Start Preparing Early for An Anti-Nationalist Hanukkah: A Zine Review
Reviewing eight nights of radical Hanukkah mini-zines
Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Article Archive
Yom Kippur As A Call-In Moment
Our day of atonement is Judaism’s built-in ritual for calling ourselves in.
On This Very Day, One Pesach Later: A Passover Reader
After a year of pandemic, one Pesach later, four Jewish students and thinkers have assembled a Passover Seder companion, filled with reflections on a year of plague and visions of redemption.
“Jewish Media Is…”: An Unsettled Fellowship Reflection
“Jewish media is constantly questioning what I think I know, what I think I believe, and who I think my heroes are.”
Shouting “I am a Jewish Educator!”: A Judaism Unbound Fellowship Reflection
“Too many young Jews receive the message from our communities that we aren’t Jewish in the right way….That’s why New Voices Magazine’s work to connect young Jewish artists to each other and give our stories and ideas a platform is such a radical project.”
The Enneagram as Jewish Holidays
Do you know your enneagram type? Find out which Jewish holiday celebrates you best!
Erev Tu b’Av
New Voices Fellow Miriam Saperstein’s poem on the evening before Tu b’Av, the Jewish celebration of love.
Revelation and Renovation: A Shavuot Zine
This zine was created by Rena Yehuda Newman, who is a 2019 fellow with New Voices and Judaism Unbound. It was originally published on Judaism Unbound’s website.
Four Jewish-Student-Themed Halloween Costumes
We know, Halloween isn’t a Jewish thing. But some of us can’t resist the opportunity to wear costumes, scare people, and ask strangers for candy. If you want to bring your Jewish identity into the chag Halloween festivities, New Voices has you covered with some easy costume ideas specifically designed for Jewish students. Mosaic United’s…
Is Giving Presents a Jewish Tradition?
Gift-giving on Chanukah is so popular a custom that we rarely stop to think about it. Why do we do it? Are we just copying Christmas, or is there some Jewish tradition present in the act of gift-giving? (No pun intended.) To find out how gift-giving became such a prominent aspect of Chanukah, we have…
What’s the Real Gift of Chanukah?
What are you getting for Chanukah this year? I don’t mean the gifts you’re anxiously awaiting in your mailbox, though gift giving on Chanukah is actually an ancient tradition. I mean, what really is the gift of Chanukah? Is it freedom? Is it independence? Is it survival? Is it the ability to wrap a drone…
In Defense of My Americanized Chanukah
When I was little, I looked forward to the day in December when my dad asked us to dig the “Chanukah box” out of the attic. Out came the electric menorah to put in our window, the glitzy blue and silver garland of dreidels and Jewish stars to hang on our bannister, several rolls of…
In Defense of Challaween and Fall Holiday Fusions
With Thanksgiving here and Halloween behind us, ‘tis the season to discuss the role of secular holidays in our Jewish lives on campus. Hillels across the country work to keep college students engaged in Jewish programming and within a Jewish community while they are away from home. They are continuously battling increasing secularism, and in the…
To Go to Class or Not to Go to Class?
Originally published in Ha’Am. There is perhaps no decision more representative of the difficulties of being a practicing Jewish college student than the quintessential question of whether or not to attend class during Chag. To me, this is not a question of grades or even the inconvenience of having to spend long, sleepless nights catching…
High Holidays and Midterm Season Survival
Original version published in The Daily Californian. When I was preparing to come to UC Berkeley, my biggest fear wasn’t the academic rigor of college, making friends, or getting used to the sometimes-unidentifiable food at Crossroads dining hall – though those were definitely all high up on my list. It was observing Jewish holidays, including Shabbat, and…