Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
I wrote last week about how I grew up in the Modern Orthodox world, but now feel that, in terms of practice, I identify as part of the vast, grey area between Modern Orthodoxy and Traditional Conservatism, and how I, along with peers from both my religious right and left, can build upon that vast,…
Dear Young Conservative Jews who are upset with your movement and feel abandoned, fear the death of it, or are trying to somehow assign blame for the imminent death of your movement: I understand your problem. Really, I do. You see, I grew up in a family that identified as “stalwartly left-wing Modern Orthodox” at…
Part 2 of a 3 part series. Part 1 is here. 4. Are the survey’s categories of denomination a useful marker of determining true religious affiliation/practice in today’s Jewish world? Dr. Steven M. Cohen, sociologist: Yes. Denominational identities can be meaningful for people as many are strongly attached to Orthodoxy, Conservatism, Reform, and Reconstructionism. But…
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…
Should a Modern Orthodox woman wear a skirt or pants? Should she eat vegetarian at a non-Kosher restaurant? Should she go to frat parties on Shabbat? To answer questions like these, one woman, who calls herself “The Rebbetzin,” started a blog a couple weeks ago called Frum in Skinny Jeans. While “The Rebbetzin” would like…
In college, or at least my college, we learn about gender and sexuality. A lot. We learn of its performative nature, its implications in the underlying structures that we live in, and its complex ties to governance, capitalism, and production. We learn how it is oppressive and offensive and limiting. We learn how the role…