Kiruv & Orthodox Judaism

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...

As all this darkness and such was unfolding I found myself in a top rabbinical academy, studying to get Smicha and become a Kiruv rabbi myself. I had dreamt of this for years. This was the purpose of it all – to apply all those years of knowledge for the...

“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 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...

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me this, I'd have enough money to start my own religion. Or at least my own congregation. Same difference, really. Everyone seems to have some magical elusive Judaism that I'm missing out on."Your Judaism is not like my Judaism.""You should...

https://soundcloud.com/shalom-tzvi-shore/with-alex-shandrovsky Recently, in light of recent events, a friend of mine asked to have a call with me, which was quite awesome, and to record it, which was cool. We ended up discussing a whole bunch of stuff - why I write this stuff on Facebook and what it's been like for...

It took me a long time to realize this, but the kiruv system pulls some really sophisticated mindfucks while trying to convince people about the “truth” of religion. They will basically play both sides of an idea – contradicting themselves but making some convincing arguments in the process. Until you...

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...

“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...

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...