Undoing the Non-Orthodox Inferiority Complex

By Amram Altzman February 9, 2015

When I was in high school, I stopped wearing my kippah. I felt myself drifting away from the ultra-Orthodox community of my childhood and the Modern Orthodoxy my parents tried to model for me at home. I stopped wearing my kippah because I wanted to disaffiliate from the Orthodox Jews that filled New York City…

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Take Back the Mikveh: The Need to Democratize Orthodox Judaism

By Amram Altzman October 28, 2014

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…

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The Bar Mitzvah Gift that Keeps on Giving

By Eric Steitz April 9, 2014

A mother wakes up and prepares for the day. The routine sounds normal: get the children ready for the day, cook, clean and provide for the family. But, what if it took six hours just to get water? This problem is real for Sub-Saharan African communities. It takes the majority of the day just to…

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Heresy! (?)

By Amram Altzman April 7, 2014

Heresy warning: I’m not sure I believe in God. Or, at the very least, if I believe in God, I do not believe in God as He Who Dwells on a Throne and Smites You When You Sin, as I was taught as a child. When I pray, I do so not necessarily out of…

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Questioning the Role of Zionism in Jewish Identity

By Dani Plung March 26, 2014

I don’t remember much about my brief stint on the high school crew team, probably because it only lasted one spring season when I was fourteen. Most of what I do remember is meaningless—and not exceedingly positive—like not being able to carry my share of the boat and thereby forcing a coach to take over…

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Spiritual High: Rabbi Opens Medical Marijuana Dispensary in D.C.

By Zach C. Cohen September 18, 2013

WASHINGTON – When Rabbi Jeffrey Kahn told his former congregants that he was opening a medicinal marijuana dispensary, they were nothing but supportive. “The cannabis plant was created by God on the second day of creation when God created all the other plants, and touching this one isn’t forbidden,” Jeff said in a June interview….

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Season of Giving Kicks Off

By akinman November 17, 2010

With the season of giving just around the corner, UF Hillel kicked it off with a bang. UF Hillel hosted the first annual Mitzvah Day on Sunday. Students and nonprofit organizations joined from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to work on different service projects. While waking up to a horrible loss the night before at…

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What a Mensch

By akinman November 3, 2010

“True leaders are not those who strive to be first but those who are first to strive and who give their all for the success of the team. True leaders are the first to see the need, envision the plan, and empower the team for action. By the strength of the leader’s commitment, the power…

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