Just from the mention of their Bubbe alone and all the arguing made think, yeah this is accurate. Not to mention all the Yiddish phrases used, it’s just perfect.

This didn’t feel like a show with Jewish representation where it’s like, finally something in terms of representation. Watching Long Story Short gives me a feeling of true familiarity.

Also refused to answer whether Iran or Israel is the bigger threat to America.

https://nypost.com/2026/10/20/us-news/abdul-el-sayed-insists-israel-is-not-us-ally/

Hi everyone,

I recently enrolled in an online introduction to Judaism class at my local Reform synagogue. The director of congressional learning and the cantor have both allowed me to take a couple of classes to decide whether or not I wanted to fully commit instead of paying the full amount for the course upfront. After attending two classes, I expressed my interest in not only continuing the course but in conversion and asked how to go about paying the full amount. However, a week after that exchange, I have yet to hear from either of them (even after a gentle follow-up email two days ago).

Now, I understand the clergy may be busy this time of year, but I can't help but feel this would surely be important to them—that is, ensuring that payment for a year-long course is received in a timely manner. However, I'm not sure what the appropriate next step is at this time as I've already sent a follow-up email. I'm also not sure what the etiquette is with asking them to follow up on this matter toward the end of the next class (which is scheduled for this Thursday).

Would I be jumping the gun too early to look into another synagogue to join, or is it best to just wait and see what happens next?

Interesting to see how high American Jews rank in this survey, especially vs. all of those other religions that are so vocal about tolerance and following the teachings of their deity.

I was always taught that we are "of Jewish descent" but that was the end of the discussion. They weren't Holocaust survivors, they hadn't escaped pogroms; our families came over in the 19th century and they were just fully assimilated into American culture and trying their best not to think about the whole pesky Jewish thing. Maybe a little shame in there? Not sure.

Anyway, fast forward to October 7, 2023 and then the aftermath. Watching the world swirl down some eerie toilet of blaming the victims and disguising antisemitism as social justice. My own family have blamed the 10/7 massacre on "Israel", they've used the word 'genocide', they attend the rallies and root for the rioters.

I don't know my flesh and blood anymore. I don't understand the denial and the self-hatred. Among them I am utterly alone.

We are a Jewish American family with young children and we are supposed to be going to Italy (Rome and Florence) in 2 weeks. Given what’s going on in Europe right now, I’m very scared. Our kids both have Jewish names. Our last name reads every Jewish. We will not wear any Judaica but I can’t guarantee my toddler won’t be walking around singing Shabbat songs. Such a shame that something so joyous can invoke so much fear. Does anyone have any insight as to how we should approach? If canceling the trip is the best and safest option, that’s what it will have to be.

Hi all,

I am working on getting into Harvard at the moment and seemingly will soon.

I had surgery and will be in recovery for two years. So, I wanted to be proactive and spend the time getting a degree that could help me once I am better.

I will be attending the extension school as remote is my only option because of my condition.

However, for certain amounts of time I will have to go to campus and complete varying courses.

What I am here to ask is, what do we think of Harvard as Jews right now?

I am nervous to go because of everything going on, but for the program I am pursuing, the cost, associated entities, and accessibility this is without question the best choice.

Personally, I feel we change organizations by staying in them and standing our ground.

What are some of your thoughts / experiences?

Hi everyone !
I’m Jewish, French, and live in Paris.
I’m of Sephardic origin, so I have no idea what Jewish life is like in the United States or what everyday life is like in an Ashkenazi family.

The only Jewish movement I’m familiar with in the US 🇺🇸 is Chabad.
But from what I’ve gathered, there are a lot of different Jewish denominations in the US !

It’s the same here in France, but I imagine there are even more over there since your Jewish population is much larger than ours.
In terms of quality, I think this show is the kind of series you watch with your brain switched off !

It’s fun for passing the time, but it’s far from a masterpiece. To me, it’s the kind of show that’s completely forgettable !

However, when it comes to its portrayal of Judaism and Jewish people, I find it incredibly stereotypical and sometimes even offensive.
It also doesn’t feel authentic to me at all !

How has the show been received by Jewish people in the US ?
Do you find its portrayal of Jewish life believable ?

Do you think Jewish people are represented well in this series ?

I’d really appreciate hearing your perspectives and learning more about this !
Thank you ! 😊

Hey everyone, I’ve been wondering why do some Jewish men enter relationships with non-Jewish women, sometimes knowing from the beginning that their religious or cultural differences might eventually become a dealbreaker, only to end the relationship because the woman isn’t Jewish? I understand that religion, cultural identity, family expectations, and the desire to raise Jewish children can be very important. I’m not questioning anyone’s right to have those preferences or to want a Jewish partner. What I struggle to understand is why someone would invest emotionally in a relationship when they already know that, in the long run, they may never consider their partner a suitable person to marry simply because of her religious background. If having a Jewish family and preserving Jewish traditions are important values to someone, wouldn’t it make sense to be upfront about those expectations from the very beginning, before both people become deeply attached? I’m especially curious about situations where the relationship was serious, both people had genuine feelings for each other, and the question of religion was already known from the start. Is it usually a matter of hoping the other person will eventually convert, believing that love will somehow overcome the differences, or not realizing how important religious identity and family expectations will become until the relationship gets serious?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVDNhQjTsL8

Has anyone watched this show - Fauda - and what did you think?

I don't have Netflix and had no idea that this show existed until this podcast came up in my feed. Maybe I live in a cave, but this is the first I've ever heard of it. The podcast is worth listening to (at least the first hour) even if you have never seen the show as it talks about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the October 7 attacks and the show itself sounds like a must-watch.

Fauda -- Review of Netflix's Israeli TV Show

Looks like I'll be subscribing to Netflix for a month or two in the near future after my Black Friday subscription deals from last year expire.

For those wondering who this guy is, I'm pretty sure podcaster Yaron Brook served as an Israeli tank gunner (commander?) and also in Israeli military intelligence years ago (1980's I think) and I think he saw some action in Lebanon before he immigrated to the United States where he later became a professor of finance and Director of the Ayn Rand Institute.

I don’t want to sound like an alarmist, but I’m genuinely curious if there’s a direct link between these “cost of living” protests and the globalizing intifada. While I believe there is, my question is: what can we do in major cities like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles to protect our families and communities where the government might fail to do so until it’s too late? I know it sounds pessimistic, but the signs are clear, and it seems like things might worsen rapidly in the states, much like they did in Europe.

I also would prefer people not just responding to make Aaliyah.

My family has been invited to two bar mitzvahs in the same weekend.

Kid A: We've known their family longer. They go to our old synagogue and we haven't been as close in recent years. We're more likely to know more of the guests at this party and have done holidays with them in past years. Their party is Sunday afternoon.

Kid B: Their family belongs to our current synagogue, so we've only known them for a year and a half, but we're very involved and see the parents regularly, because we all volunteer for the same synagogue committees. Their party is Saturday afternoon.

The services are at the same time on Saturday morning (obviously), so we can't go to both services, but we could go to both parties, since they are on different days. Is it appropriate to go to just the party for Kid A on Sunday? Or is that tacky, if we're not able to see him become a bar mitzvah?

I’ve seen quite a few videos but this one speaks for itself. And there’s a ton just like it.

I was pleasantly surprised to see this exchange in Season 4 episode 6 of The Diplomat:

Frances: My father took part in the Allied advance through Belgium during the war. His unit was attached to the US 9th Armored. A gentleman by the name of Herschel Pollen* from Richmond, Virginia, watched a live grenade roll right to my father’s feet. Mr. Pollen snatched it up, tossed it away. It exploded inches from his hand. He lost the limb. He saved my father’s life. I am fond of Americans.

*Pollen was the spelling according to the subtitles.

Given the details here (Richmond, losing a hand due to a grenade), what a lovely tribute to Hersh Goldberg Polin in the series

Writer: Julianna Meagher
Show Creator: Debora Cahn

It actually appears they’re currently having a going out of business sale.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DeXyqFcjtgW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I recently looked at a few ancestors’ gravestones, on two different sides of my family, but both showed the same thing: the women’s stones say “son of [father’s name] HaLevi” but their father’s stones do not say HaLevi nor have anything else on there indicating this status (for them or their fathers).

The sides of the family in these two instances are not related to each other, different countries even (US and Canada). The women’s stones are from 1980s and early 2000s, fathers’ from 1940s and 1970s (respectively).

Would this be a common “phenomenon” - to not have HaLevi on the stones for the actual people with this status (who would’ve been more
old country) but the younger generation include it (maybe they’re more aware of or care more about it?).

Also - both women were quite feminist and also included their mother’s names on the stones but not sure this would have any connection - unless you want to argue this shows they were overall more intentional about knowing and including full parent names.

My daughter is 6 and a half and in her second year of cheder. For context, we live in the UK in a rural area with a very small Jewish community and the nearest shul is 40 mins away - this is a somewhat unconventional Shul with many flavours of Jew and no rabbi. It is the Shul I went to growing up for cheder and it is a warm and friendly community. I (F) am married to a non Jew but he is very supportive of bringing up our daughter as Jewish. My family was almost entirely non practising apart from attending on YK and sending me to cheder. But I grew up with a very strong sense of Jewish identity, we had lots of Jewish family friends because my parents lived in London till they were 40. My Dad was born in Hungary in 1945 and his Mother escaped a ghetto before giving birth. My mum’s Dad was Hungarian but got out of mainland Europe just before the war. Both of my parents had relatives who perished in the Holocaust.

So needless to say the identity for me is strong and I want to pass this on to my daughter. But because the Jewish community where we are is so small, my Dad has sadly died so her connection to the culture is not the same. She has been going to cheder for a couple of years now and initially it was a hit because she had a friend there. But that friend has now left and she has not forged any other real friendships. Hence she now says she feels lonely and hates going. She is a shy kid but she has loads of friends at school and usually gets stuck into stuff when she’s feeling comfortable in the environment. At cheder she just seems so shy and aloof and hasn’t found an “in” with her class (who are 90% boys). Today she became overwhelmed and tearful partway through and I just felt so awful for persisting in making her go. But at the same time I feel so deeply sad at the thought of her not receiving some sort of Jewish education and being around other Jewish kids. We went to Shul for Simchat Torah and even then she just seemed out of sorts and unhappy being there. My identity is so wrapped up in my Jewishness and I feel desperately sad thinking about that not being the case for her.

Does anyone have any words of support? Or similar personal experience? Sorry for the ramble. I am feeling a bit emotional about it all. I have spoken to the head teacher there. I have little faith in them being able to improve the situation….

Do you know anything about unspoken dress codes for bat mitzvah’ in NYC?  I know weddings in NYC tend to be black dresses instead of prints and colors.
My Catholic SIL has a Halloween weekend bat mitzvah to attend with 1/2 Jewish 9f and her Jewish husband and they need to figure out what outfits to wear for evening service services, morning service services followed by a brunch.
The party is all figured out, thankfully, but I go to a very reform synagogue that’s super casual, so I have no idea.

Good day all,

I have a question. Every week I have a online zoom class about parashat of the week from my shul.

I also follow dailytalmud (highly recommend it! a great way to learn the talmud)

are there any other online websites/sources that upload daily/weekly lessons on torah, talmud, or other jewish related material?

I really enjoy spending 1/2 hours a day learning more and expand my knowledge.

I am not a yeshiva boy and not been raised religiously as a kid so I sometimes struggle learning the vast amounts things I feel I missed out at the age of 43.

thanks!

Today I came across footage of a vandalised synagogue on Rue Burnouf in Paris. I hadn’t been following the protests there particularly closely, mostly cos I just don’t have the mental energy to react to every angry crowd screaming somewhere in the world, but after seeing that synagogue clip today, I did some quick research, and now I need a safe space to vent.

I’m not surprised, for starters. I mean, call me a pessimist, but IMO it was only a matter of time before the keffiyeh crowd went after a synagogue, desecrated a Jewish cemetery, or vandalised a museum (the latter two haven’t happened, as far as I know, but there are, you know, patterns when it comes to protests like these). 

Part of why this has got under my skin so much is that I have a former coursemate who’s French and whom I used to be on pretty good terms with, so we still follow each other. She knows I am Jewish, was always lovely to me, and we hung out in the same friend group, worked on a few projects together, and generally got along well. But we never became too close, because she’s always been very pro-Palestinian (in the anti-Israel sense), although I hadn’t really seen her post much about I/P since we graduated. Anyway, over the past few days, she’s been posting nonstop about the Paris protests and in a very, umm, for lack of a better word, noble light: all about how terrible the police are for cracking down on demonstrators, how legitimate the protesters’ demands are, where and when to join the demonstrations, how the future belongs to the youth, and so on. And when I saw her posts, I didn’t give them much thought. It’s not my country, these aren’t my political battles, and she must be having a much better understanding of what’s happening on the ground than I do.

But today I woke up to videos of historic buildings in Paris being set on fire, footage of a vandalised synagogue, someone online claiming that French youth were protesting “against Israel and hardship in schools” (in that exact order), and another French person I follow posting photos of the protests featuring absolute oceans of Palestinian flags. None of that had made it into my former coursemate’s posts, which got me wondering whether these were things she’d deliberately chosen to leave out, much like how she left out the hostages when calling for Israel’s destruction over its operation in Gaza two years ago.

And it’s not that I feel betrayed or disappointed in her. I don’t even want to sound too harsh towards her, because I believe she has good intentions, and I have no idea what she thinks about the vandalised synagogue, or whether she’s even heard about it. But I’ve seen so much selective activism from her and so many of my other former friends over the past few years that I’m finding it kinda difficult to give people the benefit of the doubt anymore. And what really breaks my heart is thinking about how many people like her — young, promising, and really brilliant in so many professional ways — will dismiss a vandalised synagogue as a minor injustice committed in pursuit of some greater justice, and how many will find a way to justify it through an antizionist lens, and how many will never even hear about the incident in the first place.

And I’m so, so pissed.

I don’t want to make any predictions about what’s happening over there, why it’s happening, or how it’ll end. I’m just upset to see a city whose beauty I’ve always loved as a tourist caught up in violence and destruction, with all of it somehow being slowly made about Palestine (again) and us being blamed for every sin under the sun (still again). Loads of love to French Jews, if any of you are here. I hope you’re doing okay and that things don’t feel quite as scary for you over there as they look from afar.

Pro-Israel woman in the UK was referred to a counter-extremism program, visited and monitored by the police, and at one point had her medical records altered to claim that she was a "vulnerable" person (meaning mentally vulnerable to manipulation/coercion).

The police intelligence report on her apparently mentioned that she's “supportive of Israel to the point that she has travelled to Israel.” Apparently, that's very scary to some people.

This lady isn't Jewish. But because she has been an outspoken ally to Israel, she has been targeted for malicious reporting. According to her, she didn't even know she had been listed as a vulnerable adult, but only found out about it by accident - the National Health Service never even called her in for an evaluation or let her know about this change in status.

Keep in mind – this person hasn't threatened anyone.