Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
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…
My 21st birthday was on Yom Kippur. No, this isn’t the set-up of some Woody Allen-esque joke, but my real life (which often takes its cues from Annie Hall and Manhattan). When I mention this to people who ask me about my birthday plans, I always joke about it – how I could have a break-fast…
A cool breeze rolls through campus and students everywhere know what that means. It’s that time of year again. No, it’s not the High Holy Day season that comes to mind, but football season. For Jewish college students, it’s the start of another potentially conflicted semester. As Jews celebrate Shabbat each weekend, campuses around the…
The first thing you should know about the new editor is that I am new to New York, having moved here from my native Pittsburgh just after Rosh Hashana to captain this rickety little ship they call New Voices. The second thing you should know about me is that I have a long subway ride…
This article was originally posted on jU Chicago’s blog, and can be found here. Tikkun olam has become a motto for young socially-conscious American Jews, at least so it seems to me. This phrase has been adopted as the Jewish call to social justice action. It is commonly translated as “repairing the world.” The verb…
It has been pointed out that director Steven Spielberg’s mainstream success has inspired a turn toward broad, “public interest” works. For Spielberg, pop-history and film preservation have taken precedent over purely artistic endeavors. If one were to mark this shift in Spielberg’s career, it likely started with the Holocaust drama “Schindler’s List,” for which the…
Headwear is kind of a big deal in Judaism. The accurate assertion is often made that, in Jerusalem, you can learn a lot of information about someone just by looking at what hats they wear. On college campuses, certain flat-brimmed baseball caps or the occasional fedora might tell you something about an individual, but they…
This is the second in a two-part feature on recent changes in the Reconstructionist movement. For the first part, an interview with Rabbi Dan Ehrenkrantz, current president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, follow this link. The modern rabbi is vastly different from her traditional counterpart. In addition to the responsibilities of scholarship and leading meaningful liturgical…
The Forward’s Artist-in-Residence, Eli Valley just published a comic about a recent episode at Bnai Jeshurun, a non-denominational, liberal synagogue in New York City. The rabbis had sent out an email to their congregants praising the U.N. Palestinian vote, and then, after intense media coverage and mixed reactions from the community, they later apologized and…
You may not be familiar with Israel’s new hit “Kathmandu.” If not, check out this feature story by our own Gabe Weinstein to learn more. Though it may be a bit over dramatized, the show’s central premise is definitely true: there are few places in the world that don’t have a Chabad presence. If one of…
With an article so deliciously titled, it’s hard to resist the opportunity to poke fun. In fact, a quick perusal of Wiki-How articles proves that the cynical world of journalism has not done nearly enough ridiculing of this website, a collection of life’s most mockable texts: how-to guides. In the name of proper responsibility, The…
In light of the Reason Rally on March 24, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., now seems like a good time to ask: how are Jews supposed to respond to a rise of attention to atheists, humanists, and the secular? Given how controversial the Rally has turned out to be (and was there any…
After a video of a recent service in Georgia with the controversial Bishop Eddie Long went viral, Jewish groups and bloggers were left scratching our heads and saying, “Huh?” The clip, found in last Friday’s Required Reading, featured Long being wrapped in a Torah scroll and declared “king” (though of what is unclear). There were…
Last week, spurred on by an excellent article, I mentioned the whole “Jews are the chosen people” thing. This week, Rabbi Donniel Hartman wrote about this same topic, albeit within the context of Passover. It’s short but sweet, definitely worth the read. I am continually impressed by Hartman’s writing because he conveys meaningful messages with…