Articles written by Eyal Solomon

Eyal Solomon, JTA|Jul 12, 2013

NEW YORK (JTA)—I had only known my girlfriend for a few weeks when she invited me to a friend’s house for Shabbat dinner on the Upper West Side. As a 44-year-old secular Israeli who had moved recently to New York City after my divorce, I didn’t have much experience with American Jews. Her friends were great: educated, liberal traditional Jews who seemed genuinely interested in getting to know me. While their religious rituals were new to me—I never saw people washing their hands and not speaking before making blessings on the challah...