Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
This year’s four-day J Street U Student Summit in Washington, D.C. was followed shortly by both the Passover holiday and President Obama’s quick trip to the Holy Land – yet the organization’s student leadership made a pointed effort to avoid the low-hanging fruit of the Passover metaphor. However, many an interlocutor capitalized on the intersection…
From the mound of peeling matzah box empties, it looked like a massive Passover seder was brewing. Instead, Ambacht Brewery co-owner Tom Kramer was tossing the discarded boxes to the brewery floor after adding crushed up matzoh to a bubbling mash of soon-to-be Matzobraü Beer. Matzobraü beer is the after-Passover brew of a two-room brewhouse…
Rabbinically intermarried [Sh’ma] Can a couple, both intensely devoted to their particular expression of Judaism, co-exist in a household? (Probably.) The more prudent question is… What does that look like? Rabbi Julie Adler, Director of the B’rit Milah Program of Reform Judaism, shares her own experience: “We’re each pretty certain that our way of observing Judaism…
“We need to talk about Beit Shemesh” [Sh’ma] In this article from Sh’ma, Laura Frank explores the connections between true modesty (an ambiguous idea) and the misogyny of many ultra-Orthodox Jews. Can a balance between inner and outer appearance, and the implications of “legislating” dress as a form of social control, be reached? “As a…
Jewpacabra Get More: SOUTH PARKEric Cartman,Leopold “Butters” Stotch,more… South Park does Passover [SP Studios] Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the guys behind South Park, have a reputation for injecting religious commentary into their work (see: “The Book of Mormon“). Now in the 16th season of South Park, they take on Passover. And who better to…
Years later, patrilineal debate rages on [Forward] The debate over “Who is a Jew?” has perhaps never been more heated in the years following the Reconstructionist, and later Reform, decision to accept as Jews those with only one Jewish parent: the father. While many perhaps expected this trend to catch on in the wider world,…
Israeli matzo is a hot commodity [Forward] Picked up matzo from the store yet to stock up before Passover? If so, you may have noticed the large bundles of Israeli matzo. But have you ever thought of what it takes to get it to your supermarket? The Jewish Daily Forward writes: “But Menachem Lubinsky, who…
Beis Rivkah High School’s war on Facebook immodesty [The Algemeiner] A school in Brooklyn, New York, is coming under fire for trying to force students to delete their Facebook accounts (under fines and threat of expulsion). Why? Because girls, dammit! The Algemeiner writes: “The decision by the all-girls Beis Rivkah High School in Brooklyn, New…
Christians & Jews in the West Bank [Forward] Evangelical Christians have taken up the cause of Jewish settlers in the West Bank, The Jewish Daily Forward reports. In this article by Nathan Jeffay, a spotlight is cast on the role of evangelical Christians in affirming the lives of West Bank settlers, all under the believed…
After one of Jerusalem’s largest ethnic clashes, no arrests made [Haaretz] It became one of Jerusalem’s largest clashes between ethnic groups. Yet when the smoke cleared, not a single arrest was made, and no charges were pressed. After a soccer game, a group of Beitar Jerusalem fans poured into a shopping mall and began harassing…
The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the leaves are back to their original color- signs I personally look forward to every year. And no, not just because I’m excited to wear sandals and paint my nails pink- it’s almost Pesach, one of the biggest holidays of the year. I don’t know about…
Daily Reform prayer? There’s an app for that [Forward] Following the recent release of the Reform movement’s Kabbalat Shabbat siddur in iPad form, the movement has now released an update featuring daily morning prayers. The Jewish Daily Forward reports: “The new application, which costs less than $5, was launched at the annual gathering of the…
The responsibility of Jewish federations [Forward] With the economic recession hitting many organizations, religious or otherwise, with hard times, leaders must make choices to ensure survival. But are some federations unfairly compromising the well-being of their employees in the process? The Jewish Daily Forward takes a look: “In this flip exchange lies a serious issue….
I’ve heard about it at two Passovers now, both the one at home in L.A. and the night up in San Francisco with some Israeli friends, the fog playing Elijah as it floated in wisps all around us, a constant yet absent presence. Somehow or another the topic of Mel Gibson arrives. Deep breaths are…