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The Slippery Slope to Kitniot

Posted on 03/17/2013 by Gila Rose in Beliefs and Practices

Jews come in all different stripes. Yet it’s amazing the diversity that can exist inside a single stripe. For instance, among those who define themselves as “observant/Orthodox Jews” there...

A Wish for My Son Upon Receiving His First Siddur

Posted on 03/10/2013 by Gila Rose in Beliefs and Practices

This past Friday, my son (along with nearly 100 first grade colleagues) received his very first siddur. As anyone who has participated in or attended a “mesibat siddur/siddur party” can attest, the...

The Promised Land: We Never Promised it Would Be Easy

Posted on 03/03/2013 by Gila Rose in Israel

Let me give you a glimpse into the inner workings of a JVO blogger. As I go about doing my thing, I’m always on the lookout for good blog-worthy topics for JVO. I have a running conversation with myself,...

How I am Bringing the Joy Back to Purim

Posted on 02/18/2013 by Gila Rose in Holidays

You may be asking: How can you bring joy back to Purim? Isn’t Purim a day all about happiness and rejoicing? Don’t we belt out every year, “Mishenichnas Adar marbim besimchah?” (When...

A Step Forward for Agunot

Posted on 02/10/2013 by Gila Rose in Beliefs and Practices

Big news in the often-turbulent world of Jewish divorce (get) proceedings: For the first time,state law upheld the constitutionality of the Beth Din of America’s (BDA) prenuptial contract. Some...

The Legacy of Ilan Ramon

Posted on 02/04/2013 by Gila Rose in Israel

The memory is etched into my mind precisely, with the kind of unforgiving detail our brain saves for tragedy. February 1, 2003. We were living in New York at the time, but were visiting our family in Baltimore...

On Recycling and Religion

Posted on 01/27/2013 by Gila Rose in Holidays

In the feverish excitement of last week over the Israeli elections, I neglected to mention the other holiday that just took place: Tu B’Shvat, better known as the birthday of the trees.Tu B’Shvat,...

Elections Are Coming!

Posted on 01/20/2013 by Gila Rose in Israel

This Tuesday is a special holiday in Israel. It is a rare holiday. It is also the only one dependent on the stability of the government, so it sometimes comes around more often than its expected...

Leaving the Fold

Posted on 01/07/2013 by Gila Rose in Beliefs and Practices

On this rainy Monday in Israel, let’s play a cozy game of Would You…? Today’s question: Would you “divorce” Judaism if you could? Here’s how to play: Let’s say there...

New Home for the New Year: Bnei Menashe and Falash Mura

Posted on 12/31/2012 by Gila Rose in Israel

Two groups of immigrants will be ringing in the New Year in their new country (a country which does not actually celebrate New Year’s, but that’s beside the point.) One group, known as the Bnei...

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