One of the things that tends to drive me up the wall is the inaccurate media definitions of Orthodox Jews. They seem to carelessly and loosely define the term, as well as make it synonymous with Chassidic Jews, as well as having to clear distinction made between “standard” Orthodox Jews and “Ultra-Orthodox Jews“. First of all, let’s start with the basics. An Orthodox Jew is simply a Jew that believes that the Torah is divine [...]

Does anyone remember the Phil Donahue show? The show went off the air when I was 17, but I distinctly recall liking Phil Donahue a whole heck of a lot more than Oprah Winfrey. Some time spent looking at old episodes on YouTube reminded me why. It’s because Phil Donahue had shows like this on a pretty regular basis: It may shock many people to hear that I actually agree with the general sentiments of [...]

A friend posted this video on her Facebook timeline, remarking “Now that’s real talent!” Without a doubt, both Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr. were world class entertainers. However I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of offense; in that seeing two grown Black men tap dancing is just a little too reminiscent of a minstrel show to me. I began to wonder if I was being too sensitive perhaps. Well I found the following quote in [...]

Well here we are again; another year, another MLK Day. Forgive me if I sound a bit cynical this year…it’s not intentional. You see, ever since I’ve had an online presence, I’ve done some sort of tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He’s one of those historic figures that you can never tire of honoring. But as I lay here thinking about what I’m going to write this year, I can’t get over [...]

I should start off with an apology at the negative tone of this post’s title; but I believe that people should know the negatives upfront, get past them (if they want to) and then go on to pursue their dreams. I love sharing my experiences and opinions with others (hence why I’m a blogger). Dating interracially is one of the topics I have no issues talking about. However, in the past 24 hours, I was [...]

Two nights ago I started getting wind of all the windfall surrounding Matisyahu shaving off his beard. As expected, many Jewish sites jumped up quickly to post the news, with some reactions being pretty negative; while others focused on the deeper, halachaic significance. As I read the articles and blogs in earnest, I’m glad that I waited a bit before blogging about the subject myself. That is because, like many people, I “react to scandal”; [...]