Queen Esther’s Second Seder
The Talmud says the story of Purim happened over Passover. Who says second night seder isn’t special?
Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Article Archive
Review: “The Rational Passover Haggadah” by Dennis Prager
Published this week by a conservative Christian media group, New Voices sat down to read Dennis Prager’s new haggadah.
On This Very Day, One Pesach Later: A Passover Reader
After a year of pandemic, one Pesach later, four Jewish students and thinkers have assembled a Passover Seder companion, filled with reflections on a year of plague and visions of redemption.
Escape the Plagues & Find Liberation: A Pesach Puzzle Game
Can an escape room be a spiritual endeavor? Can play help us feel connected to the people around us? Can games be holy work? Can puzzles help us engage with the challenging social justice themes of the Passover story?
A Queer Reflection on Passover
“Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Phillistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.” (Exodus 13:17) In this verse, it seems like God did not trust…
‘Hogwarts Haggadah’ Author (and Rabbi) Reveals the Magic Behind His Book
Other than the mention of holidays like Christmas and Easter in the Wizarding World, J.K. Rowling avoided the topic of religion in her “Harry Potter” books. After all, the complexities and controversies surrounding faith would have felt a little out of place in a young adult series and would have bogged down the momentum of…
Passover in College: A Journey Worth Taking
Keeping kosher in college is not easy; keeping kosher for Passover is even harder. Pizza, bread, eggs, fruits, veggies, and desserts are my go-to dorm foods. While mentally preparing for Passover, I realized many of the main staples of my already restricted diet were no longer options, and that was daunting. No more opening the…
The Myth of the ‘Feminized’ Religion
I have written in the past about my experiences with gender, privilege, Jewish ritual, and the need to find new and creative ways to engage both men and women ritually. Women, I’ve argued, should be encouraged to try out more traditionally masculine rituals, and men should be encouraged to try out more feminine rituals. There…
On the Conservative Movement, Egalitarianism, and Top-Down Judaism
Just over two weeks ago, the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Laws and Standards (CJLS) voted in favor of a controversial teshuvah (responsum), written by Rabbi Pamela Barmash, ruling that, according to Jewish law, women can be considered obligated in all of the ritual commandments from which they have classically been exempt. When I first…
Ghosts of Passovers Past
Yom Tovs aren’t days we traditionally think about death. They’ve always been, at least in my understanding, about life, and the preservation of life, celebrations of survival despite all the odds being against us to live or to live well. In the case of Pesach, we celebrate our overcoming persecution to live autonomously—in short to…
Dip the Matzoh in the (Parve) Chocolate
Now that Passover is over and we have 376 days to recuperate, it’s high time we make fun of that which is too real and dire to be funny during the holiday: the Passover snacks we swallow all too readily for 8 days a year. Our parents tell us all they had were those frightening…
Oregon Brewers Turn Leftover Matzoh Into Beer
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…
Second night Seders; the poet and candy; quinoa for Pesach; and more. [Required Reading]
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,…
No arrests in ethnic clash; Santorum and Messianics; no Torah for mixed seating; and more. [Required Reading]
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…
Next year, as free men [Pesach]
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…