I’ll be honest with you folks, I always thought that by being an Orthodox Jew I was part of a cult, but Cross-Currents just published an article that has cleared my conscience and it has allowed me to breathe more…
Tag: Judaism
Is it cholent or stew?
My wife and I had a debate this shabbos over whether or not the brown matter taken out of the crock pot at lunch was cholent or stew. It had potatoes, meat, bones, and beans in it, it had a…
Can we focus on the positive things happening in the frum community?
I’m sick of all the negativity that seems to be going on in the frum community these days. Jews hating other Jews because they don’t keep the same standards. Jews hating other Jews because they have different ways of practicing…
Just because you call yourself Orthodox doesn’t mean that you are
It seems that the plague that has affected other streams of Judaism has finally hit the Orthodox community, that plague is what I call misuse of affiliations. Orthodoxy is much more about image than anything else and if you want…
Is it fair to judge Orthodoxy by scandal?
This past shabbos, the Rabbi spoke about how “frum scandal” is the new yetzer harah, he spoke about how the frum scandal is used an excuse by people who don’t want to grow in their yiddishkeit. He’s absolutely right in…
Interview with an Off The Derech community leader Part2
The interview was too long for one post and so here you have it, part two of the interview with Rachmuna Litzlon, one of the Off The Derech community leaders. We don’t need another long introduction. I should mention that…
People who believe in Jesus are crazy
Logic is the third rail of religion. – HaRav Rachmuna Litzlon If I had a dime for every time someone told me that other religions besides Judaism were insane, I’d be able to afford organic tomatoes. It probably started in…
Rationalist Judaism makes no sense
I’ve decided that I’m not a fan of rationalist Judaism, most because as much as you try to prove and debate the “facts” supporting a Judaic way of life, it still makes no sense. I’m not really sure how one…
Why Yeshiva University is more dangerous than YCT and open orthodoxy
We can hem and haw all day about Open Orthodoxy and it’s threat to Judaism, but in reality, no truly frum person holds of YCT, Maharat, Avi Weiss, or any of the other shenanigans that cling to the open orthodoxy…
What are the most important issues facing Orthodoxy?
As a sociologist of the frum community, I’m on a constant quest to figure our strange little community out. In the process of this, I’ve ruffled a few feathers, stirred a few pots, and pissed off some of those folks…
Top 10 reasons Intermarriage may be good for the Jews
This mornings post generated a lot of interest, dare I say it was a Kiddush Hashem, for suddenly my inbox filled with thank you notes, requests for more reasons, and a general happiness rarely seen amongst the non-Orthodox when dealing…
There are no atheists in a foxhole or at the dentist…
Due to Obama’s failure at giving me free dental insurance, I haven’t had a chance to visit the dentist. Due to my lack of dental visits, I haven’t really gotten to experience the fear of getting teeth work done. I…
Is Gambling Assur?
Is Gambling Assur? by Chaya Miriam Fried I’ve been told that there are quite a few ins and outs regarding the halachos of gambling. Most of them, though, deal with dice games. In Tractate Sanhedrin, dice gamers are called kubiustos…
Frum Inconsistencies: Don’t Judge Judaism by the Jews
One of the toughest things I’ve had to do recently is to try and explain frum inconsistencies to people who couldn’t get a grip on reality. The reality that Orthodox Jews are not perfect and in fact they are inherently…
What do you think of public menorahs?
My wife I were out in San Jose last night and there happened to be this Holiday carnival going on last night. We squeezed our way through this invasion of Mexicans to find some decent San Jose territory to walk…
Top 20 Frummy scare tactics
If we spent some serious time we could collectively come up with a very long list of scare tactics used by our parents, friends, Rabbis and peers to get us to lead lives devoted to Hashem and his strange ways.…
Conservative Jews also have Liberal and Machmir streams
It seems that orthodoxy is not alone when it comes to divided views within its own sects. Modern orthodoxy has been going through a split for years and although most people either call themselves Modern Orthodox Machmir or Liberal, there…
If Judaism makes no sense to you, why don’t you go off the derech?
It seems that I rubbed some people the wrong way when I stated in a post last week that Judaism made no sense to me. It also seems that some folks mistook that for meaning that I am not a…
Jewish Pluralism Means Orthodoxy Too
I stole this from Patrick Aleph of Punk Torah: I have a friend who is an Orthodox rabbi. OK, several. But one in particular has a great philosophy: it is fun to be Jewish. I like that. And people like…
Do you mock other religions for believing in crazy things?
There was a time in which I would bash other religions for making no sense, that was in the days before I realized that Judaism makes no sense. Of course I was born into it and the guilt and mussar…
Are Ahavas Yisroel and Ahavas Torah compatible?
On the way to Yosemite recently I was listening to some old Mordechai Ben David stuff, one of those “gay” (sorry there’s no other word that describes it as good) English songs for frummies came on about all the suffering…
Do you think pornography is counted as cheating?
Pornography is not cheating. If couples were to take part in it openly, then it could enhance and improve their relationship more than other things because the very nature of pornography is that it’s an intimate and secretive thing. To…
The Catch 22 of Frum Jewish Gays
I have no idea how it happened, but it seems that the frum community is obsessed with frum gays or maybe the concept of frum gays because how can one really “act” on being gay and be frum right? Now…
Off the Derech movement is good for the Jews
It seems as if the frum community has just discovered that those who went off the derech may be a problem for future generations of sheep following the grand master bearded fellows who dictate orders about what you can and…
Are you lazydox? The female version!
Being “Lazydox” by Elisheva I was inspired to write this post after reading Heshy’s on the same topic. I pointed out that his list seems to apply mostly to males, so he invited me to write the female list. Just…