Depressing news. Something has to be done when synagogue costs are ballooning due to how much we have to spend on security.

Hello everybody!

I hope you're all having a great day today!

I'm a patrilineal jew 21F and I've been interested in converting to orthodox Judaism for recognition, aliyah purposes, and also due to my genuine interest and beliefs for orthodoxy, but I'm quite confused on my next steps! I went to Israel for birthright and fell in love with the culture and livelihood and felt a genuine connection to my soul.

I live in Columbus, Ohio currently and my only main source of conversion is the Hillel on campus and I haven't yet been able to schedule a time with the orthodox rabbi there yet, which I'm looking forward to!

I've called a few orthodox synagogues for a rabbi, sponser, or resources but they've all let me know that unfortunately, they do not have those resources, so I'm a bit stuck on what my next steps are. I know that I need an orthodox rabbi to sponser and teach me but I'm unsure how to find one!

For individuals who were successfully able to do a conversion or with any knowledge on this, could I get some help please? Any help or guidance is appreciated! Thank you so much!! :)

Rosh Hashanah is coming. And there’s one simple question worth asking: Do you have to understand everything to be changed by the experience? There’s an ancient Torah idea that offers a surprising answer. Shabbat Shalom, and may the new year bring growth, inspiration, and blessing. Watch now https://youtu.be/oodOijGqZUQ

I was chatting to a friend about our respective family’s Friday night dinners, as well as a recent Chabad and a reform dinner, and it made me curious of how a “typical” (although I realise there’s no such thing) Friday night dinner looks like for people from reform, conservative, orthodox and unaffiliated families.

Happy to go first. I didn’t have a religious upbringing but reconnected with Judaism as an adult. I feel most aligned with Masorti but our shul is unaffiliated.

Our Fridays include Shabbat candles, quick (if they’re still for long enough) blessing of the children (all in one go though bc … they’re not still for long), challah and hamotzi, singing shalom aleichem and board games after dinner.

I'm getting the emails about all the wonderful sukkot events planned by my shul, or by my JCC, and I've noticed a pattern. There are events for kids, for young families, for young adults, for empty nesters, for older adults, for LGBTQ+, and probably others. But there really aren't events for...parents of non-toddlers.

Like, I know we're busy, but my kids are old enough to leave at home and that's just what I'd do to attend some programming with other adults in their 40s and no kids. Does this happen other places? Maybe it's just confirmation bias. Or maybe--and this is cynical--it's that people in my age bracket are already members of congregations and they've got little left to get out of us. I can't figure it out. Tell me if I'm crazy.

Conservative Judaism needs that same courage now. It doesn’t need to become Reform or Orthodox. Trying to imitate either would guarantee irrelevance. It needs to rediscover why the middle matters and become unapologetic about occupying it. There is enormous strength in a Judaism that takes tradition seriously while engaging fully with modern life, and there is a constituency for it.

by Steve Rosenberg

https://www.jns.org/opinion/steve-rosenberg/the-shrinking-jewish-middle

Perhaps I'm just overthinking it and my anxiety is ramping up, but here goes:

In (political science) class recently at my university my professor had us write excuse letters as practice for writing/defending the other side (i.e. pick someone reprehensible and defend them). He said he'd pick the two best to have read out in class. I personally thought the exercise was fun and enjoyed writing my letter.

Both of the ones read aloud in class spread the Israel genocide libel and one (the "best" one) "defended" Ben Shapiro by saying "that if he didn't spread Israeli propaganda his donors wouldn't pay him". The paper then accused Israeli dark money of influencing US politics and making us fight wars for Israel.

I felt sick and wanted to puke (I'm the only Jew in the class and proudly wear my magen david in public), and ended up leaving and crying in my car because I was so mad.

I've never had a problem with this professor, and when October 7 happened he encouraged an Israeli student to speak to the class and tell about her family's plight and has encouraged open dialogue. He's been nothing but encouraging the entire time I've had him as my professor.

I spoke with him today with another professor supporting me and I'd like to think the conversation went well. He listened and admitted that he obviously had some biases he needed to address and said going forward he'll tweak the assignment.

I like to think I have a positive relationship with him; he's writing a recommendation letter for me for my Fulbright application. But I'm worried that confronting him (especially with another professor) might have damaged or ruined that relationship. I do not believe he was trying to be malicious, and he seemed genuinely apologetic, but I worry that class may now be exceedingly awkward or anxiety inducing.

TLDR: There was an incident in class with another student that I strongly feel was antisemitic. Did I mess up by confronting my professor about it?

I should add that I do not know the student and as such did not feel comfortable approaching her.

Hi everyone.
I’m 15 years old and from Ukraine, and I really want to study in Israel through the Naale program.
There is one big problem: I have Jewish ancestry in my family, but documenting it is extremely complicated.
Several branches of my family are believed to have Jewish ancestors from Volhynia. One of my grandmothers came from a very small shtetl where, according to Yad Vashem’s historical information, a large majority of the population was Jewish before the Holocaust.
The problem is that some of my ancestors converted to Christianity generations ago, and their names and surnames were changed. Because of this, the surviving records identify them as Christians and sometimes as Poles. The old Jewish cemetery in the area was also destroyed, and many of the original records appear to be missing.
I also have DNA results from different tests showing around 30–40% Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. I know that DNA alone is not official proof, and I am NOT trying to claim that it is.
I also have DNA matches with Jewish families. One of them shares around 45 cM with me, and I’m hoping that these matches might eventually help me reconstruct the missing family line and find documents.
I have already contacted Naale to ask what kind of evidence they can accept in a case like this.
So I wanted to ask:
Has anyone here gone through Naale with complicated or incomplete Jewish ancestry documentation?
What did you do if your ancestors had converted to Christianity, changed their names, or if the original Jewish records had been lost?
Would genealogical evidence, archival records, documentation of relatives, or DNA matches ever be useful as part of the process?
I’m not asking anyone to prove my ancestry for me. I just really want to know whether there is a realistic path forward.
I’m only 15, and honestly this situation is pretty heartbreaking. I don’t want my family’s history to disappear just because the documents were lost or changed generations ago.
Any advice or experience would mean a lot to me. ❤️
Thank you.
— David

My (30f) and my cousin’s (32m) mom are sisters and have a complete history of Judaism culturally, religiously, and by matrilineal history. He became bar mitzvah at thirteen and I became bat mitzvah at 13. We grew up hours away from each other but were raised to be as close as siblings. Through some sort of inverse serendipity, we both happened to encounter serious health concerns at around the same time in 2023 and ended up being less social and haven’t had contact for a while other than my grandma’s funeral in 2024. I have decided I would like to reach out to family I have missed including him. However, it seems since the time we last spoke he has become vehemently anti-Zionist. Not only does he post a lot of general propaganda on his Facebook and Instagram, he also posts frequently shaming other Jews who are Zionist. So many of his posts seem extremely hateful and also follow antiemetic rhetoric or common talking points that blame the regular citizens of Israel as much as its government officials. All of this is very surprising to me after knowing him my whole life and I feel this is the reason I’m avoiding reaching out. I’m afraid he is likely to bring this up. If after a lifetime of growing up like siblings he suddenly rejects my kinship, I think it’ll break a piece of my soul. I’m sorry for the long post. I’m just looking for advice on this whole situation.

It's super weird that today the two news stories that keep popping up in my Reddit and Facebook feeds are two separate Variety articles. One about Mark Ruffalo getting support from Jewish friends and actors defending him after accusations of antisemitism. The other, Gal Gadot, the most famous Israeli actress expressing an unpopular opinion about the only hot button issue that rivals Israel/Gaza.

The timing is just odd.

Hi Everyone,

I'm working on a piece of fiction that I thought was going to be a short story, but length-wise it is edging toward novelette or novella territory. It's a queer coming-of-age romance set mostly in a Jewish summer camp in the mid-'90s. I would call it PG-13 rated; it's a story about teens navigating identities and relationships and there is zero explicit sexual content, but the dialogue does include a realistic amount of cursing.

I'd love to find some kind of venue for when it's ready for public eyes. I've lately realized that there's no room for it in a lot of mainstream forums, including mainstream queer ones. It is explicitly Jewish all the way through, with everything dictated by the rhythms of Jewish camp life. One of the prominent secondary characters is an Israeli counselor who's just completed his compulsory IDF service. The story never gets into politics or warfare or anything like that, but there are details I know would not fly in a lot of today's lit circles.

Anyone want to suggest a place to post it where someone might read it? I have no ambition to make money off of this, but I'd like it to see the light of day.

Thanks!

Just got a new black enamel hot plate for Shabbat and noticed a chip in the enamel on the edge (bare metal showing underneath) when it arrived. Contacted the seller and they offered a 20% discount, saying most customers use it fine despite minor cosmetic enamel damage.

I don't mind the cosmetic look, but wondering if anyone has experience with a chip like this leading to actual problems down the line - rust, safety issues, etc.? It's on the outer edge/trim, not near the heating element.

Would appreciate hearing from anyone who's had a similar chip and how it held up over time. Photo attached.

I went on a date with a girl I quite like the other day and she turned out to be Jewish! What a nice bonus, however she seems to be mildly anti Israel. I’m not at all observant and am an atheist but I still grew up very Jewish, have lots of family and friends in Israel etc. She didn’t seem at all like one of those hateful rabid “anti Zionists” and I’m just wondering if any of y’all have any advice about gently pushing back and trying to make her see reason about this. As I understand it she is estranged from her Jewish side of the family may be part of it. I don’t have any desire to shove my views down her throat or start an argument but it’s very clear when you come to my house that we love Israel (pics on the walls, kids Magen David artwork etc..) and the only experience I have discussing this stuff usually turns into a screaming match with my friendly local Jew hating protesters. Hope you all are well!

Looks like John Galliano is out.

hi fam using a throwaway to keep my main about shitty reality shows and Tottenham (pls be kind, we're going through it over there rn💀) sorry for my English and the long rant but looking for some perspective -- also sorry it it's the wrong flair!

so my (israeli f30) job is sending me to minneapolis for about 3 months assignment and it's an amazing professional opportunity that I'm super grateful for, but I'm so nervous because my insta is literally covered with how things are for Jews in the usa right now... and minnesota I heard is really intense.

for background, I'm a third culture kid, my family lived outside Israel pretty much all my life (ironically, just returned to the country permanently about six months ago...), went to college in the states where there was a fairly sizeable Hillel/chabad. I have a name my parents chose so it can fit in the country I grew up in and across my heritage languages. I wear a Magen David my sis got me when I was a kid but I know when to tuck it in... I'm mistaken for wasian a lot randomly but my bf (who is fortunately able to come with!!) looks like a default Middle Eastern, he gets mistaken as Arab when we travel... I think his accent isn't very heavy or typical israeli in English but I could be wrong

We're pretty secular, he doesn't wear a kippah

I know I'm over worrying about him because love and also he hasn't been much in the US, but he's well traveled and he knows the deal and like I just want to do well by my job and for us to have a good time in Minnesota and see some more of the us. plus his job is letting him work remotely which we're so grateful.

idk guys Minnesota just looks so beautiful and I'm basic but like Costco...trader joes... the lakes and hallmark vibes wow

so here I am if there are any Minnesota Jews or Israelis who can tell us what the reality is like just what life is like for you and how you're feeling I'm so appreciate it 🫶

edit: wow guys thank you so much for the advice!! this is great to hear im so more excited now 🥹

Hi all! I am a non-Jewish ally and a new college freshman. I already knew that, especially at a liberal arts school, it was overwhelmingly likely that most of my peers would be swept up in the recent rise of virulent antisemitic, but I hadn’t encountered it personally until tonight. My roommate is currently sick and went to sleep early, so I left our dorm for the lounge to finish my homework. While I was in there, the people around me started ranting about Israel (pretty much all the stuff you’d expect, “evil colonizers,” “genocide” etc). I was very uncomfortable with this and picked up my stuff and moved to the opposite side of the room. This probably sent some kind of message but they weren’t deterred and kept going for a few minutes while I tried very hard to ignore them and just focus on my work. I felt bad for not speaking up as I want to be the best ally I can and I know a part of that is confronting antisemitism even when it is uncomfortable. My logic was I don’t think that my speaking up in this moment would have convinced them of anything, and considering that I have to share a small building with these people for the next nine months, I wanted to err on the safe side of not making myself a target socially. However, I could be totally wrong about this- it was kind of selfish and really my spur-of-the-moment decision where I was just trying to get homework done so I could go to my room and sleep, not get entangled in a very complex geopolitical debate. But I also know that at least one of my hallmates is Jewish (she was in her room at the time of the incident- if she had also been here, I probably would have said something so she could feel more safe, and checked in with her after). I am not naive enough to assume things like this won’t happen again, and I know my own fear and discomfort is probably nothing compared to that of someone who is regularly and directly affected by the antisemitism we’ve seen in the past few years. So what is the best course of action I should take in the future to push back against my peers’ antisemitism and ensure my Jewish hallmate and classmates can feel at least somewhat protected? Is it worth taking the plunge and refuting it directly, even though I am pretty sure it won’t change anyone’s mind? Am I wrong about that? Sorry for so many questions, I am really at a loss for how bad it has gotten and how prevalent, but I’m sure it’s much worse for y’all.

EDIT: I just got out of class and saw all these wonderful comments, I am going to go through and reply to them individually but I just wanted to say thank you for the responses. I tried to post this last night but it got filtered out because I didn’t have enough karma, so I cross posted in r/Judaism (it was later deleted for being too closely related to I/P, which I do understand). I think the karma from my post there got this one to post automatically. At the suggestion of some of the replies on my first post, I am emailing my RA— I don’t think it will do much because they weren’t technically saying anything about Jews but rather “Zionists” and Israel as an entity, which unfortunately probably reflects the majority opinion of my institution and almost certainly that of a random 20 year old, but it will at least be good for creating a paper trail if the behavior escalates. And I am going to try and reach out to my Jewish hallmate, too, which will definitely be a bit awkward but you all are right that she would probably appreciate having someone on her side. I’ve also been attending events with my campus Hillel, and plan to continue in the future— though I have of course made it clear that I am not Jewish to avoid misleading people! Thank you again for all the supportive comments and suggestions :)

Rosh Hashanah is right around the corner! I’m trying to pull together a list of food traditions from different Jewish communities around the world. I know the main ones, like apple in honey, fish head, pomegranate seeds, carrots, and dates. Im looking for ones that are specific to a Jewish community from somewhere around the world. If you have one, please comment it below! And try to include where it’s from, the meaning behind it, and the recipe if possible. Thanks all! Shanah Tovah!

Hi, billboards from Jews.com are up in the NYC area and this article explains they are a missionary front. Their website straight-up is full of totally anti-Jewish ideas like you-know-who is your savior.

https://matzav.com/beware-missionary-group-launches-aggressive-new-york-jews-com-billboard-campaign-targeting-jews/

London family went to Paris with the family for the first time in ages this bank holiday. Must say was a bit concerned given all the anti-Semitic rhetoric coming out of France but was very pleasantly surprised. There was apparently a Palestinian march when we were there but the only march we saw had people waving Stars of David and Persian flags.

Spent a lot of time in the Jewish areas - no negative graffiti, lots of very visible Jews going about their daily lives and lots of tourists happily eating in the Jewish delis and falafel bars. Stars of David on sale in loads of places, lots of religious shops, was a pleasure to see.

I’m sure they’re clearly around but didn’t see one Palestinian flag or keffiyah in my four days - and we walked around the whole centre of Paris.

Not claiming that my visit is representative but it definitely felt different to quite a few parts of Western Europe.