D’var Torah: What’s Justice In A Post-Roe World?
The Talmud’s five categories of damages illuminates the full impact of laws that prohibit abortion access – and can guide us in envisioning justice while addressing their damning toll.
Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Article Archive
The Internet Of Queer Jewish Girlhood
Digital spaces like jGirls+ act vital online communities for an under-researched group of Jewish youth, seeking precious few places to negotiate gender, sexuality, and religion.
Torah and Tampax
An amorphous red glob has invaded my underwear. It collects in a pool, spreading across the polka dotted fabric with what my eleven-year-old brain declares a vengeance. I look down into the liquid substance that has turned my Wednesday underwear into an abysmal crime scene. From the upstairs bathroom, I call for backup in the…
A Shabbaton Taught Me Wellness as a Woman on the Autism Spectrum
Sarah Waxman and I immediately bonded over our curly, Jew-fro-esque hair. As Jewish women have done for centuries, we swapped notes over the creams, conditioners, gels, and mousses we use to keep the frizz away. But what I really learned from Waxman, the founder of a Jewish women’s wellness initiative, was that my mental health…
JOFA Conference Explores Orthodox Feminism on Campus
“…the Rabbinic Panel has made clear that women serving in clergy roles or holding clergy titles is at odds with halacha…” read a statement by the Orthodox Union on women’s ordination. This month’s controversial OU ban on female clergy roles came on the heels of an Orthodox event advocating just the opposite – JOFA 2017. The…
Find inspiration in Jewish history on International Women’s Day
Today is International Women’s Day, a global simcha that began as International Working Women’s Day in 1909, spawning from the Socialist Party as a way of acknowledging the world-changing contributions women have made to society. Eishet chayil, or “woman of valor,” is my kavanah for International Women’s Day. While we rejoice in the women who have…
What we can learn from the RCA and the URJ
On Oct. 30, mainstream Orthodox leaders in the Rabbinical Council of America confirmed once again that women who receive the same training and jobs as men still are not — and never will be — equal to men. Six days later, the Union for Reform Judaism passed a landmark resolution on the inclusion of transgender individuals…
The Myth of the ‘Feminized’ Religion
I have written in the past about my experiences with gender, privilege, Jewish ritual, and the need to find new and creative ways to engage both men and women ritually. Women, I’ve argued, should be encouraged to try out more traditionally masculine rituals, and men should be encouraged to try out more feminine rituals. There…
Egalitarian Men: It’s Time to Move Beyond Comfort
I read with enthusiasm and appreciation my good friend Amram Altzman’s recent piece on Jewish masculinity and egalitarianism. So much of Amram’s work centers on exploring the significance of egalitarian practice for him and other men, and this is necessary and important. I was deeply disturbed, however, by how little women with egalitarian practice…
The Quest for Some Jewish Eggs
Judy Weiss, RNC had been in nursing for most of her life. She had a stable job, a good salary, and a predictable routine. All of that changed when Weiss founded A Jewish Blessing in 2005 after helping a friend find an egg donor. “I was working at a job that I loved. I was…
What Does Mechitza Have to Do With Racism? On Patriarchy and the Outsourcing of Blame in Jewish Communities
“The African newscaster asked the Jewish rabbi why there were no female rabbis, and the rabbi was very clever – he asked why there were no female chiefs!” I am not sure if it was the self-congratulatory racism, rehash and ignorance of colonial dynamics, or the justification of sexism that irritated me more. There I…
Integrity vs. Tradition Should Never be a Choice
The layout of a room is its first impression. It sets the tone for what goes on there, what the proper decorum is—the general mood. Classrooms are good examples of this—a room with a circle of chairs invites a group conversation; a table and desks sets us up for a lecture. When we build our…
Educate and Engage -or- Why I Decided Not to Become a Cantor
When I was younger I used to tell my dad that I wanted to be a Cantor someday. I learned how to read Torah, lead services, and my singing voice was not too shabby, either. Then, I went off to a Jewish boarding school and my view of what Judaism’s involvement in my life would…
Take Back the Mikveh: The Need to Democratize Orthodox Judaism
This summer, I had the opportunity to do something that few other men my age do: immerse in the mikveh. Normally, my Jewish rituals are public: I don my kippah wherever I go, I generally pray every morning with my tallit and tefillin in the presence of at least ten other people, and I light…
A Glimmer of Hope for Religious Women in Israel
Most Americans are familiar with what the media has dubbed the “War on Women,” or Congress’ relentless attacks against many basic women’s rights. Fewer know that Israel is also suffering from a resurgence of conservative ideologies and consequent rollback of feminist gains. In her book The War on Women in Israel: How Religious Radicalism is…