Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
It is usually expected that you wear your finest clothing to synagogue services. Depending on your level of religiosity you may add or subtract a garment of clothing (ie, kippah/ talis); however all congregants seem to be dressed up. Women may wear skirts or dresses, while men tend to wear sport jackets or suits. This…
I don’t really know what the audience of the New Voices magazine/website is, but I assume that it’s one that has a better Jewish background than I do. Maybe some of the people who stumble upon this post or anything else I’ve written for New Voices will think, “this guy is an ignorant fool who…
Going to a Catholic, Jesuit college does leave Jewish student life with a bit to be desired. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here. Being in any kind of faith-based community, even if it’s not my own, creates a warm environment and an interesting forum to expand one’s religious horizons. Still, though, it’s important…
Do you ever feel like you just don’t get it? No matter what, it just doesn’t make sense. You try and then you try a bit harder and every time you think that maybe, just maybe you got it, it just slips away from you like a helium-filled balloon on its way to greener pastures….
While looking back through my fiction writing that I’ve done, I realized that Jewish influence has come out in full force. Here’s a taste of what I wrote the summer before junior year of high school, simply titled, “Moses.” Behind him, a whistle seared the air, and a smacking sound was followed by a man’s…
A left-wing historian predicts a grim future
Add this to the plethora of reflections on Rosh Hashana. My Rosh was dissatisfying; sorry if that’s bad karma or something. And it’s my fault. I will now enumerate the reasons why it didn’t live up to Roshes of yesteryear: This was my first year attempting to observe Rosh Hashana while at school. And now…
Similar to Ashley Tedesco’s entry, I struggle between what to do at college for the Holidays. Though there is a Hillel on my campus that offers services and several meals, it is difficult to actually honor a holiday in a different manner than what you grew up with. Besides missing the home cooked meals of…
The first major political tragedy I remember was the death of Yitzchak Rabin in November, 1995. I was nine years old and until the Twin Towers fell Rabin’s assassination was my “Where were you?” moment, at least in Jewish school. I was walking into my parents’ bedroom and my mother had the TV on. She…
Being a new Jew, independent of an observant family or significant other, can make holiday celebrations difficult. This is especially true as a college student. I’m a hundred miles from home–a place that’s already showing signs of impending Christmas decorations. So this Rosh Hashanah, just like the last, I’m left in New York City, scrambling…