When The Women Sang Shema
One of the oldest Jewish prayers takes on a new unified meaning early in the morning, with Women Of The Wall
Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Article Archive
I Found God When I Learned to Love Myself
The next day, atop Masada, I chose my Hebrew name and began my Jewish life. I was Rivkah, Matriarch; I was done taking shit from any human, institution, or supreme being. The Judaism I found gave me space to be newly brazen, and radically myself.
The Western Wall Taught Me a Lesson – And It Wasn’t What You’d Expect
There it was – the Western Wall, hakotel hama’aravi. The sun was hanging over the top of the wall, reflecting off the stones at my feet. As I stood in front of the holiest sight in Israel, I realized I was waiting for something, some reaction to the realization that I was finally at the…
Let’s Make Yom HaAtzmaut About the People
Every year, even if I celebrate it differently and even as my perceptions of Zionism and the Jewish State become evermore complicated, Yom HaAtzmaut always evokes in me a certain special nostalgia. It was only once I was no longer forced to celebrate the holiday like I did in elementary and high school—with Israeli dancing,…
Is a 10-Day Trip to Israel Really My Birthright?
Israel has always been a concept — a country, a culture, a history, a memory —I was always intimate with, but it remained aloof. I grew up surrounded by Hebrew and Israeli culture, singing “Hatikvah” alongside the “Star Spangled Banner.” I’d been to Israel only one time before going on Birthright, and since then, my…
In ‘Transit,’ Searching for Home
It’s 2009 in Tel Aviv, and the playgrounds in certain areas of the city are empty. The parents of these children do not allow the children to go out and play, for fear they will be deported. The children have become prisoners in their own homes. Every day, the Israeli government deports the children of…
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…
Spreading the (Orthodox) Love
Written in response to Eat the Food Without Drinking the Kool-Aid: How to Get the Most out of Orthodox Outreach Programs “Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? He who learns from all people, as it is said: ‘From all those who taught me I gained understanding’ (Psalms 119:99). ‘Who is honored? He who honors…
Can You Trust a Woman in Tefillin?: The Truth About Women of the Wall
Women of the Wall (WoW) was founded 25 years ago as a women’s minyan at the Western Wall to meet on the first of every Jewish month. A few years ago, some of WoW’s leaders started getting arrested for wearing non-“feminine” (read: colorful) talitot and tefillin in violation of a 2003 Israeli Supreme Court ruling….
What Modern Orthodox Jews Think of Women of the Wall
It’s clear from recent changes that the mission of the Women of the Wall is gaining traction. The Jerusalem District Court ruled recently that the Law of Holy Places does not require “local customs” to be Orthodox practices, that police had no reason to detain the Women of the Wall earlier this month and that…
Arresting the Victim (Again)
Anat Hoffman does good work for the Jewish community. As the head of the Israel Religious Action Center, she directs an organization that is helping to build the civil society devoted to liberal democracy that Israel desperately needs. Yet many in the Jewish world have never heard of her. She doesn’t even pass the does-she-have-a-Wikipedia-article…
Women, the Kotel, and me. [Gender]
The strongest people in my life have always been women. I didn’t plan for that. It just happened. Growing up in a restrictive, uber-religious environment, I am familiar with every scripture (both Jewish and Christian) used throughout history to justify the inferior treatment of women. And yet, like something out of a fairy tale or…
Gender and public prayer; god language in liturgy; and more. [Required Reading]
Gender and the Wall [Tikkun] The gender segregation at the heart of politics surrounding the Western Wall has been increasingly contentious over the last few years. In this blog from Tikkun Magazine, Joan Reiss explores the challenges often faced by the Women of the Wall, an activist group seeking the equality of women… well, at the…
…Let My Right Hand Wither
Bailey Spagat is participating in Career Israel, one of Masa Israel’s 180 programs.