Starting in 2018, New Voices has offered year-long, paid fellowships for Jewish college students. In 2019 and 2020, New Voices partnered with other progressive Jewish media outlets to offer four joint fellowship positions: Jewish Currents, The Unsettled Podcast, and Judaism Unbound. As the fellows close out the 2020 fellowship year, each have written reflections on their experiences with New Voices Magazine and their partnered media organization. Becca Lubow speaks about her year with Judaism Unbound and claiming her Torah as a young Jewish educator.
A few weeks into my fellowship with New Voices Magazine and Judaism Unbound podcast, I joined my weekly check-in Zoom call with Lex Rofeberg from outside a Never Again Action retreat. It was a cold and rainy day in Boston, and I sat on the covered porch trying to keep my phone steady and my fingers covered by the ends of my sleeves for warmth and my voice low enough not to carry to the people still talking organizing strategy inside the building.
Lex had been the one to suggest we start each check-in with one of us sharing a teaching about the week’s Torah portion, and it was my turn. I made several disclaimers before saying anything about the parsha: I never studied at a Yeshiva, I knew less about Jewish texts than the previous Judaism Unbound fellow might have, I didn’t have what I was about to say written down. This was a product of my excitement and anxiety about sharing a teaching with Lex, a co-host of Judaism Unbound and soon-to-be Rabbi.
I don’t remember which parsha I talked about or what I said, but I remember when I finished, Lex said, “I want you to try something,” and instructed me to yell, “I am a Jewish educator” as loudly as I could.
I said, “I am a Jewish educator!”, embarrassed that the people inside the building might be able to hear me.
“Louder.”
I took a deep breath.
“I AM A JEWISH EDUCATOR!”
Lex was satisfied with this volume. Then he reminded me that I have plenty of Torah to offer, and I don’t need any credentials to speak about it.
That moment in Boston wasn’t the very beginning of my year working with New Voices and Judaism Unbound, but it’s the moment that set the tone for the rest of the fellowship.
It has been a privilege to learn from Judaism Unbound co-host Dan Libenson and be closely supervised by Lex throughout this year. The spirit of exploration, radical innovation, and unboundedness in the podcast that they have created together is infectious, and it feels to me like a breath of fresh air to a Jewish community in need of new creative energy.
Over and over this year, Lex encouraged me to be bolder and go in unexpected directions, from trying on new facilitation styles to speaking about my frustrations with Jewish institutions honestly to putting a neon green toothbrush on the Sukkot carnival graphics. I learned from him throughout the year just before his ordination, and I know that Lex is clear about what the title “Rabbi” does and does not mean. His conviction that all Jewish people are important to the future of Judaism and distaste for doing things the way they’ve always been done are gifts to our community.
Speaking of courageous Jewish leaders, Daniel Holtzman. I met Daniel when we were arrested together at the first Never Again Action for blocking the entrance to an ICE concentration camp. Daniel was one of many Jewish people I met last year willing to fight for a vision of Jewish values as a rallying cry for justice. Learning they were the Editor of New Voices magazine was the push I needed to apply for this fellowship; a chance to make courageous art and explore my relationship to a Judaism that stands for collective human liberation. I am grateful for their thoughtfulness as a supervisor for the first half of this year and their grace in adapting the fellowship to meet the moment of a global pandemic.
When Rena Yehuda Newman stepped into the role of Editor of New Voices Magazine this summer, I was excited as a fan of their raw, beautiful comics about queerness and Jewishness. In one of our first conversations, I expressed uncertainty about publishing my comics on living through the pandemic in New Voices because they weren’t Jewish enough. They told me, “They’re Jewish because you’re Jewish and you made them.” By being unshakably certain of their own authentic Jewish experience, Rena Yehuda helped me do the same. Their thoughtful guidance and edits made my writing more vulnerable and better.
Guided by Rena Yehuda, regular calls with the other New Voices fellows became an open space for honest feedback and creativity. Chaya, Rebecca, and Miriam each made beautiful and deeply personal art this year. Watching them grow as Jewish writers and artists has been a joy. They remind me how much our generation has to contribute to Jewish media.
Too many young Jews receive the message from our communities that we aren’t Jewish in the right way. We don’t come from the right kind of Jewish family, or we don’t have the right politics, or we just don’t care enough. That’s why New Voices Magazine’s work to connect young Jewish artists to each other and give our stories and ideas a platform is such a radical project. A new group of fellows will have this opportunity next year, and I can’t wait to see what they create for a media platform that believes in their authentic voices.
My experience this year affirmed that there is no “right way” to be Jewish. I found the creative freedom to struggle with big questions in community and make imperfect art and change my mind. I got to tell the stories of some of the people pushed to the margins of Jewish institutions through a podcast episode about who Judaism belongs to, and dance to the tune of “Twist and Shout” at the online Sukkot carnival.
In my new role as a grassroots community organizer for the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs in Chicago, I am part of a team of people who begin each staff meeting by sharing words of wisdom about the week’s Torah portion. I haven’t had my turn to share yet. But I know when it comes, I’ll be excited and not afraid to facilitate learning for my community. ⋄
