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The Potential for Chillul Hashem When Non-Believers Wear Religious Clothing
News photo depicting a few of the 44 total arrested for money laundering, bribery, and the sale of human organs in New Jersey on 7/23/09. It’s always cringe-worthy to frum Jews when one of their own...
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Spanx Psychology
Photo from The Gawker: Are Spanx Good or Evil? Shapewear has had a long and illustrious history. From the girdle, to the corset, to the 21st century invention of Spanx, people have enjoyed the illusion...
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Married Ladies Whip Your Hair Back and Forth!
Today my daughter walked in on me blow drying my hair. I had out all my hair products and gadgets that I use to copy my stylist’s blow out technique as closely as possible (it never comes out quite...
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Will Orthodoxy view Orthodox Feminism and Open Orthodoxy as Orthodox?
I was forwarded an article in The Times of Israel today about the 9th Annual Kolech Conference in Israel. Kolech is the Israeli equivalent of JOFA (Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance), based in the...
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I pledge allegiance to the mesorah of the authority figures who stand before me…
and to the derech for which they stand, one nation, under God, with strict gender roles and halachot for all. Some readers said that they weren’t quite clear on the point I was trying to make in...
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We Don’t Get It
How can we? We just don’t get the amount of pain and isolation someone feels when they leave the community. We can’t fathom how someone could decide that they just can’t fake it anymore, or that they...
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Why are rabbis encouraging family estrangement and why are parents listening?
One bad apple spoils the whole bunch. This seems to be the philosophy behind why some rabbis advise parents to kick out a deviant child, cutting off all contact, except for the most delicate thread of...
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Plugging the dike…is it time to build a new wall again?
This morning I read an article in Haaretz entitled, “Is Orthodox Judaism on the verge of a historic schism?” It talks about the deepening fracture between liberal orthodox Judaism and right wing...
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SOA – Sons of Avraham
Robert “Bobby Elvis” Munson, the only Jewish member of the fictional Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club. Big, sweaty, hairy bikers. The ladies love ‘em! They have a culture all their own that’s often...
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The Sweet Agony of Autumn
Remember the sweet agony of autumn? Fire erupted from the roots in the ground Into an inferno of amber and pyrope. We were the fire that broke off in the wind The errant sparks that wandered and gave...
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The Jewish Community Needs a Mental Health Care Gemach
Today I read an article called, “Breaking the silence on Jewish Suicide.” The article profiles families who have dealt with the tragedy of having a loved one commit suicide, and the attempt to break...
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Prenup, Shmenup
I’ve written before about the innovative halachic prenup, and its effectiveness in preventing get abuse. Both husbands and wives would be financially penalized for each day they refuse to give or...
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Cutting out the middleman – phone app lets women pasken on their own niddah...
I was just forwarded a link to an app (Hat tip Mom in Israel) that walks women through determining if their discharge renders them a niddah without needing to ask an authority. Move over rabbis and...
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Period Shaming
Yeah, it’s a thing. In fact, it’s fast becoming the latest feminist issue among women to hit the news. Whenever a hot topic women’s issue comes up, people forward me the latest news. A few months ago,...
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Placing a buffer between women and rabbis – is it a good thing?
The other week I saw an article about a program launched in my community by NILI, the Chicago Institute of Women’s Learning, which is part of the Yeshiva University Torah Mitzion Kollel in Chicago....
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Don’t Men Get Insulted?
I often wonder if men get tired of being underestimated when I see generalizations made about women being objects of lust and men being unable or unwilling to control their temptations. I recently...
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The Worth of a Woman
I just got finished reading an excellent article in Haaretz by Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt entitled, “The Dating Shame: Orthodox Obsession With Externals Has Reached Epidemic Proportions.” The article...
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Boudoir Photography Becoming Popular Among Orthodox Married Women
Considering that most media coverage regarding orthodox Jewish women tends to focus on restrictive modesty guidelines, it was refreshing to read about a surprising new trend among younger married...
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Not Before Rosh Hashanah
It’s a phrase heard this time of year in every orthodox community throughout America – “Not before Rosh Hashanah.” Did you hear that so and so is getting a divorce? I heard it’s because his wife…....
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Simchat Torah Dance Party
It’s that time of year again for orthodox women to become spectators at one of the liveliest holidays of the Jewish year – Simchat Torah. Yes, it’s time to break out those Torah scrolls and watch the...
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