Since 1906, the Forward has been answering reader dilemmas about daily life in “A Bintel Brief,” Yiddish for a bundle of letters. Send your queries to [email protected], and listen to a podcast version of our signature advice column.
Bintel Brief
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Life Jeffrey Zaslow Has Some Advice for Forward Readers
Jeffrey Zaslow, a Wall Street Journal columnist and the co-author of “The Last Lecture,” will be the Forward’s guest Bintel Brief columnist, answering reader questions during the month of March. When he was 28, Zaslow beat out 12,000 other applicants to replace the high priestess of advice, Eppie Lederer (a.k.a. Ann Landers), as The Chicago…
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Life How Do I Stop My Dad From Feeding Ham to My Kosher Son?
Dear Ayelet, I grew up in a secular home, but now consider myself Modern Orthodox. My husband and I keep a kosher home, but we are less strict about the laws of kashrut out of the house. When we go to my father and stepmother’s house, my 18-month-old son gets string cheese and cut up…
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Life Coming Clean About JDate
Dear Ayelet, For the past year, I’ve been dating a man I met on JDate. I’d venture to say that he’s “the one” — and we’re already talking about engagement, marriage, children (hopefully in that order). Here’s the thing: We haven’t been honest with most of our friends and even some of our family members…
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Life Help! Our 6-Year-Old Son Is More Observant Than We Are
Dear Ayelet, My husband and I send our 6-year-old son to a private, Jewish school that is significantly more traditionally observant than we are. It is important to us that our son have a good Jewish foundation, and he loves the school he attends. However, now he’s coming home wanting to do things that we…
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Life Ayelet Waldman on Encouraging Your Child To Choose a Jewish Spouse
Dear Ayelet, We live in such a great, multi-culti time. I want my school-age children to have friends of every race, creed and color — and so far, they do. On the other hand, I want them to grow up and marry Jews! Why? Because I love Jews and want our people to continue. I…
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Life Bintel Brief: Advice and Other Possible Pursuits — Ayelet Waldman Answers Your Questions
We are delighted to announce that writer Ayelet Waldman will be the Forward’s next guest Bintel Brief advice columnist — answering reader questions during the month of February. Waldman inspired passionate debate (and an episode of “Oprah”) when she declared, in a New York Times essay, that she loves her husband more than she loves…
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Life Bintel Brief: Rabbi Shmuley Boteach Says Self-Satisfaction ‘Is Not the Solution’
Dear Rabbi Boteach, The issue that I need help with is as follows: I have been married for two years, and my wife complains that I don’t last long enough. Now, it has reached a point where she doesn’t want to have sex anymore because she says it’s not worth her while. I realize that…
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Life Bintel Brief: Shoshanna Rikon on How To Help Singles — on the Sly
Dear Shoshanna, I’m a rabbi, and I’m working with my local Jewish community center to form a singles group. There are a lot of singles in our community, and we’re concerned about the escalating intermarriage that goes on. We want to develop some programming to attract Jewish singles so that they can meet each other…
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