Family

Content type
Collection

Ruth Finkelstein

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Marcie Cohen Ferris interviewed Dr. Ruth Finkelstein on August 30, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words project. Dr. Finkelstein reflects on her upbringing in New York City, her journey as a female medical student, her experiences as an obstetrician, balancing career and family life, and her engagement in the Jewish community and organizations like Planned Parenthood.

Peggy Charren

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Peggy Charren on July 23, 2001, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Charren talks about her family background, her advocacy for children's television programming through Action for Children's Television (ACT), her passion for literature, her marriage, and her reflections on her life and activism, including receiving prestigious honors.

Lech by Sara Lippman Book Cover

"Lech" Complicates Familial Relationships

Chanel Dubofsky

As Lippmann's characters in Lech excavate their lives in search of clarity, they're ultimately left with this truth: what we're told to believe about ourselves and the world is never all there is.

Collage of Alexa and Brennon Lemieux from Netflix's Love is Blind on purple patterned background

Celebrating An Inter-religious Couple on Love Is Blind

Sonia Freedman

Although I was somewhat unimpressed by Love Is Blind’s surface-level coverage of inter-religious relationships, it was beautiful to watch the Lemieux fall in love despite their very different backgrounds.

Marion Stone

Project
Women Who Dared

Marion Stone was interviewed on February 4, 2004, in Chicago, Illinois, as part of the Women Who Dared oral history project. Stone shares her upbringing in Chicago Heights, experiences of antisemitism, education, a career in social work, involvement in the Jewish community, family resilience during the Great Depression, missions in Israel, and dedication to arts education.

Turkish Coffee and Dates

The Intricacies of Queer, Interfaith Relationships

D. B. Ashkenazi

It was the first time I’d hung out with “other Muslims” and not felt stressed about being Jewish. My girlfriend’s mom recognized me wholly as a Jewish woman and as a woman of her same culture. I had nothing to prove. I was enough.

Lenora "Leni" LaMarche

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Roz Bornstein interviewed Lenora LaMarche on May 24 and June 25, 2001, in Mercer Island, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. LaMarche shares her family history, Sephardic culture, and experiences growing up in the Seattle and Los Angeles Jewish communities, highlighting her education, comedic talents, work during World War II, raising a family, and involvement in various organizations.

Leslie Simon

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Leslie Simon on July 14, 2007, in Lafayette, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Simon shares her firsthand account of Hurricane Katrina, from the decision to evacuate to seeking shelter in the Superdome, reflecting on the storm's profound impact on her perception of home, government, and spirituality.

Collage of character from Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse on gold background

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse Taught Me the Importance of Teshuvah

Clara Sorkin

When I thought about where I learned how to make amends, I realized it wasn't just from Hebrew school or from my family. It was, instead, one of my most-read books from childhood: Kevin Henkes’ Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse.

Yemema Seligson

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Joan Rachlin interviewed Yemema Seligson on January 7, 1998, in Brookline, Massachusetts, for the Women Who Lives Spanned the Century Oral History Project. Seligson reflects on her family's immigration, her mother's work as a seamstress, childhood memories, the friendship with linguist Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, her career journey, and her current life, activities, and friendships.

Jeffrey Smith

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Jeffrey Smith on July 16, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Smith talks about his Jewish upbringing, the effects of Hurricane Katrina, his family's conversion to Judaism, their evacuation experience, and his work representing Jewish individuals on death penalty cases, reflecting on racism and his hopes for his children.

Rothschild Family Tree

Why Are Women Left Out of Jewish Genealogy?

Abby Rickin-Marks

With all the information Jewish genealogical sites offer, why are women so often left out?

Florence Gross

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Rachel Alexander interviewed Florence Gross on July 11, 1997, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Gross shares her family history, childhood memories, career path as a social worker, marriages, volunteering experiences, and her lifelong connection to Temple Israel, reflecting on the role of Judaism in her life.

Illustration of Family Tree With Empty Boxes

Understanding Epigenetics as a Descendant of Holocaust Survivors

Elle Rosenfeld

As a kid growing up in a tight-knit Jewish community, “l’dor v’dor” (from generation to generation) was a phrase I heard on a weekly basis. Now, I see this sentiment in a new light.

Edith Furstenberg

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Marcie Cohen Ferris interviewed Edith Furstenberg on March 16, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Furstenberg, born in Baltimore in 1910, shares her family history, educational experiences, a career in social work, marriage, and reflections on national political movements, including the Civil Rights Movement.

Marion Eiseman

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Emily Mehlman interviewed Marion Eiseman in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 19, 1997, for the Women Whose Lives Span the Century project. Eisman talks about her life experiences, including challenges during the Great Depression, involvement with Temple Israel, frustrations with her daughter's interfaith wedding, participation in Jewish resettlement during WWII, founding Call for Action, political views, volunteer work, and reflections on Boston's changes over time.

Clementine Kaufman

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Jean Freedman interviewed Clementine Kaufman on March 16, 2002, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Kaufman discusses her upbringing as a rabbi's daughter, her experiences in Switzerland, relationships, college, volunteer work, career in social work, and the changes she has observed in Baltimore.

Barbara Seaman

Project
Barnard: Jewish Women Changing America

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Barbara Seaman on October 30, 2005, in New York, New York, as part of the Barnard: Jewish Women Changing America Oral History Project. Seaman discusses her research on preventative hysterectomies, the influence of Rose Kushner, her family history, activism in the women's movement, and challenges as an activist journalist confronting the pharmaceutical industry.

German-Jewish Pietists: Attitudes towards Women

Despite their small numbers, the introspective and penitential religious outlook of the German-Jewish Piestists had a significant and lasting impact on European Jewry. Written by men and intended for a male audience, the Pietists’ writings heighten the profound ambivalence toward women that is inherent in the rabbinic tradition

Vivian Cahn

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Vivian Cahn on October 21, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Cahn tells her experiences of growing up in the South, moving to New Orleans, evacuating during Hurricane Katrina, and the challenges and recovery efforts faced by the Jewish community in rebuilding the city after the storm.

Florence Schornstein

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Florence Schornstein on July 31, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Schornstein, a longtime political and Jewish community activist in New Orleans, discusses her involvement in politics, her experiences during Hurricane Katrina, her role in rebuilding the city, and her frustration with national services for their lack of support post-Katrina.

Fleishman is in Trouble promo image

"Fleishman is in Trouble" Asks Universal Questions

Sarah Jae Leiber

This very Jewish TV adaptation of the bestselling novel crackles with sharply drawn characters and brilliant performances. 

Semah Unterman

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Ann Buffum and Sandy Gartner interviewed Semah Unterman on August 12, 2005, in Belmont, Vermont, for the Vermont Jewish Women's History Oral History Project. Unterman discusses her family, childhood activism, experiences during the war, career in education and local politics, the importance of critical thinking, and her daughter's illness and travels.

Althea Diesenhaus Stroum

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Pamela Brown-Lavitt interviewed Althea Diesenhaus Stroum on July 23, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Stroum discusses her upbringing, family history, experiences of antisemitism, community activism, marriage, role as a mother, support for the arts, and philanthropy.

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