Kiruv & Orthodox Judaism

Are you in the process of getting brainwashed by an Institute for Jewish Wisdom? Is all that mumbo jumbo getting you down as you try to don a black hat a week after being a regular college kid in California? This handy dandy glossary will provide an explanation for...

When he was something like 10 years old, his school’s idea of an educational experience was bringing in a sheep to be ritually slaughtered and dissected.  Nothing could prepare him for the moment when the sheep went from alive, albeit bound, to an explosion of red blood that burst forward...

I have alluded to this before in other scathing posts, but it's becoming more and more clear to me, to the point that I almost see it as synonymous. People generally become religious because they have a fucked up past, and the more religious they become, the more their...

One of my earliest memories of Rabbi Noach Weinberg, also known by the more anglicized name of Noah Weinberg, was encountering him in the street as a young child. I was intimidated, but he gave me the brightest smile and fished through his briefcase for a lollypop. (I can't...

From the back cover: Are you worried that someone from the secular world will ask you a question about Judaism that you don’t have an answer for? Are you heading out to a campus to inspire others about Judaism with only a tenuous amount of knowledge of it yourself? Are you concerned...

Yeedle Kugelmacher was a pedophile. Not those shady, creepy people who need to register as sex offenders. He was of the Rabbi-therapist variety. You know that whole catholic priest stereotype? Kind of like that, but you need to swap out Catholicism with a different set of arcane beliefs. Now,...

This one’s a doozy. Bear with me. Also, if you have a bit of context, you’ll know this ones strike quite close to home. TL;DR at the end. Here’s how the spiel goes: Judaism is amazing. It’s enlightened. It’s changed the world for the better. Judeo Christian values are da...

A recent memory came back to me. At the age of around 14, I remember bursting into tears in front of both my parents. I didn't understand, I told them, what the point of all the Torah study I was doing that I engaged in for about 12 hours...

The kiruv world prides itself in its open-mindedness. "Ask us anything! We will change our views in a heartbeat if you convince us! Sure you can ask about sex, and no, we don't use a hole in the sheet, we're super progressive!" But ask yourself, have any of the really difficult...

In the hyperbolic style of Mishpacha Magazine. Inspired by bullshit like this. Mild mannered and unassuming, most people looking at Gedalya Halevi Fleagenkrautz would not realize the man is truly one of the main leaders of the generation, a gadol who has brought thousands closer to Yiddishkeit. In the corner, a...