Archive
Elie Wiesel is considered one of today’s biggest spokesperson on the lessons on the Holocaust. He teaches generations of people about the danger of discrimination against any kind of group. His inspiring story and brave soul has been a source of inspiration for people all over world. I heard Wiesel speak a few years back […]
Coming off of the Yeshiva University panel in December about being gay and Orthodox, a queer Orthodox group hosted a Shabbaton conference with the Orthodox Community at the University of Pennsylvania, discussing inclusion and challenges.
During my five months in Israel, I had fallen in love with the harsh landscape–from every craggy hill to thorny bush, to the poppies which came after the spring rains. I embraced the terseness of the Israeli people, and I immersed myself into the culture until I experienced their uncompromising warmth and hospitality, in addition […]
I’ve always been fascinated by royals and genealogy. I’ve giggled gleefully at the millions of descendants from one Irish high king named Niall of the Nine Hostages, chuckled at the amusing antics of Infanta Leonor of Spain and smiled at the moving humanitarian efforts of Prince William of the United Kingdom. But no royal action […]
Growing up, my family used to take a lot of road trips. Â During these journeys through America, my siblings and I would whittle away the hours by cataloging the various license plates we encountered along the highways and biways of our nation. There was a points system that I won’t get into here, but suffice […]
For Joel Chasnoff, a native of the Chicago suburbs, serving in the Israeli Army seemed like a good way to give back to the Jewish state. What followed was a year of inspiration, disillusionment, danger and revelation. Miriam Mogilevsky reviews Chasnoff’s “The 188th Crybaby Brigade.”
The famous lesson of the Tower of Babel, and of the overrated movie “Babel,” is that language is the source of our division. Language influences culture (how many words do we have in America for sex and beer?), culture influences belief and when beliefs get strong, people can die. Especially Arab people and Jewish people. […]
The selection of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren as Brandeis University’s commencement speaker has ignited opposition among some students.
As the first Saturday in May approaches every year, I begin my annual pre-Derby preparations. I analyze the contenders’ pedigrees, mark down the exact post time, and watch pre-race coverage with the fervor I usually give to a Columbia University event with free food. This year, though, I watched ESPN’s perfectly-coiffed anchormen with more interest […]
Sara Hurwitz recently became the first ordained Orthodox woman rabbi. Now, the Rabbinical Council of America is trying to marginalize the effort to ordain Orthodox women. What’s the solution? One Orthodox feminist weighs in.