages from readers and viewers. But what I'd love to still know is (and for the record, this information will not be passed on to anyone else and will only be used for me to get a better sense of who's out there and how I can better serve you):
How did you find JewintheCity.com?
Are you a guy or a gal?
Are you Jewish or not Jewish?
Religous or not particularly?
What decade were you born in?
What part of the world do you live in?
Is there anything you'd like to see me blog about or make a video of?
If you're a subscriber, just hit "reply" on the email you've gotten from JITC. If you' a non-subscribing reader, you can email me the answers here. And if you're my mother, (Hi, Mommy!) you don't have to answer any of these questions -- I already know who you are.
Janiv Ratson, http://www.isracraft.co.il.
Found it through Facebook (HOW MANY JEWISH PEOPLE ARE ON FACEBOOK group).
Guy
Jewish
Traditional
70’s
Israel
I enjoy the blog as is. Keep on the good work.
I’m not your Mom
Posted by Janiv Ratson on December 28, 2008 at 12:43 pm
from my former classmate, LP.
gal
Jewish
Modern Orthodox
1969
central Canada
I think you’re great. keep up the great work!
Posted by AvivaJaye on December 31, 2008 at 4:45 pm
From Blogger’s Choice
Old lady
Christian, raised Church of Christ, attended Baptist, mostly Pentecostal now
’40’s
Missouri, Kansas City area
I’m new here, so I have lots of reading and watching to do. Since most of my Bible heroes are Jewish, I like learning about present-day Jews and what they believe.
Posted by Donna W on January 4, 2009 at 7:19 pm
From your sister
(I don’t know her personally, but she posted a link on the Bar-Ilan university group e-mail)
Gal
Jewish
Religious
1980’s
Israel
If you want to write one, I’d like to see a post about dating/relationships in Orthodox circles. (Don’t know if you’ve done that already.)
Posted by Shira on January 8, 2009 at 4:37 am
Found through Facebook (HOW MANY JEWISH PEOPLE ARE ON FACEBOOK group).
gal.
I’m some mash-up of Reform/Conservative/Hippy Jew.
I’m kinda a cafateria style jew. I only buy kosher food for our home, but I’m lax about dairy stuff and I like to go out (where I eat only fish/dairy).
I rocked the 80s.
the mountainy part (Colorado)
I litteraly just started reading your blog, I’ll let you know if I think of something.
Posted by vioalrulz on January 21, 2009 at 3:55 pm
hi not jew but i am very interesten in orthodox judaism and hassidism…i am a girl. I would like to see a post about jewish family life, motherhood and contraception.
Posted by dessi on February 3, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Mixedjewgirl
Found you via Youtube.
I found out that I was a Jew as a teen because my mother hid it because she thought it would be easier to be a person of color and Christian.
I’m becoming more observant and I’m leaning toward Modern Orthodoxy.
1979
I hail from Pennsyltucky aka Western Pennsylvania
I’m trying to learn more about being observant. I’m reading tons of books, but there are few Orthodox Jews in my chood.
Posted by Sashaleh on February 3, 2009 at 11:29 pm
I am a girl
Already religious
from the 80’s
Starting reading it because a friend recommended it as a fun read! She was right!
Posted by Batya on February 10, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Heshy linked to it.
Guy
Jewish
When I can be
1970s
Right now, I am spending time in the Arab middle east, living in the UK, but have lived in several states in the past decades…
I can’t think of anything not covered at this time..
Posted by Jason on February 13, 2009 at 7:38 am
Oh, and I forget, I do find myself doing similar things on facebook… Do you ever find that you have two friends you know from different times and places in your life, that you do not connect, that seem to already know each other?
Posted by Jason on February 13, 2009 at 7:41 am
all the time! and if not for Facebook, you’d never know!
Posted by Allison on February 17, 2009 at 3:32 pm