Is there any other ethnic or religious group that devotes as much time, effort, and money to thinking about itself as the Jewish community does? As a people, we are so “meta.” Case in point: The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI) releases an annual report on the state of the Jewish community, with suggestions… Read more »
It seems made-up, but it’s not. A group of haredi women in Israel have taken a cue from their Muslim neighbors and taken modesty to new heights (for Jews), donning burkas on the streets of Ramat Beit Shemesh and other ultra-Orthodox enclaves. Under the tutelage of one devout — and apparently ascetically inclined — mother-of-ten,… Read more »
What could possibly shock Hollywood, California, anymore? Robin Garbose is hoping a dose of modesty will do the trick. She is about to stage what is probably the first-ever Hollywood film premiere for a female-only audience. Garbose, a professional director who became religious at the start of her career in Hollywood (she says it happened… Read more »
A gut-wrenching blow was recently dealt to the Orthodox feminist cause. The kind of punch to the stomach that makes your insides churn and your whole body shake, leaving you stunned and speechless for a minute as you fathom the damage done to you. But that, after a minute, when you realize you’re okay, makes… Read more »
Emmy award-winning journalist Connie Collins shared some advice her mother gave her with an audience of mostly Jewish women at a book launch party last month: “When you grow up, marry a Jewish man,” she said, “because they don’t drink.” The book being launched was “Jewish Sisters in Sobriety,” and Collins, who has a family… Read more »
Did you know that more than 80% of Israelis, the majority of whom are secular, light candles every night of Hanukkah? The practice has apparently become, for many, a cultural act, devoid of religio…
The old Jewish guard — what’s often referred to as the organized Jewish community — has two main concerns: the future of the Jewish people and the future of the Jewish people. Two different senses of the same problem, that is. The first sense is the future generations of Jews, us young’uns who are supposedly… Read more »
Several progressive Jewish organizations have launched a new campaign this holiday season that’ll make you think twice before you save money by blindly letting Priceline.com choose you the cheapest hotel. The “Travel Justly” campaign is designed to raise awareness about the lousy working conditions (long hours, low pay, taxing physical labor, and no health insurance)… Read more »
It is generally taken as a given in our politically correct age that clergy of one religion are supposed to respect the norms of the other religion and not interfere in internal dogmatic affairs. This is the principle that allows for interfaith dialogue, the open expression of religious perspectives without the fear of judgment or… Read more »
A very interesting development in the fight for agunots’ rights occurred this past Sunday. A group of Orthodox rabbis rallied, along with lay people, outside the home of another Orthodox rabbi, to protest his alleged enabling of men who refuse to grant their wives a get [religious divorce]. Such a show of support on the… Read more »
