The Medicine In My Jewish Self, The Torah In My Lakota Practice
“When you pray the Lakota way, do you feel like you’re praying to the same God?”
Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Article Archive
Shabbat Magic
“To my surprise, Shabbat dinners became a predictable and grounding occurrence every week. My mom cooked, I set the table, and my dad and brother cleaned up after the meal. Sometimes it was twenty minutes of near silence then everyone scurried off to their bedrooms again. Sometimes it ended in explosive arguments and someone finishing their plate an hour or two later in the kitchen. But sometimes it worked.”
The #1 Failure of Holocaust Education Isn’t Discussed
According to a survey recently reported in the New York Times, 41 percent of millennials wrongly believe two million or fewer Jews died in the Holocaust and that 66 percent of millennials could not say what Auschwitz was. American Jews understandably reacted with extreme concern, shocked that so many of their fellow Americans – particularly…
Antifa Activist Talks Jewish Identity After Protest at University of Tennessee
Eva Watler, age 41, has been dealing with Nazis in Tennessee since she was 13 years old when she was jumped by a pack of skinheads in Dragon Park in Nashville. “They were looking for Jews to beat up,” she said. “I was 13 and I didn’t know how to fight. It was shocking.” As…
Merging My Judaism and Disability Advocacy
I’ve met member of the House Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus Rep. James Langevin (D-RI), networked with RespectAbilityUSA president Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi and practiced my ASL with program director of Gallaudet University Hillel Jacob Salem, the first-ever Hillel director who is Deaf. One year ago, as a freshman at American University, I could scarcely imagine having any…
Discovering My Judaism in Bowling Green, Kentucky
I hail from the city of Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville is a river city built on the banks of the Ohio river. That river is the only thing that separates the metropolis from being swallowed by the cultural mass of the Rust Belt, which begins with expanses of southern Indiana. As such, Louisville remains a part…
Jews, You Don’t Have To Be White To Be White™
Originally published in Scribe. “You don’t need to be white to be White™.” So said the comment on a contentious Facebook post in Columbia University’s premier meme sharing platform, columbia buy sell memes. The comment was in reference was to a ‘starter pack’ meme that ridiculed the generic wealthy lifestyle of those at Columbia who support…
The Forgotten Jewishness of Superman
Originally published in Ha’am. It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No… it’s bubkes. As one of the (evidently) few who flocked to theaters to watch the new “Justice League” movie — shout out if you’re one of us — I couldn’t help but view it as a mildly enjoyable bundle of missed opportunities. If you’re…
My Jewish Is in the Searching
This column was originally published in The Cornell Daily Sun on October 27, 2017. Read more at cornellsun.com. Last week my Judaism became suddenly quite visible. When anti-Semitism was plastered across campus, Jewish went from being a private piece of self to the subject of public discussion, in classrooms, on social media and with peers. Yet…
Dear Freshmen, Don’t Fear a Community That Challenges Your Beliefs
Dear freshmen, Last month, I helped facilitate an info session at Wesleyan University for 70 rising seniors from the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester, where I attended elementary school. These students sat before me in the admissions office, looking slightly perplexed about why their Jewish day school had taken them to visit a liberal, off-the-beaten…
Where Do I Belong as the Immigrant in My Family?
Originally published in the Winter 2017 issue of The Leviathan Jewish Journal. When I was young and told the other children at school that one of my ancestors came to America from the Mayflower, they looked at my almond-shaped eyes, my long black hair, and laughed. “You can’t be from the Mayflower,” they mocked me. “Because…
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…
The Algemeiner Made the Worst List of “Worst Colleges for Jewish Students”
The Algemeiner recently released a list of the “40 Worst Colleges for Jewish students.” Already students and Jewish professionals on these campuses are reacting to the list, some defending it, some arguing against its creation, and others complaining that their universities were not listed. I do not go to any of the schools referenced, but…
Are We White Right Now?
After the election, my friend’s younger brother called from Israel. “Are we white?” he asked. Her immediate response was, “Not anymore.” As I listened to my friend talk about this exchange, I wasn’t sure which part was more telling, the question or the answer. The question – how we fit into America’s racial landscape as…