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...

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,...

Rule #1 of cults, according to the international society of cults, is don't call yourself a cult. But what if others call you that? That could undermine the whole thing, the whole big plan for world domination. Here's a great strategy - beat them to the punch, and make...

My partner and I recently attended a retreat organized by Footsteps, the organization that supports (mostly) Orthodox Jews leaving religion, especially in the New York area. The retreat was wonderful, and I am grateful to the organization for creating such an enjoyable experience, with a lot of generosity, abundance,...

I made a song about a certain someone. No clue if anyone else will like it. But it was good for my healing. You gotta admit that the metaphor of Noah's ark sinking is a good one though. https://youtu.be/JNKGhVbgs94 Here it is on Spotify:

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...

“Judaism is about relationships,” sayeth the narrative. “It’s about aligning yourself with truth. It’s about becoming more like God, so that you can connect with God (how that doesn’t work is the subject of a separate article).” Furthermore, “Only dim witted people, like women and children (a pretty direct paraphrase...

The bible, so full of contradictory statements, is a perfect setting for Rorschach tests. It’s all just spilled ink on the page. You see what you want to see. You want airy fairy hippy shit? You got it. “Sons you are, to the lord your God.” You want dogmatic, oppressive, hardline world views? You’ll...