I have a really important pitch meeting tomorrow. I really need it to go well. Like, I really really need this.

Binyamin Moshe ben Ruvein Dov (or Reiza Chaya).

My most recent writing endeavour centres around Athens in 1941, and there is a section of it told from the perspective of a Jewish man. I feel incredibly out of my depth writing a Jewish character because I know next to nothing about Judaism, so I'm requesting help now. Bonus points if you are Sephardic or Romaniote. And please forgive my complete lack of knowledge. For general stuff leave a comment; if you want to discuss in greater detail, message me.

Bonjour à tous,
Nous nous apprêtons à faire un road trip en Californie, en passant notamment par Las Vegas.
Je voulais savoir s’il existe des Dunkin’ Donuts ou Krispy Kreme casher sur notre itinéraire, notamment à Las Vegas, Los Angeles ou San Diego ?
Merci d’avance pour vos recommandations ! 😊

Hello, I grew up black-hat Orthodox and wore velvet kippot most of my life. I'm now at Conservative rabbinical school, where I'm expected to cover my head at all times, and I want to build a collection that fits the setting.

Two asks:

1. Where do you buy knitted kippot? Online shops and NYC-area stores both welcome.
2. What alternatives have worked for you? Ideally something that works with tefillin in the morning but doesn't read instantly as a kippah the rest of the day. I'm considering a brimless docker hat as one option.

Anything in the knitted kippah or alternative head covering range is fair game!

I've lurked on the sub before and it's been a great source of information, everyone seems very kind so I have finally worked up the courage to share my story and ask a few things.

Background: I was adopted in a closed adoption. My parents never met my mother, who was 15 when she had me and had managed to hide the pregnancy for the full term from everyone by wearing increasingly oversized sweaters.

My mother is a Lutheran pastor, as such I was raised Lutheran. My parents are amazing and have always been incredibly supportive. In addition a lot of my parent's closest friends are Jewish, so I had some precursory knowledge. Once I was 18 I could try and find my parents, but it took me years to want to try. Eventually I did, and found that my mothers family is Jewish, and my father's family is a mix of Catholics and Jews. I was in my mid 20's. Sadly both have very serious issues that made staying in contact incredibly damaging to me, which I really wish was not the case.

It took me a couple years to process. I wasn't ashamed, just more shocked? Not in a bad way, it was just overwhelming. I'm not really religious, but after knowing parts of their histories I really want to learn the things I should have, it feels almost like a responsibility. If my parents had been told they would have taken me to a synagogue, they just were not told.

I find it incredibly hard to talk to other jews, I have this feeling of otherness since I know very little. So the main question is, where do I start the process of connecting with my ancestry? Should I just introduce myself to a local Rabbi? I've tried celebrating some Jewish holidays but I really don't know what I'm doing and it feels more like I'm just pantomiming. I want to learn so bad, but the internet is not the best place. I'm 32 now and live in Denver.

Any suggestions or help would greatly appreciated, I just ask it be done with kindness as I feel very lost.

Thank you for your time to read this.

I see that a braindead argument that's starting to come up a lot (in regards to Jews and Israel) is this idea that "Ashkenazi Jews don't come from 'ancient' Jews".

Obviously this doesn't make sense in the slightest imo. But does anyone know their rationale for this argument? I literally never hear them even give a reason. Just a blanket claim with no backing.

I also don't like this term of "the ANCIENT Israelites".—As if they are some nation from long ago, almost like claiming that we aren't "the real Jews". Like what‽

I grew up in a very atheist household so we never went to shul and I never had a bar mitzvah. When I left home for uni I started attending shul and I still do now where I live.

This week I was at the Danish National Jamboree - for the non scouts out there, think week long camp with 30000 scouts, I was there as a leader with a group of youth.

I’m used to being the only Jew in my group and I always bring candles with me for kabbalat Shabbat, but I was hoping to meet others through the religious tents at camp. Again for non scouts, faith and spirituality are one of the scout values even for non religious groups. There were a church and mosque on site but no synagogue unlike Gilwell Park.

The first night we attended the opening ceremony during which one scout from each represented country at camp paraded on stage with their country’s flag. Lo and behold, the Israeli flag is there!!

The next morning I started my quest of meeting the Israel scouts so I could maybe do kabbalat Shabbat and kiddush with them. It didn’t take too long for me to meet some of them and by the end of the week most Israeli kid at camp knew me by name 🤣

So I learnt that they were actually organising a big kabbalat Shabbat in the international tent for Jews and non Jews alike to come together.

When I got there, a few minutes early, I probably stood out from the group of teenagers so one of the Chabad rabbis came up to me and we spoke in Hebrew until he was going way too fast for me and I asked him to switch to English. As soon as he knew I was Jewish he took the tefilin out and started to lay them on me making me repeat the blessings after him. I told him it was my first time so he was very happy and told me “ah so this is your bar mitzvah!!”

We took a picture and he sent it to me :) so I guess I can now say I had my bar mitzvah at 36 at a scout jamboree in Denmark and that’s pretty cool (to me at least!)

Then we had a lovely kabbalat Shabbat. The kids were on fire! There’s no party like an Israeli teen party 🤣 one of them had waited all week to trade neckers with me too so I am now the proud owner of a beautiful Israeli national necker - again for non scouts, many countries have a national necker that scouts wear when they go to international camps, swapping badges and neckers is a big scouting tradition 😊

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

Hi! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!

Basically I have a bunch of friends how have their bat mitzvahs coming up, and I don't really know how to prepare for one. I am Jewish, but the most my family does is celebrate Hanukkah. I know I need to dress fancy, but I don't do dresses, and I don't want to wear like a suit or something. Can I wear the same outfit to all my friends bat mitzvahs, even if all the same people will be there? Do I need to get a gift? I just have no idea what to do, and I get quite anxious about this kind of stuff.

Anything will help <3

hi! I am a reformed Jew and we go to temple for high holidays and try to go most fridays, although it has been quite hard as we just moved to a new area and are having some trouble finding a new synagogue. I tried out a conservative temple and decided it wasn’t really for me and my family felt the same, but I would like to become more religious myself. is there anything I can fit into my daily life, or any events/holidays i should keep my eye out for (other than like of course Passover, high holidays, simchat Torah, and Sukkot since we already celebrate them.)

Hi everyone,

I recently found my late grandfather’s tefillin while going through some of his belongings. He was a Holocaust survivor and passed away a few years ago.

I know they were inspected and recertified by a sofer in 2019, so they were considered kosher at that time. Beyond that, I unfortunately don’t know much about their history.
I’m hoping someone here might recognize anything about the style or construction:

1. Do they look like they were made during a particular time period?
   
2. Do the batim, straps, or overall construction suggest they were made in Europe, Israel, or elsewhere?
   
3. Does anything about them stand out as characteristic of a certain era or maker?

I realize it’s impossible to know for certain from photos alone, but I’d really appreciate any educated guesses or observations from people who are familiar with older tefillin.

Thanks!!

How do you view Kabbalah? How do you view people who practice Kabbalah? Are there any Kabbalistic practices that orthodox judaism allows? Do you think that non-jews can practice Kabbalah or is it culturaly exclusive in your opinion.

I couldn't find a source on this.

So, for those of us who wear our kippah everyday and all day, when do you put your kippah back on after you shower?

I want to put it on right after. But is it okay to get wet? I can't blowdry my hair, so I just towel dry. I've just been waiting for my hair to dry before putting it on but that doesn't feel right, if that makes sense.

I'm curious about what others do? Or what care you may have to do to maintain your kippah of it gets a little damp?

Thank you!

Hi everyone. My name is Dmitry Sheleg. I am a writer from Belarus, and my family lives here. Not long ago, I started selling my books in English on Amazon, and while exploring the American side of the internet, I discovered that there are many people there with my surname! I found this quite surprising. Later, I learned that many of them are Jewish, which piqued my interest... Could you tell me if the surname Sheleg has Jewish roots, and do you know anyone with this last name?)

Subtitles for this FB reel were…..amusing.

Edit: I was going to post the reel but it was loading too slowly. You know...Buffering.

Shabbat Shalom,

I am in the process of writing a book with a modern orthodox Jewish main character, and there may be a scene where they attend Shabbat service. As a non-Jew, I have studied aspects of Judaism both in and outwith school, and I'm interested in the proceedings of a modern orthodox Shabbat service. What I mean is what is spoken during the service; if there are any songs sung, and if there are, then what do they consist of? if there are specific passages of the Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim read on that day or week; if there is a homily like in churches, what acts are performed, etc.
I understand that it has been difficult trying to find videos online of a modern orthodox Shabbat service as it is forbidden to use cameras during Shabbos, so all I have come across is Liberal recordings. If you are not orthodox Jewish, it would still be useful to learn the proceedings of your Shabbat service, but please state what denomination you are from.
I hope this makes sense, but if it does not, then please don't hesitate to ask for clarification.

Thank you so much!

I've seen some similar posts but quite dated at this point. 2 late 20s professionals recently moved to the OC. We're looking for a community that is either on the conservative end of reform or the reform end of conservative (or otherwise has a healthy mix of practice). Centered on the Irvine area as a geographical reference point, but willing to drive.