Archive
A year-and-a-half hiding in an underground bunker with her mother. Trudging into the village to beg local residents for food scraps. Occasionally discovering berries in the nearby forest. This was Mrs. Lefman’s life during the Holocaust. As she spoke, she remained outwardly stoic, preventing her internal reactions from manifesting in tears. And meanwhile, she comforted […]
“You shall be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” Parashat Kedoshim begins with this powerful command, telling us to be holy because God is holy. It pushes us, giving us an expectation that we just can’t work our way around. We aren’t commanded to be holy because it will extend our lives, […]
Many Jewish students experience “Jewish Burnout” when they first enter college. After years of Jewish education, Sunday School, Jewish youth groups, Jewish camps, and Jewish summer programs, many Jewish young adults enter college thinking that they are sick of everything Jewish and don’t want to do Jewish programs at college. They may have felt pressured […]
2 Poems by Sophie Katzman: Descendant’s Blessing Zadie. Zionist. Yellow stars. Young and old yearning for years passed. Yahrzeit. Yiddush: lyb, sholem. War. Woody Allen. Leaving notes on the Western Wall. The V’ahavta. U-blessed by the Orthodox Union. Torah. Tzedakah. Tikkun Olam, we repair the world. Shabbat. Sternberg Sewing. Samuel’s Metal Shop. Schlep. Shylock. […]
Yom Tovs aren’t days we traditionally think about death. They’ve always been, at least in my understanding, about life, and the preservation of life, celebrations of survival despite all the odds being against us to live or to live well. In the case of Pesach, we celebrate our overcoming persecution to live autonomously—in short to […]
Dear Jew in the City: I understand what you’re trying to do on BuzzFeed with your articles about trying to normalize Orthodox Judaism. You are trying to show that, no, those of us who were raised in the Orthodox world (or are Orthodox now) do not actually have to be that different from you […]
With the release of the University of California’s campus climate survey results, the Anti-Defamation League and the regional pro-Israel watchdog AMCHA Institute pounced on the results, which indicated that life for Jewish students on UC campuses is less than perfect. The results, announced last month, show Jewish students self-describe as some of the most uncomfortable […]
Passovers during my high school years were games of “What-will-Dani-bring-to-school-for-lunch-today”? Hosting Seders at my house almost every year meant that we always had an insurmountable amount of leftover Peschadike food in our fridge. This, combined with the fact that the only Kosher for Pesach thing my school cafeteria served was plain matzah with butter, meant […]
A mother wakes up and prepares for the day. The routine sounds normal: get the children ready for the day, cook, clean and provide for the family. But, what if it took six hours just to get water? This problem is real for Sub-Saharan African communities. It takes the majority of the day just to […]
Sheldon Adelson Makes Gov. Chris Christie Apologize for Living in Reality The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook Whether they know it or not, Jon Stewart and Samantha Bee are having the same conversation all Jewish communities are having now, and, like all good satire, the […]