Judy Gruen

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Apr 25, 2015, 5:57 PM

Is marrying young still a good idea?

Last week our youngest son was married. Ben is not yet twenty-three; his kallah is twenty-one. In previous generations this fact would be completely unremarkable. But because Ben and Rivka are so young, they are bucking trends in nearly...

Mar 29, 2015, 11:10 PM

Digging for what’s real this Passover

Jewish law may not require all-out spring cleaning, but there's something liberating about emptying that closet

Apr 4, 2014, 3:14 AM

Who Is the Perfect Woman and Why Is She Haunting Me?

Have you ever had the misfortune to meet the "perfect" woman? I mean the one who is at the gym at six in the morning, has her kids at school in the dent-free minivan by eight, and is at the office...

Aug 3, 2013, 9:18 PM

Flying the Increasingly Unfriendly Skies

I feel sorry for anyone who has to fly frequently these days. Flying on airplanes used to be an exciting adventure, but, at least in the U.S., that was before you had to get X-rayed, frisked and yelled out...

Jun 20, 2013, 7:00 AM

In the U.S., We Really Have Gone to the Dogs

This Friday, June 21 is the annual Take Your Dog To Work Day (TYDTWD), more evidence, as if any more were needed, that the United States has gone to the dogs. I remember that in the old days when gas...

Jun 13, 2013, 7:00 AM

Politically Correct Grocery Shopping Is Not a Sustainable Habit

I’m standing in the cereal aisle of my local supermarket, heavy decisions at hand. For years, I used to just cavalierly toss a few boxes of my family’s favorite sugar-laden cereals into the basket and move on to the...

Jun 4, 2013, 12:38 AM

Orthodox women in black are making me feel blue

Ducking into a clothing store on Clifton Avenue, she said, "I'm really sorry I'm wearing pink. I'm from Los Angeles."

May 29, 2013, 12:48 AM

How I stopped obsessing about my weight and found happiness in “huggable” proportions

A lot of people are burned out from dieting, and I say it’s about time. Researchers at The NPD Group, which tracks Americans’ dieting habits, revealed that only 20 percent of American adults reported dieting in 2012, down from...

May 21, 2013, 8:00 AM

How A Secular New York Jew and his Devout Christian Wife Made their Intermarriage Work

Gayle Redlingshafer was a minister of music at a Texas mega-church. Harold Berman was a secular Jew from New York. When they married, they agreed on a few things: they would never have children, and religion would never get...

May 13, 2013, 8:04 AM

Memories of a Spine-Tingling Interfaith Relationship

After an eight-year, faithful relationship, I finally broke up with Dr. Pete. As a religious Christian, Dr. Pete loved talking to me about the Bible. As an Orthodox Jew, I enjoyed our conversations too. If nothing else, they helped...

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About Me

Judy Gruen writes about culture, family, Jewish growth, and why bad contractors happen to good people. The author of four books, her work has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and 10 book anthologies. She is a regular columnist on Aish.com, and her most recent book "Till We Eat Again: A Second Helping." She is an active member of Aish HaTorah Los Angeles.