Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Shemah Yisrael Adonai Elohanu, Adonai Echad. Even when I was little, these words were more than a string of syllables; they were sacred and special. I would close my eyes whenever they were uttered and listen carefully for the deep, booming voice of God. (Being a Lion King fanatic, I imagined that God had a…
Last night, I was looking for inspiration for my next New Voices post, and it took all of 10 seconds to find it. Upon opening Internet Explorer, I was confronted with an article about the Republican candidate for Governor of New York, Carl Paladino. Smack dab in the middle of the New York Times (online…
When I was little, I was not a fan of services. They were long and dull and always, always during my favorite TV shows. I spent the whole time checking my dad’s watch and flipping through the Siddur, attempting to appear pious, but really just counting how many pages of the service remained. Even after…
“Jenna, your paper is dynamite!” “Thanks, Mom!” I shout into the receiver. “Wait. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” “Uh…both I guess.” “Why is that?” Silence, and then, “Your ideas are pretty controversial.” “How so?” “Well, uh…” “Mom!!!” Audible sigh. “I…uh…you…you sound kind of…er…conservative.” I take a deep breath. “In what way?”…
“So, you’re Jewish?” I’m yanked out of my sleepy haze, completely unprepared for such a question. It’s two in the morning on my second night of college and I’m curled up on the couch chatting with my suite-mates. “I’m sorry, what?” I ask. “You’re Jewish, right?” “Yeah.” I say matter-of-factly. “Cool! So are you a…
When I first began my college search, or perhaps it’s better to say when my mother started suggestively leaving college pamphlets on my desk, I refused to acknowledge a life after high school. The prospect of recreating myself and re-establishing my Jewish identity in a foreign environment frightened me enormously, but I needn’t have worried….