Rebbetzin, mother, & writer, Alana Joblin Ain, earned her BA from Oberlin College and an MFA in poetry from Hunter College, where she has also taught creative writing and literature. Alana lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Rabbi Dan Ain, and their two children. They are the founders of Because Jewish.
Dear Rebbetzin, I want this night to be different from all other nights. I’ve been going back “home” to my family’s Passover Seder (parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins) for the past two decades, since becoming an adult. But there’s something stifling about being in that environment for this ritual — something that feels rote and…
Dear Rebbetzin, How can we begin to heal our divided country? Sincerely, Where do we go from here Dear Where, I feel crushed by the enormity of this question. The divide is huge and I have witnessed so much blame and accusations over the past week. I’ve been invited to join the revolution, the unifying…
Dear Rebbetzin, I never really liked Hebrew school when I was younger; how important is it for my kids to go? I think of it as a rite of passage, but maybe it’s one I don’t have to insist my kids experience. But, if I don’t send them to Hebrew school, is that doing a…
Dear Rebbetzin, I am starting a new job soon and usually I relish the feeling of beginning over. When I was a teacher, September was the time when all the lesson plans were new and full of potential. I could plan on changing my personal style. I would never eat at my desk. I would…
Q: Dear Rebbetzin, My brother adopted Orthodoxy as an adult and he and his wife and kids lead an active Jewish life. We were raised within the Conservative movement, so I guess he went one direction and I went another: I identify, now, mostly with the Jewish Renewal movement and also consider myself to have…
Q: Dear Rebbetzin, In the coming year I will marry a man whom I love, and who treats me with the utmost respect and love as well. I couldn’t ask for a better partner for me. The problem that my family points out (and that I was raised to understand) is that he is not…
Dear Rebbetzin, What is a Rebbetzin? Sincerely, Genuinely Curious Dear Curious, There are two answers to your question: The simple one is that Rebbetzin is a term for Rabbi’s wife. But the second answer feels, to me, as complicated as if you had asked “What is a wife?” I hadn’t heard the term Rebbetzin until…
Dear Rebbetzin, I have been an enabler in my past intimate relationships. I know this about myself and it makes me scared to enter a new relationship, though I am clear that I want and am ready for love. Sincerely, How to make a change? Dear How to, Knowing might be half the battle, but…
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