How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household

There are four steps to repentance, a matter of learning the four Rs: Recognition of having done wrong. Regret. Resolution not to repeat. Restraining oneself in the face of the same temptation or opportunity that previously led to wrongdoing.

niddah generates a different sense of self for a woman in relation to her husband, a feeling of self-autonomy, of being her own person, of having a kind of control that is free of the need to manipulate and to control others.

The table is considered an altar. Thus, we not only show appreciation before we eat, but also, as the Torah instructs us (DEUT. 8:10), after we have eaten.

a critical eye and a loving heart at one and the same time.

simple definition, modern Orthodoxy sounds like an anomaly. How can one be modern and Orthodox at the same time?

Implicit in this is a concept of inequity, that is, a healthy distinction between parents and children. The Torah—and the tradition—never intended it to be a relationship of equals. While there were checks on parental exploitation of this imbalance, there was never any doubt as to who played what roles.

marriage also requires that we continually work at it, and make a commitment to its longevity so that it doesn’t collapse at the first sign of pain or anger or hurt. Sometimes it is only the commitment—call it will—that carries us through those rough times.

that is the nature of the prophetic voice—idealism untarnished by reality, a pure goal to strive for despite the difficulties.

It is generally accepted that Judaism as a religion is more oriented to holiness of time than holiness of place.