Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
In my more angsty, middle-school days, Jimmy Eats World’s “The Middle” ranked up there with my personal anthems alongside Simple Plan’s “I’m Just a Kid,” and other songs playing into adolescent angst. However, the middle is no place to be for anyone — politically, socially, or religiously. Francine Klagsburn’s article in last week’s Jewish Week…
I am livid. I am enraged with the Open Hillel campaign and its disagreement with Hillel International’s Standards of Partnership. The audacity of Open Hillel to think that Hillel International will sanction the use of its resources for programming that aims to boycott or delegitimize Israel is outrageous. Such behavior would be contradictory to a…
When I first started to attend a local Orthodox shul, I approached with what could be considered a strong level of trepidation. I grew up mainly Conservative, and considered myself as falling somewhere between the lines of Conservative and Reform. When I thought of Orthodoxy, I thought of my Pop’s narrow-minded uncle who never struck…
It is a problem that I and many other queer Jewish students face: as religious folk, we want to pray. But how do we – gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans*, queer, and other identities across the “rainbow ” – connect with a liturgy that is often seen as heteronormative, cis-normative, and well, “straight”? Some say, “the…
Dear Young Conservative Jews who are upset with your movement and feel abandoned, fear the death of it, or are trying to somehow assign blame for the imminent death of your movement: I understand your problem. Really, I do. You see, I grew up in a family that identified as “stalwartly left-wing Modern Orthodox” at…
There is quite a lot of talk about denominational unity. “Let’s draw together as a Jewish community!” “Let’s build cross-denominational ties!” “Denominations are irrelevant and we live in a post-denominational era!” It is almost as if we, the eternally factional and rather divisive Jewish people have discovered a magic, unified, cohesive land beyond the rainbow,…
Part 3 in a 3 part series. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. 7. What are your reactions to survey respondents’ answers to “What does it mean to be Jewish”? What creates Jewish meaning for you? Dr. Steven M. Cohen, sociologist: These questions pertain to areas of great ambiguity. I wouldn’t…
Part 2 of a 3 part series. Part 1 is here. 4. Are the survey’s categories of denomination a useful marker of determining true religious affiliation/practice in today’s Jewish world? Dr. Steven M. Cohen, sociologist: Yes. Denominational identities can be meaningful for people as many are strongly attached to Orthodoxy, Conservatism, Reform, and Reconstructionism. But…
Part 1 in a 3 part series. We might just be the last Jewish organization to respond to the big bad Pew Survey and we’re fine with that. It seems like every response so far is other people telling us what how we need to feel about it, whether we should be scared, take…
The Conservative movement recently unveiled its new strategic plan. The Reform movement recently announced the identity of its new leader. The Conservative strategic plan’s original draft would have killed Koach, the Conservative college group. Thanks to the efforts of a group of Koach members, the new version preserves it. Two years ago, a round of…
The Talmud refers to Elisha ben Abuyah as acher, “other.” He is a public violator of Shabbat, obviously not condoned by the Talmudic Rabbis. Yet Rabbi Meir, a central Talmudic figure, is said to have gone to great lengths to “learn Torah from [ben Abuyah’s] mouth.” The rejection by most Orthodox Jews today of interactions…
Several dozen Jewish students are going to the Rose Bowl to cheer on their school: Texas Christian University. [JTA] American students studying abroad in Israel live in a bubble. [JW] Apparently, my Jewish high school has raised $20 million in one month to build a new building. [Chicago Tribune] Protests grow against the Haredim in…
Crossposted to The Reform Schuckle I’ve been bemoaning my singleness a lot lately. People keep telling me to try online stuff, but it seems odd to do online dating while in college. Now, however, I’m taking the plunge. I went on JDate a few minutes ago to see what’s what. I clicked on “BROWSE FOR…