I suddenly wondered why I was trying so hard to erase the one feature that connected me to my family and culture. That thought made me pause, and I put the blow dryer down.

As I navigate life as a Jewish teenager, I hope to think of myself as something of a modern-day Rebecca, but one with the permission to read Torah and the drive to interpret it.

I am a Jewish feminist, whether or not the charms on my necklace hide. They are always with me, reminding me of who I am and who came before me.

When I light candles on Shabbat, using the same candlesticks that my ancestors lit over 100 years prior, I feel connected to everyone who has come before me.

Just like my great-grandmother, grandmother, and mom, I try to advocate for people and voice my opinions every day. 

The communal summer camp hangers passed hands, traveled across state lines, and held dresses for girls who just wanted to feel beautiful with the help of their friends.

I began to see her devotion not as carelessness, but as care expressed in movement, in improvisation, in insisting on presence rather than perfection.

When my grandmother took me to buy a tallit, she was helping me have the experience I deserved, the same as any Jew who is coming of age.  

When I stand in front of the Torah scroll, I want to be an inspiration for girls to step into a space that men have historically dominated. 

Zine by Margaret Lockman

Paula Vogel's play, Indecent, explores relationships against the backdrop of assimilation, antisemitism, and censorship. 

Writing is not only an easy way to share a message, but it is also an act of resistance.

When we allow all members of our community to celebrate their way of being Jewish, we create a more accepting environment for everyone.

Claudia Goldin, Janet Yellen, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala shattered glass ceilings so that my generation can go further.

As a dual symbol of protection and destruction, the ancient Lilith exists as a contradiction.

The story of Joseph’s brothers teaches us that guilt is not something to fear, but to learn from.

A bitch is any woman who doesn’t act as docile, forgiving, nurturing, or fill-in-the-blank as she's “supposed to.”

Friedman inspired and empowered women to speak out. Singing teaches us how to use our voices and discover how powerful they can be.

Joining RVF, I did not doubt my identity as Jewish feminist. I questioned what Jewish feminism really had to do with writing—but I went along with it.

Learning about the Women of the Wall made me realize that my discomfort at the Kotel was part of a larger, ongoing struggle for religious equity. 

When I put my wrap dress on, it is a continuation of Von Furstenberg's legacy of empowerment. 

Nechama Leibowitz revolutionized the way Torah is studied and played a crucial role in shaping contemporary approaches to scripture.

Blu Greenberg for showed me that Orthodoxy can be more inclusive for women and other underrepresented groups.

In some ways this “identity revolution” introduces a new type of social order.

The definition of patrilineal is “based on relationship to the father” which means my Judaism is…complicated.