H. B. Rubin

Hart Levine Brings Grassroots Judaism to Campus with the Heart to Heart Project

By H. B. Rubin March 13, 2014

It all started with Chanukkah caroling. Late one night, in the midst of finals week stress, a few male Modern Orthodox University of Pennsylvania students decided to carol some Channukah songs at the doors of their Jewish friends. As they walked down the hallway, snapping their fingers and singing in a loud messy harmony, they…

Read More...

Graduation! And it Feels So…

By H. B. Rubin June 3, 2013

I went to my graduation. It was about as anti-climactic as I expected it to be: my gown was the same obscene shade of red as everyone else’s, I didn’t have enough time to shower before the ceremony, and the rain forced me to wear shoes. I know, these are all material concerns. But in…

Read More...

On The Seventh Day, God Made Fashion

By H. B. Rubin May 14, 2013

Hassid or Hipster? It’s a topic of discussion that never gets old. But what about these bearded men’s female counterparts? While I don’t think we’re going to see any Hasidic women sporting crop-tops and wedged Supergas anytime soon, there may be more stylish overlap than you’ve previously considered. Whether it be the variety of hats lining…

Read More...

McIsrael Speaks: The Big America Burger

By H. B. Rubin April 29, 2013

What could be funnier than watching an Israeli McDonald’s commercial that features a troop of Secret Service agents rounding up Israeli teenagers in order to whip up a burger and fries for President Obama? Watching the same exact commercial, but from 2008, with a certain ex-President Bush receiving the burger and fries. That’s right. McDonald’s ripped themselves…

Read More...

Forbes Israel: Jews R Still Rich

By H. B. Rubin April 19, 2013

One question: Why? To clarify: Why Forbes Israel, why? The lovely group over at Forbes Israel (as if “ANTI-SEMITE FODDER” isn’t written all over that one…) has recently released a report that would make Moses roll over in his grave: The World’s Richest Jews. Unfortunately, the list is in Hebrew. Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to…

Read More...

Make Friends and Learn About Sports: Counting The Omer 2013

By H. B. Rubin April 8, 2013

Ways To Make Counting The Omer The Best Experience Of Your Life: Think about the unlimited cheese cake and ice cream that await you. Take time to appreciate the ephemerality of life Make music out of the silence (but don’t enjoy it too much) Hang out with the Simpsons and learn a lot of “fun”…

Read More...

“The Party Won’t Stop Till Sunday Morn”

By H. B. Rubin March 22, 2013

“Welcome to Atlanta, where the players play. Hope you can make my bar mitzvah day. Thirteen years since I was born, and the party won’t stop till Sunday morn.” Yes, that is actually the hook for Daniel (sans last name)’s Bar Mitzvah invitation. The difference? He raps the words in a music video, rather than…

Read More...

Raisman Cha Cha Cha’s Her Way To Second Place

By H. B. Rubin March 21, 2013

Imagine my delight to see this face staring out at me as I browsed my morning newsfeeds. That’s right America, Aly Raisman is back in the spotlight. And girl can dance. Though last I heard she wanted to start her own fashion line, Aly is taking a short detour into a different world of heels…

Read More...

8 Reasons Why the Kitchen is Your Friend

By H. B. Rubin March 7, 2013

I was playing tennis with a friend two summers ago when the subject of food came up. “I don’t cook at all, “ she laughed, as she served the ball, “because I’m an independent woman. Unless you count eggs? I think I can scramble eggs.” This comment has stayed in the back of my mind…

Read More...

Israel Gets Its Very Own Hebrew Playboy

By H. B. Rubin March 6, 2013

My friend Kyle emailed me earlier this morning with the subject line “Baruch Hashem.” And baruch hashem indeed. As AP reports, Hugh Heffner’s vast pornographic empire has finally extended its titillating grasp to the olive-lined land of our brethren: Playboy, the 60-year-old popular men’s magazine/soft porn magazine (depending on your mood), has just launched its very own Hebrew…

Read More...

Candy Cane Cheese Cake Hamantaschen? Yes.

By H. B. Rubin February 19, 2013

The times that I’ve made Hamantaschen in the past have always been in an affectionate haste around my kitchen table, with my grandmother’s well-worn cookbook pinned down by two generations of elbows and floury fingers. My mother and I flutter around the kitchen in hazy swirls, looking for circle-cutting cylinders, inventive ingredients to ad lib as creative…

Read More...

The Future, As Said By Some Girls and Bridesmaids

By H. B. Rubin February 12, 2013

As I look out my window, all I can see is graduation approaching. And maybe the off-white dregs of the gargantuam blizzard that hit on Friday. And yes, my street remains unplowed. But I digress. Graduation. Leaving this student house, these student classes, this student food behind and finally becoming… a 20-something. Though I have been twenty for almost…

Read More...

Jewish Pranksters Take Hot or Not to a New Level

By H. B. Rubin January 30, 2013

Guess what? Not only does the Internet provide you access to how Jewish your favorite celebrity is, it now also lets you know how anti-Semitic ze might be. Modeled after everyone’s favorite (read: disgusting) Facebook game, Hot or Not, the website AntiSemiticOrNot.com offers up people and events for viewers to rate on an anti-Semitic scale of…

Read More...

Join the Consent Revolution!

By H. B. Rubin December 26, 2012

When I was in seventh grade, my friends had it all: From “Juicy” across the butt to “So Low” just above the buttcrack, their clothing was what I yearned to wear. My mom had a strict no-words-on-the-butt policy and was viciously opposed to any and all suggestive messaging. The few times I was able to cajole her to walk…

Read More...

What You Should Be Reading (And Watching) Over Break

By H. B. Rubin December 25, 2012

It is finally that time that you’ve waited for all semester: winter break. Wooo PaRtAy. My first day home is usually a delicate balance between the T.V. room and the kitchen. Oh, the joys of coming home to a well-stocked fridge. The minor drawbacks of a house that goes to bed four hours before me…

Read More...