Archive
This week’s Torah portion is one of ends. It’s the end of Genesis, and along with the end of the first book of the Torah comes the end of Jacob’s life, thus also ending the of the story of our patriarchs. Jacob’s death stands out from the past deaths we have come across. When Abraham […]
It is a problem that I and many other queer Jewish students face: as religious folk, we want to pray. But how do we – gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans*, queer, and other identities across the “rainbow ” – connect with a liturgy that is often seen as heteronormative, cis-normative, and well, “straight”? Some say, “the […]
The first time I went into sensory overload while at college was during a Kabbalat Shabbat service. The just concluded school week had been stressful, and I probably hadn’t eaten enough that day, so perhaps it is not surprising that I went into a sensory attack that evening, while surrounded by about twenty people singing […]
A few weeks ago, Dani Plung wrote a compelling piece here at New Voices about why she studies Yiddish. It is a remarkably fascinating way to connect with her past and rich cultural heritage. It is a unique way to explore her personal identity, both Jewish and not. Among the great wealth of Yiddish literature, she […]
by The Swarthmore Hillel Board On November 11, former speaker of the Israeli Knesset Avraham Burg was supposed to give a talk on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the Harvard Hillel house. Instead, Hillel barred him from speaking at the Hillel house, and he ended up giving his talk in an undergraduate dormitory on campus. The […]
Bloomberg columnist Jeffrey Goldberg wrote an editorial last week explaining why Israeli settlements in the West Bank are not the central issue in the Middle East today. He explains that, yes, settlements are definitely one of the obstacles to peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, but then proceeds to list the ways in which the […]
Last week at my Torah study group, I had a heated discussion with a peer in which I passionately played devil’s advocate. The two of us began with the topic of whether the Jews have ever violently shoved religion down others’ throats, and it ended with discussions of Zionism and Native Americans. In the middle […]
Over the past several weeks, reminders of the occurrence of Thanksgivukah were impossible to avoid. Hanukkah was to coincide with Thanksgiving, for the first time in over 100 years and for what will allegedly be the last time in 70,000 years. Surely, this was an event this dramatic could not be overlooked! On the […]
Every few years, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) convenes a conference where feminists get together and discuss gender issues within the Jewish community. The next conference will take place on December 7-8 at John Jay College in New York. I’ll be there, and so should you! I’ll be going because I will be a speaker […]
In their Israel Guidelines, Hillel International states that it “welcomes a diversity of student perspectives on Israel and strives to create an inclusive, pluralistic community.” But a recent New York Jewish Week op-ed co-written by new Hillel President and CEO Eric Fingerhut and AIPAC Leadership Development Director Jonathan Kessler calls into question Hillel’s commitment to […]