Dear Jew in the City,
Thanks,
A Concerned Cousin Continue reading How Can I Support My Intermarried Cousin Even Though I Know She Made a Wrong Choice?
We had an overwhelming response to our announcement about a JITC/Mayim Bialik Shabbaton. Unfortunately, Mayim has had a change in her schedule. Therefore, we will not be able to do the Shabbaton in May as planned, but are looking into another time to do it instead. Stay tuned!
Continue reading Shabbaton Being Postponed and a Speaking Tour in South Florida
When you put yourself online in a public way, you open yourself up to haters, trolls, and lots of other nasty stuff. Thank God, mean emails and comments about Jew in the City don't come in too frequently, and I've managed to increase the thickness of my skin over the years for when they do. But even so, every now and again, something is posted that gets me down. Which is upsetting, because I've only put myself out there like this in order to bring good things to the Jewish people and the world.
Continue reading Mean Girls (And Guys): Even Moses Had Haters
I'm thrilled to announce that JITC is planning to host an exclusive Shabbaton, featuring Mayim and me (and, possibly, some surprise guests). We will be leading a series of talks and discussions geared to everyone's interests (the Shabbaton is open to people of all Jewish backgrounds and ages). Our aim is to spend an intimate Shabbos together with you; sharing ideas, insights,experiences and a wonderful Shabbat spirit.
Continue reading Exclusive Mayim Bialik/Jew in the City Shabbaton Coming Up!
Over the course of Jewish history, groups of Jews have occasionally splintered off from mainstream Torah Judaism, in terms of theology and observance. For example, in the Second Temple period, there were the Sadducees and the Essenes. In the early middle ages there were the Karaites. And in modern times, Jews have broken off to form non-Orthodox denominations. While the system of halacha (Jewish law) has many paths within it (i.e., there is often more than one halachically valid answer to a question), at a certain point, an idea or practice is simply outside the scope of normative Torah belief and observance.
Last week, as I was meeting a friend for coffee, I got "ambushed" by Freeda Wigs and was given a sheitel makeover! They filmed the whole thing, as I tried on different wig styles, picked my favorite one, and got it cut and styled. The video (and my new look!) will be released in the next week or so, and I'm hoping that it will take away the scariness and negativity some people associate with hair covering and sheitels in particular.
I was also recently asked to write a front page article for The Jewish Press, to follow up on the front page article I wrote two years ago about Jew in the City. Many of you have emailed or commented beautiful messages about how Jew in the City has positively affected your life. If JITC has positively impacted you, but you haven't shared your story with us yet, please do so at jewinthecity@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
When Chanukah came on Tuesday night, I was drained like I haven't been drained in quite some time. My baby had begun teething the night before and had woken up half a dozen times. My older son (who's been screaming out randomly at night) also woke up several times. Despite barely sleeping, I had to get out early to meet a friend that morning and then spent the day filming a new video.
Continue reading Candlelight: Connecting the Finite to the Infinite on Chanukah
Dear Jew in the City,
Is it bad if i take my Jewish kids to see Santa? They keep asking me.
Thanks,
Michelle from Bethesda, MD
Continue reading Is it Bad if I Take My Jewish Kids to See Santa?
Yesterday morning, when the baby started crying, my 8 year old daughter ran out of bed to get him so that my husband and I could sleep a little longer. After nearly a decade of constant exhaustion spread over the rearing of four children, getting those extra 15 minutes of rest was divine. It wasn't the sleep itself that meant so much, but rather, where it came from. See, my 8 year old daughter used to be the infant who never napped and spent most of every night screaming.
Continue reading Cultivating a Soul: What Farming Can Teach You About Personal Growth
If you mosey on over to our press page you will see a new interview about Jew in the City featured on the Israeli televion station, Hidabroot's, website (in Hebrew). (We're working right now to convert a bunch of videos over to Israeli video format so that the videos will start playing on tv in Israel!)
Also, it was just confirmed that I'll be speaking in Passaic, NJ on January 3rd to a group of Jewish women traveling on a tour called Women's Rush. If you'd like to bring me to speak to your group, when you're done with the press page, you can then mosey on over the speaking page.
