Learning about the Shoah became a constant as I explored my local libraries. This sent me the message that Jewishness was inextricably linked to suffering. What if it wasn't?

Every day I find new books to read, and I know that they will continue to help expand my understanding of my own identity, and of the world around me.

The Jewish-American literary canon is not only dismissive of women but hostile to them, and this is insidious and damaging to the narrative we tell as Jews and women.

In Liana Finck's exploration of the kabbalistic concept of Tsimtsum, the idea of God's contraction as a means of creation, I find the beginnings of a Jewish feminist future. 

Reading The Sun Also Rises was the first time I encountered depictions of antisemitism as an almost normal part of conversation and interaction. I didn’t know how to react to it.

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.

Having the option to read Blume’s book about growing up as a girl did not necessarily change my view on womanhood, but taking away a comforting story that offers reassurance about a girls’ preteen years is disappointing and ridiculous.

Celebrate Mizrahi Heritage Month by checking out some of our favorite JWA content by and about Mizrahi women. 

My two identities and their literary traditions, Torah and magical realism, work together to shape my writing style.

Ghost World is satirical, but is that fact enough to excuse the writing of the Jewish female characters?