The Talking Animals are Telling Us Not to Hate

By David G. July 3, 2014

For several weeks now the Torah has been singularly focused on the story of the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness and the laws they received through Moses. This week, the Torah takes an interesting turn, changing its focus to one of the Israelites’ enemies, Balak, King of Moab and the prophet-for-hire Balaam. The Torah tells…

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Frozen and Unchosen

By David G. June 20, 2014

Democracy. So many people seem to love it, including one man named Korach. Yet, reading this week’s Torah portion, we might find that the Torah does not share this love of a government run by the people. When Korach leads a group to protest against Moses and Aaron’s control of the Jewish people, God punishes…

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Past Meets Future: Ground-Breaking Rabat Genizah Project Fueled by Students

By Derek M. Kwait June 17, 2014

A storied community in a room. Hand-written notes, wedding documents, and Mezuzahs piled everywhere. When Oren Kosansky discovered these items and more in bags and boxes in a small room in the old synagogue of Rabat, Morocco as a Fulbright Scholar in 2005, they would change his life and the lives of his future students…

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How I Tipped the Scales in my Favor

By David G. June 13, 2014

I recently decided to finish up school while studying in Israel. I found a program, was accepted, and everything looked amazing. I would be free from the spiritually lacking world of New Jersey, where I spend all day slaving away at a keyboard, to receive Torah from amazing teachers— in Jerusalem of all places!— instead….

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#Generation

By Tikva Jacob June 12, 2014

I love hashtag communication: the modern use of these small hash symbol labels meant to convey a specific point. You can sum up an entire paragraph of concepts and ideas in a single pairing of symbol and word. Who needs prepositions, gerunds, and contractions? Who wants words? I’m an English literature major, and even I…

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I Am Dedicated: What Should Orthodox Feminism Look Like?

By Talia Weisberg June 9, 2014

Although it has been several months since the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) Conference, the Orthodox blogosphere is still buzzing about Leah Sarna’s speech at the opening plenary. In her address, Sarna stated her belief that Orthodox women must begin to demonstrate increased dedication to Judaism by participating in activities traditionally earmarked as male, like…

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The Ten Commandments of Recovery

By Jourdan Stein June 3, 2014

Shavuot commemorates receiving the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai. It is customarily observed by participating in a night of learning. Since I last wrote, I have relapsed and gone back to residential treatment for anorexia. Going back to treatment for the second time since January took a great deal of courage and taught me a…

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Torah Secrets for Avoiding Hangovers, Cheating Partners, and Jewfros

By David G. May 30, 2014

  In this week’s Torah portion, Naso, we receive two new laws. First, is the law of Sotah, a process in which women accused of adultery are given a special water that will prove whether they are innocent or guilty, then the Nazirite, someone who has taken a special oath to not drink alcohol, cut…

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To Check Privilege is to do Teshuvah

By Jonathan Katz May 28, 2014

  The recent debacle about the (Jewish, day-school alum) Princeton freshman who claims he “checked his privilege” dominated my social media network for a good two weeks. A few people came out in his support, but most people – myself included – were furious at his complete inability to consider the advantages he may have…

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Spreading the (Orthodox) Love

By Jenny Appelbaum May 27, 2014

  Written in response to Eat the Food Without Drinking the Kool-Aid: How to Get the Most out of Orthodox Outreach Programs “Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? He who learns from all people, as it is said: ‘From all those who taught me I gained understanding’ (Psalms 119:99). ‘Who is honored? He who honors…

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Reflections of a Day School Graduate, One Year Out

By Amram Altzman May 26, 2014

  I’ve written before on my day school education and its different aspects, critiquing how it taught me (or perhaps should have taught me) to look at my history and my past; I’ve also offered what can perhaps be best described as a back-handed compliment to my Jewish education. Now, as someone who has been…

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Insult and Injury: the Difference

By Derek M. Kwait May 22, 2014

  Here’s why I usually hate Twitter: We will never get to the bottom of the big issues facing humanity—poverty, disease, warfare, Israel on campus—without a long dialogue held in good faith between dissenting viewpoints. In other words, getting to the bottom of the world’s ills will take more than volleying 140-character spitballs with a…

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On the Conservative Movement, Egalitarianism, and Top-Down Judaism

By Amram Altzman May 19, 2014

Just over two weeks ago, the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Laws and Standards (CJLS) voted in favor of a controversial teshuvah (responsum), written by Rabbi Pamela Barmash, ruling that, according to Jewish law, women can be considered obligated in all of the ritual commandments from which they have classically been exempt. When I first…

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Beware of the Energy Vampires!

By David G. May 16, 2014

If you want to receive something from another person, often you have to do something for them at some point first. This week’s parsha, Bechukotai, shows us that even God is aware of this part of human nature. The parsha starts with God saying, “Hey, I get it! You’re selfish, and I can’t expect you…

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Prepping for a Test Greater Than Finals

By Dani Plung May 15, 2014

write this piece having just returned from a fascinating lecture by Bernard Wasserstein, a prominent history professor emeritus here at the University of Chicago. The lecture roughly corresponded to a recent book of Wasserstein’s, “The Ambiguity of Virtue: Gertrude van Tijn and the Fate of the Dutch Jews.” Unsurprisingly, Wasserstein discussed the story of Gertrude…

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