Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
A few weeks ago, Dani Plung wrote a compelling piece here at New Voices about why she studies Yiddish. It is a remarkably fascinating way to connect with her past and rich cultural heritage. It is a unique way to explore her personal identity, both Jewish and not. Among the great wealth of Yiddish literature, she…
Several weeks ago, I attended a screening of the classic 1937 Yiddish language film, The Dybbuk, open to the University of Chicago community. For me, the appeal was in the Yiddish language; the film was a natural compliment to my Yiddish 101 class, and, in fact, my professor highly encouraged my class to attend. There…
Part 3 in a 3 part series. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. 7. What are your reactions to survey respondents’ answers to “What does it mean to be Jewish”? What creates Jewish meaning for you? Dr. Steven M. Cohen, sociologist: These questions pertain to areas of great ambiguity. I wouldn’t…
Part 1 in a 3 part series. We might just be the last Jewish organization to respond to the big bad Pew Survey and we’re fine with that. It seems like every response so far is other people telling us what how we need to feel about it, whether we should be scared, take…
Yasmin Levy‘s band sounded, in a word, warm. Melodic double bass, percussive Spanish guitar, wavering, klezmer-like clarinet, and laid back latin percussion. It was a thick, mid-range heavy sound, gently syncopated on slow songs, and pulsing quickly for the high energy numbers. It filled up the Somerville Theater Wednesday night. But all of it was…
Walking through the crowded shuk on a Friday morning in Ramleh, an Arab and Jewish town in the center of Israel, I heard a familiar tune blasting from a dated boom box up ahead. I was suddenly taken back to Magen David, the Sephardic and Mizrachi shul I went to as a kid. I looked…