When Susanne Shier first heard about the mikvah, the ritual immersion bath that\’s part of the conversion process, she was a bit leery.
\”I got nervous about it,\” she told The Journal before her immersion in March.
Being raised Orthodox in the United States, I am often aware that my peers and I do things differently than others: We go to shul on Saturday instead of to the mall, we go to private schools, we dress differently and we recognize that there is a higher being above us. But we do not realize until a much later age, when we leave our sheltered community, just how different we really are and how these differences truly affect us.
If \”American Idol\” runner-up Katherine McPhee can enjoy even half the success achieved by Shiri Maimon, runner-up of the first season of Israel\’s version of the show — dubbed \”A Star Is Born\” — then she will be lucky. With a powerful voice and Britney-esque looks and videos, Maimon, 25, has become one of Israel\’s most sought-after and popular pop stars since winning fourth place in the Eurovision singing competition last year, representing Israel with the moving ballad, \”Sheket She\’nishar.\”
Talmud teaches that a righteous act is its own reward. But if that\’s not inducement enough, a rabbi in Woodland Hills is offering $10 cash plus a Krispy Kreme doughnut to teens who attend his 7 a.m. minyan.
A gang-related drive-by shooting in the heart of the Pico-Robertson neighborhood late Sunday night left members of the Jewish community rattled and shocked.
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