Judy Gruen

Despite her degenerative and debilitating illness, Kaila Hollander’ remarkable joy inspired an entire community.

In a time of tense race relations, my fleeting encounter with Emeka was heartening, even moving. It wasn't based on a shared victim status, he being Black and my being Jewish, but on a shared mindset of faith and gratitude. At its best, religion fosters this sense of gratitude, purpose and the understanding we are crucial players in God’s unfolding plans.

Public-private security coordination is the name of the game in today’s new reality. Bringing good food helps, too. Here's how the L.A. Jewish community is stepping up to the task.

We didn't fall in love. But we grew to love each other deeply as we learned about one another. Now, after 33 years, we are still growing together, challenging each other, and finding new ways to grow even closer.

Vilifying the police as a whole for the terrible crimes of a few weakens our communities. Here is how one community decided to take action and literally feed the morale of the LAPD.

George Floyd’s killer and the men who abetted him will face justice. Now it’s time to speak out against the riots against law enforcement that endanger us all.

I have known many other converts, but Ora’s path from outsider to insider was the first where I had a front-row seat. Ora may have been grateful for our family’s embracing her and what she learned about Jewish living from us, but we have learned and been inspired by her dedication to building a relationship with God.

Quarantine has reminded us that our lives are measured not so much by what we sell or build, but by what we give of ourselves to family, friends, and community.
Over the years I tried many popular organizing systems that came on the market. I always started strong, entering professional goals, deadlines, and achievements, but after a while I’d fall off the wagon, feeling defeated by the blank pages looming endlessly before me. Still, in an example of hope triumphing over experience, I started...

Orthodox Jews no longer shun social media as a platform for their views -- or even their jokes. A growing number of them, including teachers and rabbis, have joined the Twitterverse, swapping jokes, ironic observations and pointed social commentary about Orthodox traditions, laws and customs.

With great guilt, I finally rolled up my sleeves and sifted through my grandfather's disorganized, yet incredibly valuable papers and memorabilia. Finding pieces of his heart in surprising places, such as the tiny date books he used to jot down appointments, helped me get to know the man I never really knew.

I was late getting the memo that we Jews had jumped aboard the insane food-hoarding train. The meat shelves had been picked clean. No chicken! Not even a wing! Pre-Pesach shopping at its most manic looked like a day at the beach compared with this madhouse.

Identity politics and the victimization mindset has poisoned too many interactions between citizens. I was reeling when I was first caught in its cross hairs.

Nearly 300 yearwris after her death, a Jewish woman named Glikl bas Leyb has become an unlikely literary celebrity. The memoirs she wrote, meant for family only, are a singularly rare document describing the life and times of a 17th-Century Jewish woman and her family, faith, and business dealings. A new translation published by Brandeis University Press is a fascinating and important read.

EDITOR’S NOTE—Please, welcome back contributing columnist Judy Gruen, who first appeared in this online magazine in 2008. A very popular writer, you may have seen Judy’s byline on stories in The Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and New York Daily News. Recently, we invited her to write occasional columns for ReadTheSpirit magazine, again. It’s our pleasure to share these rich stories of family life.

In her new book, Don’t Divorce: Powerful Arguments for Saving and Revitalizing Your Marriage, clinical psychologist Dr. Diane Medved exposes the insidious influences that promote the divorce culture – and offers evidence that divorce is usually not the answer to the problems of an ailing marriage.