Archive
We know, Halloween isn’t a Jewish thing. But some of us can’t resist the opportunity to wear costumes, scare people, and ask strangers for candy. If you want to bring your Jewish identity into the chag Halloween festivities, New Voices has you covered with some easy costume ideas specifically designed for Jewish students. Mosaic United’s […]
Originally published in Ha’am. I’m not going to waste too much space speaking to the importance of free speech, diversity of opinions and the benefits of engaging in lively academic conversation with those who disagree with us. Blah blah blah, kumbaya. These are all wonderful attributes that college students and faculty members alike will almost […]
This year, I realized something new about the holiday of Sukkot. Sukkot challenges us to envision and construct a new kind of Jewish community, one that lies outside of our everyday institutions. We are commanded to dwell in a new reality, where we welcome in all those on the margins of our community, as well […]
NOTE: Mayim Bialik apologized publicly for her remarks after this letter was written. Click here to see her apology. Dear Mayim, Let’s talk – Orthodox feminist to Orthodox feminist. You represent me. You might not mean to but you do. With the exception of Ivanka Trump (oy), you’re probably the most visible Orthodox woman in […]
Grammar fact: A semicolon comes at the end of a sentence that could have ended with a period, with finality – but didn’t. Many suicide attempt survivors, including myself, have semicolons tattooed on our bodies to represent that our stories aren’t over yet. Our lives could have ended when we attempted suicide – but didn’t. […]
This Yom Kippur, I sat in Kol Tzedek synagogue, where the majority of the congregation and the rabbi identify as queer or trans, thinking about how the last day of Sukkot falls on National Coming Out Day this year. Something felt natural about this intersection of celebrations and communities. During Sukkot, we come out of […]
“Could you be imagining a problem where there isn’t one?” The question caught me off guard. Where had I gone wrong? I had come to the campus medical practice at the allotted appointment time. I had waited there for almost two hours, the reception staff reassuring me every so often that it wouldn’t be long. […]
What do you do the day after a fast? (Sleep? Reflect? Make up for a day of missed meals by eating like a hobbit?) For hundreds of Jewish activists, the answer was march across the Brooklyn Bridge. When the Washington D.C. March for Racial Justice was organized on Yom Kippur, Jews gathered for solidarity marches […]
A version of this article was published in Times of Israel. Edie Windsor, who passed away last month at 88, will be remembered as many things – a hero, an icon, a trailblazer, and also rarely emphasized, Jewish. Yes, the same Edie Windsor who led the fight in overturning the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) at […]
As I reflect on this past year, moments of crisis stand out in my mind. I think about the ways in which God has tested me and my community. I think about experiencing a surreal and seemingly endless stream of challenges, pushing me to stand for my Jewish values that suddenly felt under attack. Even […]