What’s Going On With Egyptian Synagogues?

By Carly Silver February 18, 2011

Concerns have grown from the Egyptian revolutions about the country’s priceless antiquities.  Despite Zahi Hawass’s assurances that many items have remained safe, it appears much has been damaged. Egypt also has invaluable Jewish sites, like the synagogue at Alexandria, but these are not mentioned in the media as much. During all the chaos, what has…

Read More...

Protect Professor Kristofer Petersen-Overton’s Job

By eweiss February 4, 2011

This article has been edited to reflect a correction: Student leaders of the procession protesting Professor Petersen-Overton’s curriculum have met with Brooklyn College’s administration to discuss their concerns. Previously, this article implied that those meetings had not yet taken place. I take great pride in calling myself a Zionist, but I take greater pride in…

Read More...

Pray and Paint

By akinman February 2, 2011

Some pray, some preach and others paint. Organized by UF Hillel, Rosh Chodesh was given an artistic touch. Do Art, an interactive art and pottery shop in Gainesville, Fla., held the first Rosh Chodesh event of the semester by bringing together amateur and professional artists alike. The two hour, girls-only event was paid for up-front…

Read More...

Exorcists, dybbuks, demons, oh my!

By akinman January 26, 2011

Earlier this week, Yossi Chajes, author and senior lecturer in the Department of Jewish History at the University of Haifa, was asked to lead a mini series at the University of Florida’s Hillel called “The Kabbalah Unveiled: A Mini Course on Jewish Mysticism.” Not your typical Hillel crowd, the audience was mostly comprised of older…

Read More...

Jewish Identity, Then and Now

By Carly Silver January 14, 2011

I recently came across  Pilate’s Wife, a novel by Antoinette May about the wife of Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judea who allegedly prosecuted Jesus. As a religion major fascinated by ancient history, I started researching this figure and what I found made me wonder about the Judaism of today vs. the days of yore,…

Read More...

Bonded by Faith

By akinman January 5, 2011

What happens when you put a student from Yale, a snowboard instructor from Colorado and a journalist together in the same room? It sounds like the beginning to a joke. Instead, it’s the beginning to a night to remember. In December, I wrote about a Jew Crew reunion I was putting together with my friends…

Read More...

A Wake Up Call

By akinman December 29, 2010

“Who’s Hitler?” That is what my friend was asked the other day by a coworker while finishing up work. At first, I thought it was a joke. Then, I realized he wasn’t smiling. Literally in shock, I continued to ask my friend how could someone be so uninformed. He continued to surprise me by responding,…

Read More...

Moved by Our Hearts, Not Our Tastebuds

By akinman December 22, 2010

While Christmas tree lots empty and malls turn into theme parks, this holiday season has seemed to keep everybody on a festive high. While most kids around the world will be anticipating presents and cookies, I’m waiting in anticipation myself. No, not in hopes of getting goodies in a stocking or a thick slice of…

Read More...

Jew Crew Reunion

By akinman December 15, 2010

In religious school, it was about who had the best Bar/Bat Mitzvah party favors. In middle school, it was about who was dating who. In high school, it was about who could get into the best college. In college, we don’t quite know what the big goal is. Flashback to religious school in 2003: A…

Read More...

Jewish Women and Eating Disorders

By Carly Silver December 10, 2010

I don’t mean to sound like Jessica Simpson, but, until recently, I hadn’t heard of many Jews with eating disorders. I’m sure that in some capacity I thought that this severe condition manifested itself in the Jewish community somewhere, but I hadn’t ever really thought about it. We’re the people who love food, right? Apparently…

Read More...

Can I Get a Yasher Koach?

By akinman November 24, 2010

Ashrei. That was the start to the service I led at my temple two weeks ago. Standing at 5’3, squeaky voice me, I stepped up to the bima at my local Conservative synagogue. A mere 40 minutes later, the service concluded with “yasher koach” being whispered left and right. But after stepping away from the…

Read More...

A Reasoned Religion

By yschwartz October 22, 2010

Looking at the picture of Hermann Cohen on the cover of his opus Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism, it is a bit difficult to believe that he was a rock star. Not in the sense that he wrote brave contemporary music that spoke to the minds of the people, garnering an…

Read More...

eTorah

By akinman September 22, 2010

Compiled of 304,805 letters, 42 lines on each page, and parchment sewn together, a Torah is born (Chabad). But what if that Torah could be created and shipped to you in a matter of minutes. Enter the Kindle. With four weeks into school, I’ve seen JanSport backpacks look lighter, and paperbacks become obsolete. Inevitably, Amazon’s…

Read More...

The Jewish Big C

By Ben Sales August 18, 2010

I grew up big-C Conservative in a small-l liberal household and got confused when I read in the New York Times on Saturday, May 30, 1998 that Barry Goldwater, leader of the conservative movement, had died. Because I was 12, and because the New York Times capitalizes most words in its headlines, I didn’t pick…

Read More...

Hip-Hop in Palestine

By Carly Silver July 15, 2010

For every critic who disparages hip-hop as being all about “booty-shaking” and liquor, there’s a rapper who defies that stereotype by putting out “conscious rap.” This subcategory of the genre often deals with real life problems that the artist faces, everyday dilemmas that are problems common to the artist’s listeners. As an area with its…

Read More...