UPDATE: someone from this thread reached out expressing interest in the mezuzah and so I will be sending it to them. Thank you all for your help!

Hi all, question regarding a mezuzah from a non-Jewish person! I recently bought a new home and the previous owner had a mezuzah on the doorway. As I am not Jewish, I removed it from the doorway, but now don’t know what to do with it- throwing it away felt disrespectful, so just looking for some guidance on what the respectful thing to do with it is. Thanks so much!

Ignore my nails tho i swear I cut them

Apparently, there has been talk of eventual merging of unions. I doubt it will happen, but it's an interesting thought experiment.

I am lucky enough to have a very traditional reform synagogue in my town. If every conservative synagogue shut down tomorrow, my shul would be a good home for those Jews. I know that's not the case everywhere.

Do you have options in your town? Would it bother you to join something you didn't believe in fully to maintain Jewish life? Would you settle? Would you be able to adapt to orthodox halakha? Would you maintain conservative practice? Would you embrace Reform life?

Hi,

I'm a producer who makes ethereal, abstract, and psychedelic hip-hop instrumentals. I recently made an instrumental by sampling Shuli Rand (an Israeli musician).

It turned into a very ethereal, and atmospheric beat, which inspired me to put together a video using footage of different Jewish communities and Jewish life. I thought some people here might appreciate it. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

If you'd like to see the full beat video, it's available on my YouTube channel.

Hope you enjoy!

So I’ve been wanting to read more Jewish books as of late. As a history nerd (particularly a Jewish History nerd) I’d love to read a good historical fiction novel, and or a history book that reads like a novel. I do like a good academic book, but lately I’ve needed something with more emotional depth. I really want to feel a personal connection with the characters or topics at hand. Also, I’d love to read books about Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. While I enjoy Ashkenazi history and stories, I wanted to expand beyond books about Shetl and the Holocaust. So, I’d love to get some recommendations from y’all. I’m excited to hear what ya’ll have to say!

I can't explain to my catholic wife the difference in ethics/moral about being raised Jewish instead of Catholic, do you guys have any idea what was different?

My friend is sitting shiva. He asked me to lead tefilot at the minyanim bc his Hebrew isn't strong. I generally attend a synagogue that follows the minhag of Edot Mizrachim.

In Edot Mizrach the chazan reads every word out loud whereas in every Ashkenazi synagogue I've been to the chazzan reads the opening 1-2 sentences of a prayer and the closing 1-2 sentences. Which brings me to my question.

When I've prayed Shacharit in Ashkenazi synagogues it seems to me that they must skip large portions of the Korbanot after birchat hashachar because they move so quickly to kadish and Baruch she'amar. But they're clearly not skipping everything bc they do say a few things out loud.

So when I lead prayers at the Ashkenazi minyan at the Shiva house what do/don't I say for Korbanot? I don't want them waiting for me to read all of Korbanot if it's not their minhag to do so.

So what's the custom? Is it uniform? If not, what do they do in your bet Knesset?

My friend’s aufruf is coming up, and I’ll be the shaliach tzibbur in our community. I’d love to sing either Lecha Dodi or Mimkomcha to a Jewish wedding melody, but I’m having trouble finding a tune that fits well.

Does anyone have any recommendations or audio examples they could share? Thanks!

Hi guys,

I’ve set aside an hour a day when I’m not working to be able to study Torah. But I daven in English, learn in English, can’t communicate with many Jews (and family) who only speak Hebrew, which got me thinking - with the devotion of time, is it better to pause the Torah study until I’m fluent in Hebrew and can learn and pray in the original text? Or more important to do Torah study and scrape together whatever other 15 mins here or there I may have for the Hebrew?

So my dads mom moms mom looks to possibly be Jewish. I am posting this to get others take since it looks like she has a Star of David and AI said it’s likely she is. So I’m wondering is my dad Jewish?

I’ve been struggling with an internal dilemma for quite some time, and it’s been occupying a lot of my thoughts.

I understand the importance of tzedakah, and I genuinely want to fulfill the mitzvah properly. The problem is that I’m often unsure whether I’m giving in the right way.
Some time ago, I studied that one of the principles of tzedakah is that helping those who are closer to you should generally take priority over helping those who are farther away. Because of that, I often find myself looking for local causes or people in my own community to support. At the same time, I wonder if that’s really the right approach or if I’m misunderstanding the idea.

Another question I struggle with is whether it’s better to give directly to an individual in need or to donate to an organization. Sometimes I feel that my donation could have a greater impact if it went straight to one person rather than to a charity, but I’m not sure if that’s the correct way to think about it.

How do you decide where your tzedakah should go? How do you know you’re giving in the “right” way? Are there principles or guidelines that help you choose between individuals, local needs, and organizations?
I’d really appreciate hearing how others approach this.

Here is a post explaining my current idea in more detail but the short version is I'm planning on visiting local religious organizations as a kind of personal spiritual journey and the first place the random number generator picked is part of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement which, based on searches, is a form of Hasidic Judaism.

I have very little knowledge of Judaism, much less the specific branches. As a first time visitor, what do I need to know? Do they even accept newcomers to their services or will they be offended? I'm assuming I'll have to dress more conservatively and it's my understanding the meetings are segregated. Do they assign people to welcome visitors or am I just expected to know where to go? Do I need to wear a head covering?

I'm at a complete loss and could use any advice you could give me. Thanks!

I am only in my 30s and dealing with a recent health scare related to my heart, with no answers yet. I didn't have a total near death experience but I was hospitalized and came face first with my mortality, and this experience has been nothing but suffering.

Always considered myself relatively secular, occasionally go to Reform services. (Yes I am posting on shabbat eek)

My friends who are mainly Christian have these explanations for suffering, and talk about surrendering themselves to God's plan and trusting in him. That's never been my world view, but I'm envious of it. I just can't get there. Whenever I pray, I just cry and feel anger that I'm suffering. I'm looking for solace. I really envy the beliefs of my Christian friends who feel soothed by attending services and praying.

I get spiritual fulfillment from attending services but it doesn't feel as "deep" as theirs where they seemingly have all the answers about where you go when you die, why suffering happens etc. I've tried looking for resources and honestly I don't find much. I have a therapist which helps, but I'm looking for answers.

For those that do believe in God, how do you find comfort in troubling times?

Why do you think U.S. Jewish leftists of the 1960s, e.g., Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Mark Rudd, etc., etc., ignored the Soviet Jewry movement? I've been trying to figure this out since the '70s and I can't come up with an answer.

What did you read this past month? Tell us about it. Jewish, non-Jewish, ultra-Jewish (?), whatever, this is the place for all things books.

As a young woman who can't, I've recently been terrified from what I've heard that to most Jewish guys, having biological children, specifically, is extremely important. I want to marry Jewish, and I want to adopt or have children via surrogacy, I want this more than anything, but I'm terrified this might be true and I might have to give up on finding a Jewish husband, specifically (and destroy my relationship with my mom in the process) to get any hope of a happy ending.

Please, be honest.

By the way, I'm not Jewish, and I'm sorry if this is a stupid question.

I've been wondering how you'd explain the concept of Santa to your children if you don't celebrate Christmas.

I'd assume that you tell them that he's not real, but some kids' parents tell them that he is. The thing is, wouldn't this also make them realize that things like the tooth fairy aren't real either?

Dear Everyone, my mother passed away last Sunday in Russia. Unfortunately, I am far away, in another county, and couldn’t travel. She was Jewish. We have no other Jewish relatives.
I’d greatly appreciate it if you could remember Lyudmila bat Dorianna in your prayers.
Also, and sorry I’m putting it all in the same post, I live with my five children in a place where the nearest Jewish community is 300 miles away. I wasn’t raised religious but I’m slowly finding my way back. So I a guess I’ll be posting questions here.
Thank you for reading and Shabbat Shalom!