Orthodox

These Persian Jewish Ladies Are Making Modesty Fashionable in LA

What do you do when you can never find the right clothes to wear to a wedding? Start your own modest fashion line, of course! This is exactly what the two Persian Jewish women behind the LA-based… brand, RaJu, did. Now, Rachelle Yadegar and Judith Illulian have a pretty diverse clientele: “They’re Mormons, they’re Muslims, they’re lawyers, they’re professional, it’s not only the Jewish community.” Walking around the streets of LA, these glamorous ladies tell us how they made their “passion for fashion” into a career, and why looking your best is… >> Read More

Orthodox

This Orthodox Jewish Matchmaker’s Unconventional Path

Joanna C. Valente

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match. We've all heard that before -- probably even had our mothers and grandmothers sing that famous line from Fiddler on the Roof to us (I have!). While going… to a matchmaker in 2018 might seem old-fashioned, for some Orthodox Jews, this is still a common practice. But what about Orthodox Jews who come from more unconventional backgrounds, like trying to remarry or marry later in life? This is when you call Yocheved Lerner-Miller, who is a matchmaker for Orthodox Jews with unusual stories. The… >> Read More

modest fashion

The Orthodox Jewish Fashion Trend That Works For All Women

Joanna C. Valente

You need to look professional for work. You also need to feel comfortable, right? This can strangely be difficult, what with constant worries about VPLs, uncomfortable fabrics and the scourge of… "plumbers' crack" if you favor pants over skirts. Treading the lines of fashionable and appropriate can be tricky — and that's especially true if you dress modestly for religious reasons. But really, the specter of your shirt coming untucked is annoying for all women, no matter their religious beliefs. That is why Jewish fashion designer and… >> Read More

teens

This Orthodox Teen Is One of the Strongest Women in the World

Joanna C. Valente

Naomi Kutin is a super girl, quite literally. The Modern Orthodox teen is the star of the documentary “Supergirl,” and is famous for breaking the world weightlifting records when she was just 9… years old. In 2012, for instance, she squatted 215 pounds and beat the reigning 44-year-old champion all while attending a yeshiva middle school while preparing for her bat mitzvah. Naomi, who is now 16, says lifting weights is "empowering," also cites God as her inspiration, saying, “I [also] try to realize that the strength I have… >> Read More

jewish identity

I’m a ‘Bad Jew’ But a Good Jewish Mother to My Orthodox Son

Judith Colp Rubin

child looking out the window of the church

If my family had celebrated Passover when I was growing up, I would have been the child in the Haggadah “who does not know how to ask.” In my Jewish family, we celebrated Christmas, complete with… a glistening tree and equally glistening ham. Over Sunday breakfasts of bacon and bagels (the latter strictly a nod to our New York City residence), my family sounded like anti-Semites, who saw religious Judaism as sexist, primitive, and antithetical to success. Although as a family we travelled abroad every summer, we never visited Israel until… >> Read More

Load More Articles