HowToDoThings.com Judaism

How To Avoid Being Seen as a Shiksa

Vanessa264 — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 11:15:00 -0600

Shiksa is Yiddish slang for a woman who is not Jewish. Shiksa is always pejorative, and is most often used in reference to a non-Jewish woman who is partnered with a Jewish man. The pejorative aspect of the word is probably due with the fact that according to traditional Jewish law, someone is considered Jewish only if he was born of a Jewish mother. So in essence, the shiksas are depleting the stock of available Jewish men. That being said, Reform Judaism has softened this stance and considers the child of one Jewish parent Jewish if he was raised as a Jew. Because dating and marrying outside of the faith is as common as it is these days, the existence of shiksas is a fact of life. Here are some tips on how you can avoid being seen as a shiksa in the worst sense of the word:

How To Play Dreidel

Staff468 — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 14:30:00 -0600

Playing the dreidel game is a Jewish tradition that the entire family can enjoy together during Hanukkah. If you don't already have a dreidel, visit our article about making a dreidel. Here's how to play the dreidel game.

Players divide the "gelt" (money) into even portions. You can use really any countable substance for the gelt. Common choices include candy, pennies and chocolates.
Each player takes a turn. The first thing a player does during a turn is add a specified amount of gelt into the "kupah" (equivalent to "the pot" in poker) in the center of the players.
Then that player spins the dreidel. What happens next depends upon which of the dreidel's four Hebrew letters lands face-up.

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How To Know If Food is Kosher

W.J.592 — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 13:40:00 -0600

Perhaps now, more than any other time in history, it is easy to determine what foods in the supermarket are kosher. With pre-printed packaging, it is as easy as reading the label!