Religion

Content type
Collection
Collage of "The Believer"
March 8, 2024

Wrestling with God and Neo-Nazis

Ava Cohen

What’s frightening about 2001 film, "The Believer,"  is that struggling with the idea of God as all-powerful is far from a unique experience.

Topics: Film, Spirituality and Religious Life
A Court of Thorns and Roses Book Cover: red background with black dragon in the background, Sarah J Maas at the bottom
March 5, 2024

A Cult Favorite with Jewish, Feminist Themes

Dr. Jamie Ehrenpreis

In her hugely popular fantasy series, Sarah J. Maas puts Jewish texsts and biblical women at the forefront. 

Topics: Fiction, Bible, Feminism
Portrait of Lauren Tuchman smiling in front of a stained glass window wearing a maroon top and gold necklace
January 9, 2024

7 Questions For Rabbi Lauren Tuchman

Sarah Groustra

JWA chats with rabbi and disability justice advocate Lauren Tuchman.

Topics: Disability Rights, Rabbis, Synagogues/Temples, Spirituality and Religious Life, Feminism
Collage of outline of Iran and Roya Hakakian
January 3, 2024

Speaking Out as an Iranian Jewish Woman

Shamim Elyaszadeh

As the daughter of two Iranian immigrants, I am compelled to take advantage of the opportunities and privileges my mother, aunts, and grandmothers were deprived of.

Topics: Politics and Government, Religion
Headshot of woman with long dark blonde hair and book cover reading "Death Valley by Melissa Broder" in pink with image of eye on top of cactus
December 18, 2023

Grief is a Desert in 'Death Valley'

Abby Richmond

The poignant and often hilarious novel made me consider my own experiences with grief and (metaphorical) lostness.

Topics: Fiction, Theology, Ritual
Collage of pink and purple flowers over Torah scroll
November 22, 2023

Singing Eshet Chayil to My Four Matriarchs

Shiraz Rothschild

Instead of using the poem the way a husband would honor his wife for taking care of the entire family, I chose to use Eshet Chayil as my way of thanking and expressing the awe that I have for these female role models in my family.

Topics: Ritual, Prayer
erica riddick Headshot
November 21, 2023

Bilhah and Zilpah Made Me Yearn for Torah

erica riddick

Listening for their voices has helped me find my own.

 

Topics: Bible, Midrash and Aggadah, Civil Rights

Priscilla Golding

Project
Ga’avah: LGBTQ+ Jews

Nicole Zador interviewed Priscilla Golding on November 9, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts as a part of the Ga'avah: LGBTQ+ Jews project. Priscilla recounts her family history, upbringing in Boston, higher education experiences, her brother's AIDS battle, her coming out journey and its reception, involvement with Am Tikva and outreach to synagogues, memories of the International Congress of Gay and Lesbian Jews, and reflections on the changes within the queer community, including her relationship and marriage to Barbara Berg.

Collage of Sasha Kranson-Forrest reading from the Torah at her Bat Mitzvah
November 15, 2023

The Family Yad

Sasha Kranson-Forrest

When my bubbe gave me this yad, I felt like I finally didn’t have to hide some parts about my Jewish identity.

Topics: Family, Ritual
Rabbi Minna Bromberg leading a workshop
November 14, 2023

Why We Need Fat Torah

Ariadne Wolf

Until fatphobia is erased from our Jewish lives, people with bodies like mine will never be able to truly come home.

Topics: Disability Rights, Women's Rights, Rabbis, LGBTQIA Rights
Drawing of male and female holding basket and looking at each other
November 13, 2023

Maraviglia's Fifteenth-Century Prayer Book

Evelyn Cohen

The British Library shares a fifteenth-century prayer book commissioned by a father to his daughter, Maraviglia, a testament to women’s participation in fifteenth-century Italian Jewish ritual life.

Topics: Yom Kippur, Passover, Feminism, Ritual, Spirituality and Religious Life
Collage of framed engravings of the story of Ruth
November 10, 2023

My Connection to Ruth

Shamim Elyaszadeh

Thanks to this beautiful drawing of the biblical story of Ruth in my house, I was able to develop an appreciation for Ruth and how her journey connects to mine.

Topics: Bible
Collage of black and white butterflies and snapshot of prayer shawl
November 6, 2023

Praying for Permanence: Finding My Connection to Faith

Halleli Abrams Gerber

Slowly, I have come to understand that my connection to Judaism doesn’t need to be a linear path. I experience days of doubt, times of radiant joy, and moments of deep guilt.

Topics: Spirituality and Religious Life, Ritual

Ann Abrams

Project
Ga’avah: LGBTQ+ Jews

Nicole Zador interviewed Ann Abrams on November 15, 2022, in Boston, Massachusetts as part of the Ga'avah LGBTQ+ Jews project. Ann details her upbringing in the Conservative movement during the late 50s and 60s, her journey of coming out, her influential role as the Temple Israel librarian supporting the LGBTQ+ community, her passion for musical parodies, co-authoring a book of Jewish folk songs for peace, and meeting her wife while working at the temple, reflecting on her life, family, and professional endeavors.

Collage of Twitter bird on blue sky background
November 3, 2023

Twitter Taught Me How to Love Judaism

Ava Cohen

Jwitter, or Jewish Twitter, helped me reshape how I viewed my place in a Jewish community.

Topics: Judaism-Orthodox
Collage of flowers and Jewish objects on a variety of orange torn papers
November 1, 2023

Learning to Lead Prayers, and My Community

Talia Waxman

I wanted my bat mitzvah to be a very public statement of my commitment to gender equality within Orthodox Judaism.

Topics: Judaism-Orthodox, Summer Camps

Gilda Bruckman

Project
Ga’avah: LGBTQ+ Jews

Nicole Zador interviewed Gilda Bruckman on November 10, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts as part of the Ga'avah LGBTQ+ Jews project. In this interview, Gilda discusses her upbringing, connection to the Jewish community, coming out experience, co-founding of the book store New Words and its evolution into a non-profit, as well as her extensive involvement in various volunteer programs and organizations, highlighting how her research into her family history as well as her relationship with her partner, Judy Wachs, strengthened her bond with Judaism.

Young woman with brown curly hair and glasses wearing dark gray shirt and posing in front of trees
October 31, 2023

Where Are They Now? RVF Alum Hannah Elbaum

Sarah Biskowitz

The first in our series of interviews with RVF alums to mark the 10th anniversary of the fellowship. 

Topics: Non-Fiction, Feminism, Spirituality and Religious Life
Collage of arms holding up a Jewish star on background of pages of Jewish text
October 27, 2023

Being Female and Orthodox Caused My Identity Crisis

Elah Tuchshnieder

When the topic of my bat mitzvah surfaced in my two households, it became evident that my bat mitzvah was not going to be like the ones my friends were having.

Topics: Judaism-Orthodox, Ritual
Sam Woll cropped
October 26, 2023

Remembering My Friend, Sam Woll

Jenny Nathan Simoneaux

She never stopped hoping that our shared humanity could guide us through the most difficult conflicts and help the world become a more peaceful, just, and equitable place. 

Topics: Community Organizing, Synagogues/Temples
Sign that says Kidnapped and includes names and information about two Israelis kidnapped in Hamas attack on October 7
October 19, 2023

My Neighborhood is Now a House of Mourning

Rachel Bernstein

In the awful days since October 7, the people in my tight-knit, mostly Orthodox LA neighborhood have come together to share their sadness, anger, and grief. 

Topics: Israel, Simchat Torah, Synagogues/Temples
Album cover showing two faces and the words Monajat: Galeet Dardashti featuring Younes Dardashti
October 17, 2023

7 Questions For Galeet Dardashti

Mirushe "Mira" Zylali

JWA talks to Dr. Galeet Dardashti, cultural anthropologist and singer, about her new album Monajat.

Topics: Jewish Music, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Prayer, Cantors
Rebecca Chernin, 2004

Rebecca Chernin

Project
Women Who Dared

Elise Brenner interviewed Rebecca Chernin on December 19, 2004, in Sharon, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Project. Rebecca discusses her family, childhood, and Jewish identity, highlighting her advocacy efforts to combat teen violence and support domestic violence victims within the Jewish community; she also shares her personal experience as an Orthodox teen survivor of an abusive relationship, her work with REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, and her outreach efforts to address domestic violence within the Jewish community, guided by the Jewish value of shalom bayit, and reflects on her ongoing advocacy goals.

Sharon Cohen Anisfeld

Sharon Cohen Anisfeld

Project
Boston Women Rabbis

Ronda Spinak interviewed Sharon Anisfeld on March 24, 2014, in Newton, Massachusetts, as part of the Boston Women Rabbis Project. Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld shares her experiences and perspectives as a religious leader, discussing topics such as ethics policies, the Book of Esther, the evolving role of rabbis in contemporary society, and the importance of adaptability, empathy, and understanding of religious traditions in her leadership role.

Suzanne Offit

Project
Boston Women Rabbis

Ronda Spinak interviewed Rabbi Suzanne Offit on March 26, 2014, in Newton, Massachusetts, as part of the Boston Women Rabbis Project. Suzanne began her rabbinical studies around the age of forty and shares her journey of embracing her Jewish identity, discusses her work in end-of-life care, including a special encounter with Charlotte Bloomberg and the subsequent grant to Hebrew College, and reflects on the transformation of her marriage and spiritual practices throughout her rabbinical education.

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