Kiruv & Orthodox Judaism

Oh boy, let me fill you in. The literal definition of Baal Teshuva means "master of repentance/return". The broad implication being that they are "returning" to something they have lost, namely their religion, spiritual identity, etc. Inherent in the term Baal Teshuva is the implication that one's previous life was...

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...

“The will of God is so,” explains the The Kiruv Rabbi in the most non-condescending voice he can muster. The Pimply Kid before him, plucked from the bottom of the university barrel, nodded stupidly. “And so,” continued the Rabbi, “It figures by default that the Jews are the most important people...

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,...

The 80s get a bad rap. For synth music and terrible fashion. Generalized away in three syllables, faster than you can say, well, The 80s. The decades before it are nostalgic. 60s – when rebellion was first invented. 70s – when it was perfected, exploding with psychedelia and bellbottoms and afros. But the...

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...

This one is a kiruv special, not aimed at Judaism as a whole. "Did you know the Matrix is a metaphor?That Groundhogs Day teaches us a valuable lesson?That the lead singer for Maroon 5 is Jewish? (and hawt, mmm!)What Gossip Girl can teach you about having a great Jewish marriage! If...

An article penned by my father is currently one of the top posts on the homepage of aish.com (the cheap imitation of the far superior fuckaish.com). In it, he harps upon the single point that has got him out of bed in the morning for the past 40 years:...

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...

Mental health in the Orthodox world is a catastrophe. It's gotten marginally better in the Orthodox community in the United States, but in Israel the shitshow still reigns supreme. It starts with the absolute stigmatization of any mental health issue. Physical ailments aren't great either, but mental health ones...