Jewish Living

What’s the Truth about … Sitting Shivah on Erev Shabbat?

by Ari Zivotofsky | June 1, 2008 in Jewish Living

Misconception: Aveilim (mourners) stop sitting shivah on erev Shabbat at noon. Fact: Private displays of mourning continue on Shabbat, while the public aspects of shivah cease shortly before Shabbat.1… Read more

On Sabbatical: A Rabbi’s Journal

by Steven Pruzansky | June 1, 2008 in Israel

In a series of weekly e-mails that Rabbi Steven Pruzansky sent to members of his shul while living in Modiin, Israel, for several months this past year, the New Jersey rabbi recorded his observations… Read more

In the Footsteps of Ruth: A New Paradigm for Conversion

by Basil Herring | June 1, 2008 in Jewish Living

Avraham, a student at Yeshiva University who was about to start dating, recently became aware of a painful fact: his grandmother’s conversion to Judaism put his own Jewish status in question. His… Read more

Confessions of a BT Wannabe

by Charlotte Friedland | December 1, 2007 in Jewish Living

It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but I’m not a ba’alas teshuvah (BT). As I was born to observant Jewish parents, the outreach networks dismiss me as an “FFB”—a “frum from birth” specimen, not… Read more

Avoiding the Slide into Extremism

by Harvey Belovski | September 2, 2007 in Jewish Living

Years ago, a prominent London rabbi visited the town where I was learning. I called upon him at the home of his mother, the widow of a world-renowned rosh yeshivah. During the conversation, the… Read more

A Plea for Genuine Prayer

by Abraham J. Twerski | September 2, 2007 in Jewish Living

Some years ago, I attended services in a large, impressive-looking synagogue in a New York suburb. But while the actual building was quite magnificent, the congregants’ decorum was appalling. During… Read more

Parking Lot Minyan

by Ilan D. Feldman | June 15, 2007 in Jewish Living

I have good news for those of you in despair about the shtiebelization of American Orthodoxy. I have inadvertently conducted a social science experiment in my own community, and the results suggest… Read more

Life on The Farm

by Efraim Jaffe | June 15, 2007 in Jewish Living

Want to get a new perspective on being Jewish? Try living on a farm in Maine. I’ve been visiting an organic vegetable farm in the remote northeastern corner of Maine almost every day for the past ten… Read more

Bestowing the Final Act of Kindness

by Bayla Sheva Brenner | March 13, 2007 in Jewish Living

Those who perform acts of kindness are described by the Talmud as those who seize the covenant of Avraham. Doing kindness is one of the three distinguishing characteristics of a Jew. Avraham, who was… Read more

Welcome to the Shapiros’ – Open 24/7: Perfecting the Mitzvah of Hachnasat Orchim

by Yehudis Nachman | March 13, 2007 in Jewish Living

It’s a typical Shabbat at the Shapiros.’* The front door swings open and closed as guest after guest files in. On average, about thirty arrive: some wearing black hats, some knitted yarmulkes, still… Read more

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