Israel’s 60th Yom Ha’atzmaut, Independence Day, fell on Thursday, and the momentous anniversary is being marked — and marketed — in America with a slew of cultural events designed to forge connections between American Jews and Israel in as a-political a way as possible. It’s a great idea, because goodness knows Israeli politics ain’t doing… Read more »
Wedding season is upon us and for engaged couples hemming and hawing over flower and band decisions, here’s a (possibly) more productive use of your time — the S.H.A.L.O.M. workshop.Approved by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski and other “prominent Orthodox Rabbanim,” the S.H.A.L.O.M. workshop guarantees a successful marriage, or the get [Jewish divorce] is free. No…not… Read more »
Is my arriving late to a launch party for a book about work-life balance because I had to work late a valid example of situational irony? Or is it just a sign that I should read the book in question, Leveling the Playing Field: Advancing Women in Jewish Organizational Life, very carefully? The result of… Read more »
The news broke last week, and the public, especially the Orthodox community, has been struggling to make sense of the whole thing and who is at fault for the shocking turn of events. The leader of a bizarre sect of fervently Orthodox women in Israel, who cover every inch of their flesh and face in… Read more »
I was tempted to ignore this item of news entirely since, as I’m fond of saying, it’s bad for the Jewesses. Scratch that, it’s just bad in general. The female principal of an ultra-Orthodox girls school in Melbourne, Australia has been found to have, allegedly, molested several of her teenage students (the exact number is… Read more »
Saturday March 8th marked 100 years of commemorating International Women’s Day. (Mazel tov IWD!) A lot of people are skeptical of such Days with a capital D, but — like birthdays — these Hallmark-like days of social consciousness are an opportunity to remember the things we should always keep in mind, such as that the… Read more »
Looks like Agudath Israel has taken a cue from Israel’s Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger. As the JTA reports, the “leading U.S. umbrella group of fervently Orthodox Jews” (the fervent equivalent to the more moderate Orthodox Union), “accused New York City of promoting casual sex”: In a letter to the New York City Department of Health’s… Read more »
The latest “trend” in premarital sex amongst modern Orthodox singles has garnered Chief-Rabbinical condemnation: In an attempt to stem a trend of quasi-condoned premarital sex among young modern Orthodox men and women, Israel’s Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger has issued a prohibition against allowing single women to use mikvaot (ritual baths). In a letter dated… Read more »
In one of those seemingly random convergences of synergies, the current issues of both Lilith and the online Jewish women’s mag 614 feature articles on JDate. In different ways, the publications explore the huge impact it and other Jewish e-dating sites have had on how the Jewish world hooks up. Before I go any further,… Read more »
There’s been lots of hype surrounding the announcement of the Shalom Hartman Institute’s new ordination program that would ordain Orthodox women as rabbis. But the Orthodox she-rabbi is really just a byproduct of the program, not the point of it. The non-denominational program is intended to train a new crop of Jewish educators, to teach… Read more »
