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Reform Judaism in the United States

The 150-year history of organized Reform Judaism in the United States has been marked by a continuous adjustment to roles and expectations for women in Judaism that, in many ways, has been the movement’s signature defining feature. The Reform Movement has been a pioneer in forwarding women’s public engagement and leadership as Jews. At the same time, those advances have often been accompanied by experiences of exclusion and discrimination that have, at times, belied the movement’s rhetorical embrace of equality.

http://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/reform-judaism-in-united-states

Patriotism and Dissent

http://qa.jwa.org/discover/throughtheyear/november/patriotism

King Solomon and Queen of Sheba as depicted in an illuminated manuscript of Speculum Humanae Salvationis.

Queen of Sheba: Midrash and Aggadah

The midrash tells the story of how the Queen of Sheba traveled to meet King Solomon and witness his wisdom, posing several scenarios and riddles to test him. After being impressed by his answers, she commits herself to God and converts.

http://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/queen-of-sheba-midrash-and-aggadah

Sarah Shmukler

Sarah Shmukler was a nurse and midwife who emigrated to Palestine from the Russian Empire during the Second Aliyah period. Her short life was characterized by providing medical assistance to migrant workers in Palestine and by close friendships with her fellow pioneers.

http://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/shmukler-sarah

A circular badge with a white star of David and the letters "JLWS" on a pale blue field in the center, and Hebrew writing around a purple edge

Jewish League for Woman Suffrage

The Jewish League for Woman Suffrage (JLWS) was the only Jewish women’s organization in England—and the world—devoted exclusively to obtaining both national and Jewish suffrage for women.

http://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/jewish-league-for-woman-suffrage

Carol Gilligan

The pioneering work of American psychologist Carol Gilligan changed the way the field of psychology studied women and, arguably, the way society views women. Challenging mainstream psychology through her interrogation of the accepted benchmarks of moral and personal development, she proposed that women and men have different moral criteria and follow different paths in maturation.

http://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/gilligan-carol

Shulamith Firestone

Shulamith Firestone was one of the founders of radical feminism in the United States. At age 25, she published The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution, which brought together the dialectical materialism of Marx and the psychoanalytic insights of Freud in an effort to develop an analysis of women’s oppression that was inclusive of the dimensions of class and race.

http://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/firestone-shulamith

Yael Kanarek reads from a Toratah scroll

Episode 65: Regendering the Torah

Listen Now

Yael Kanarek wanted a more direct relationship with the Divine than she experienced through male-centric Jewish sacred texts—so she rewrote the Torah. In Toratah, or Her Torah, Yael has switched the genders of each character. The result is a familiar text that resonates very differently, with a new set of matriarchs and patriarchs, and stories that draw new connections and pose new questions.

http://qa.jwa.org/podcasts/canwetalk/episode-65-regendering-torah

Pauline Podbrey

Pauline Podbrey was a committed Communist and anti-Apartheid activist. A Lithuanian child migrant to South Africa, she moved away from her Jewish roots and endured exile as a result of her mixed-race marriage, only to become disillusioned with Communism.

http://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/podbrey-pauline

2018-2019 Rising Voices Fellow Shira Minsk in First Grade

October 22, 2018

Why Keep Passover When You Love Carbs?

Shira Minsk

Now that I’m out in the secular world, I have to decide what Judaism really means to me. I have to distinguish between the things that are actually important to me and the things I’ve just done out of habit.

Topics: Jewish Education, Jewish Law, Spirituality and Religious Life

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/risingvoices/why-keep-passover-when-you-love-carbs

June 22, 2018

My Personal Imahot

Julia Clardy

When it comes to grandmothers, I hit the jackpot. My grandmothers are some of the strongest and most incredible women I’ve ever met, and because I come from a blended family, I have three of them! My grandmothers are models of power and grace, and they haven’t sacrificed their passions and values as they’ve aged. They’re all fierce defenders of justice, and I am who I am today largely because of their influence.

Topics: Activism, Education, Family

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/risingvoices/my-personal-imahot

December 18, 2017

Two Jews, Many Opinions

Emma Mair

In the 12th century the great Jewish philosopher Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, commonly referred to as Maimonides, put together the Thirteen Principles of Judaism. The Thirteen Principles serve as the fundamental truths of the Jewish religion, and in many congregations it’s customary to say “Ani Maamin” (I believe) when reciting them.

Topics: Philosophy, Talmud

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/risingvoices/two-jews-many-opinions

December 13, 2017

Unpopular But Important

Minnah Stein

When you talk about sexual assault, you automatically become unpopular. People don’t want to talk to you because they know that they aren’t going to like what you have to say. This feeling of being unpopular is one that I’ve become accustomed to. Five years ago I heard an NPR program on sexual assault, and I’ve been dedicated to bringing an end to this epidemic ever since. Being a sexual assault activist isn’t an easy job, but it’s the one I’ve chosen.

Topics: Activism, Schools

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/risingvoices/unpopular-but-important

September 28, 2017

Betsy Devos and the Stacked Deck

Emily Cataneo

Maybe the Obama-era policies needed improvement. But DeVos’ new policy is built on the lie that men’s and women’s lived experiences and testimony are seen as equal in the eyes of society.

Topics: Civil Rights, Feminism, Women's Rights, Social Policy

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/betsy-devos-and-stacked-deck

January 27, 2017

Finding Myself and God in a Still, Small Voice

Aliza Abusch-Magder

Teenage chaos is inevitable. I speak from experience when I say, plenty of mistakes are made and it can be hard to find our voice. We don’t always know how to grow. We don't always know how to learn from our mistakes. For the first time, our questions don’t have answers.

Topics: Bible, Spirituality and Religious Life, Writing

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/risingvoices/finding-myself-and-god-in-still-small-voice

2016-2017 Rising Voices Fellow Aliza Abusch-Magder with her Mom

October 14, 2016

My Jewish Feminist Roots and The Fruit of My Mother’s Labor

Aliza Abusch-Magder

My mother struggled her whole life to bring her love of Judaism and her expectation of gender equality together. I was raised on the foundation that she had worked tirelessly to build.

Topics: Feminism, Jewish Education, Rabbis

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/risingvoices/my-jewish-feminist-roots-and-fruit-of-my-mother-s-labor

April 6, 2016

The Power of an Ask

Sarah Groustra

I’ll admit it—I own a power outfit. And it was only a few weeks ago that I woke up in a D.C. hotel room, put on my pressed skirt and my sensible (but classy) black heels, and took a bus with my friends to Capitol Hill. I remember listening to my shoes click on the marble floor, shuffling through printed pages of talking points, a nervous, excited energy rising from the center of my stomach.

Topics: Women's Rights, Law, Social Policy

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/risingvoices/power-of-ask

October 19, 2015

The Balancing Act

Maya Franks

I was raised in a modern orthodox household. I went to a private Jewish preschool, then a private Jewish elementary school, and then a private Jewish middle school. But when I reached high school, my family and I made the decision to go to public school. It was a brand new social and educational experience, and almost all of the changes I went through were positive. However, I lost the daily Hebrew and Judaics I’d had my whole life, and I realized how you can get very distant very quickly from your Judaism.

Topics: Jewish Education, Spirituality and Religious Life, Judaism-Orthodox

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/risingvoices/balancing-act

"Full of Ourselves: Advancing Girl Power, Health and Leadership" Girls' Curriculum

Catherine Steiner-Adair

[W]hy are so many incredibly bright, talented, and capable teenagers developing these new, life threatening eating disorders?

http://qa.jwa.org/feminism/steiner-adair-catherine

Tamara Cohen

I floated between moments of exaltation at what we were creating and moments of exasperation and tears at the difficulty of it all.

http://qa.jwa.org/feminism/cohen-tamara-1

September 11, 2012

How I Accidentally Became A Jewish Historian

Etta King Heisler

Like many recent college graduates, I began my job hunt by asking myself some difficult questions “What do I want to do? Who do I want to be?

Topics: Education, Jewish Studies, Family

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/how-i-accidentally-became-jewish-historian

April 10, 2012

Lucy Kramer Cohen: A public-spirited woman/a private inner life

Nancy Kramer Bickel

Ever dream of making a film about someone you wanted the world to know more about?

Topics: Family, Motherhood, Film

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/lucy-kramer-cohen-public-spirited-womana-private-inner-life

March 1, 2012

Yes Virginia, Holocaust deniers still exist and run for Congress

Kate Bigam

The significance of meeting a Holocaust survivor while on my way to visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, is not lost on me – but that’s what happened to me two weeks ago. While leading a trip in Israel, I made a quick stop off to visit a friend who was in a Jerusalem hospital just down the road from Yad Vashem, and when raindrops started to fall, I decided to hop a cab to meet up with the rest of my group.

Topics: Antisemitism, Holocaust, Politics and Government

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/yes-virginia-holocaust-deniers-still-exist-and-run-for-congress

September 16, 2011

"The Debt": Mothers and daughters, secrets and truths

Susan Reimer-Torn

When is the last time you saw an action-packed film with a mature woman who must reckon with her own history as the main protagonist? This sort of screenwriting doesn’t come around too often.

Topics: Family, Children, Motherhood, Jewish History, Film

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/debt-mothers-and-daughters-secrets-and-truths

September 9, 2011

Posters in the classroom: Outdated or just underused?

Jewesses With Attitude

Earlier this week in The Sisterhood, Renee Ghert-Zand discussed Keshet’s new poster series recognizing “Jewish LGBT Change Makers,” asking if posters were an outdated educational tool. Renee drew comparisons to JWA’s own Women of Valor poster series, and expressed concern that Keshet’s posters would face the same challenges that she saw with ours. She wrote:

Topics: LGBTQIA Rights, Education, Jewish Studies, Teachers, Women’s and Gender Studies

http://qa.jwa.org/blog/history-makers-posters-outdated-or-underused

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