Religion

Content type
Collection

Lisa Mednick-Owen

Project
Meet Me at Sinai

Jayne Guberman interviewed Lisa Mednick-Owen on February 8, 2015, in New York, New York, as part of the Meet Me at Sinai Oral History Project. Lisa reflects on the accomplishments of Jewish feminism, highlights the ongoing challenges in traditional and Orthodox Jewish communities, and emphasizes the role of Jewish values in addressing broader feminist issues, particularly regarding sexual assault and gender equality, while also recognizing the importance of organizations like the Jewish Women's Archive and the potential for Judaism to guide discussions on these topics.

Collage of Miriam Ezagui over drawing of smartphone and hand on green background

Finding Jewish Empowerment on TikTok

Rosie Yanowitch

After Kanye West's latest antisemitic spiral, I searched Tiktok, hoping to seek solitude and comfort in Jewish creators succeeding at sharing their Jewish identity in ways that felt authentic, candid, and personal.

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.

First Second Wave Jewish Feminist Conference in North America Begins

February 16, 1973

In February 1973, 500 women gathered in the McAlpin Hotel in Manhattan for the first second-wave Jewish feminist conference in North America. Speakers and attendees discussed Jewish religious observance, issues of sexuality, duties of community service, inequality in Jewish movement organizations, and experiences of growing up in Jewish families. The conference brought Jewish women of many backgrounds together under a shared feminist identity.

Collage of line drawing of a crowd of women on a deep purple background

Reclaiming "Like a Girl"

Adina Gerwin

I had to ask the question a 2015 Always ad poses: "why would I let ‘like a girl’ stop me?" Acting like a girl works, and is not something I need to be ashamed of.

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.

Elana Sztokman

Project
Meet Me at Sinai

Jayne Guberman interviewed Dr. Elana Maryles Sztokmann on February 8, 2015, in New York City, New York for the "Meet Me at Sinai" Oral History Project. Dr. Sztokman, raised in a Modern Orthodox family, became a feminist activist challenging Orthodox Judaism's sexism, pursuing higher education, and seeking a balance between her beliefs and her commitment to gender equality.

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?

Dina Rosenfeld

Project
Meet Me at Sinai

Jayne Guberman interviewed Dina Rosenfeld on February 8th, 2015, in New York, New York, as part of the Meet Me at Sinai Oral History Project. Rosenfeld talks about immigrating to Boro Park, becoming involved in Jewish feminism through Ezrat Nashim, confronting the Jewish Theological Seminary, and discussing the impact of the movement on women's religious participation.

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.

Roy Einhorn

Project
Soviet Jewry

Gabriel Weinstein, Tamar Shachaf Schneider, and Aaron Hirsch interviewed Cantor Roy B. Einhorn on November 10, 2016, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Soviet Jewry Oral History Project. Cantor Einhorn recounts his involvement in the Soviet Jewry Movement, including mission trips to the USSR with Temple Israel to support refuseniks, and drawing parallels to current refugee crises.

Bernard H. Mehlman

Project
Soviet Jewry

Tamar Shachaf Schneider, Aaron Hersh, and Gabriel Weinstein interviewed Rabbi Bernard H. Mehlman on November 1, 2016, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Soviet Jewry Oral History Project. Rabbi Mehlman shares his experiences delivering a heart valve in the USSR, arranging the evacuation of a refusenik, fundraising for Soviet emigre families, and providing support and education programs for newly arrived emigres at Temple Israel of Boston.

Toby Reifman

Project
Barnard: Jewish Women Changing America

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Toby Reifman on October 30, 2005, in New York, New York, as part of the Barnard: Jewish Women Changing America Oral History Project. Reifman talks about her journey of growing up in Providence, Rhode Island, her experiences with gender dynamics and inequalities in Judaism, her involvement in Jewish feminist movements, and her evolving commitment to feminism and personal fulfillment throughout her life.

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.

Bessie Berman

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Betsy Friedman Abrams interviewed Bessie Berman on December 10, 1996, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Berman explains her introduction to Temple Israel, her roles and responsibilities, her relationship with her coworkers and the rabbis, and how her career unfolded over fifty years with Temple Israel.

Madeline Bender

Project
Meet Me at Sinai

Jayne Guberman interviewed Madeline Bender on February 8, 2015, in New York, New York, as part of the Meet Me at Sinai Oral History Project. Madeline talks about her upbringing in New York City, her involvement in various clubs and organizations, and her feminist perspective on Jewish practice, and shares personal experiences of encountering gender equality and combating anti-feminist attitudes.

Ellen Bender

Project
Meet Me at Sinai

Jayne Guberman interviewed Ellen Bender on February 8, 2015, in New York, New York, as part of the Meet Me at Sinai Oral History Project. Bender discusses her childhood in New York, her mother's influence on her feminism, and how it shaped her religious practice, highlighting the impact of Jewish feminism and her vision for gender equality in Judaism and Jewish life.

Judith Kates

Project
Barnard: Jewish Women Changing America

Judith Rosenbaum and Jayne Guberman interviewed Judith Kates on October 20th, 2005, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Jewish Women Changing America: Barnard Conference Oral History Project. Kates talks about her Orthodox upbringing, her struggle for gender equality within Judaism, her education, involvement in the women's movement, teaching women's studies, her gabbai position at a synagogue, and the impact of feminism on Judaism.

Nancy Sargon

Project
Adult Bat Mitzvahs

Shayna Rhodes interviewed Nancy Sargon on December 23, 2004, in Newton, Massachusetts, as part of the Adult Bat Mitzvahs Oral History Project. Sargon discusses her family background, her Jewish upbringing in a Conservative family, her experiences with Jewish education, her career path in social work, and her bat mitzvah experience in 2000, emphasizing her commitment to Jewish education and ritual practice for herself and her children.

Anne Kahan

Project
Adult Bat Mitzvahs

Shayna Rhodes interviewed Anne Kahan on February 2, 2005, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Adult Bat Mitzvahs Oral History Project. Kahan discusses her family's immigration, Jewish education, synagogue involvement, marriage, disillusionment with traditional roles for women, involvement with Minyan Shaleym, and personal growth through her Bat Mitzvah and engagement with Torah and prayer.

Sonia Saltzman

Project
Adult Bat Mitzvahs

Shayna Rhodes interviewed Sonia Saltzman on December 21, 2004, in Newton, Massachusetts, as part of the Adult Bat Mitzvahs Oral History Collection. Saltzman reflects on her childhood in Chile, her determination to have a bat mitzvah, her family's move to New Jersey, her personal growth through studying Hebrew and preparing for her bat mitzvah with her son, and the transformative power of her bat mitzvah experience.

Ruth Anna Putnam

Project
Adult Bat Mitzvahs

Shayna Rhodes interviewed Ruth Anna Putnam on December 20, 2004, in Arlington, Massachusetts, as part of the Adult Bat Mitzvahs Oral History Project. Putnam reflects on her journey with Judaism, including her memories of living in Germany during Nazi rule, her parents' immigration to America, her evolving relationship with Judaism, and her experience of having an adult bat mitzvah at the age of seventy.

Carol Michael

Project
Adult Bat Mitzvahs

Shayna Rhodes interviewed Carol Michael on February 23, 2005, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of JWA’s Adult Bat Mitzvah Oral History Project. Michael recounts her family background, her disconnection from Judaism, her son's disabilities, and her rediscovery of Judaism through her daughter's bat mitzvah, leading to her active participation in Jewish practices and community.

Hadassah Blocker

Project
Adult Bat Mitzvahs

Shayna Rhodes interviewed Hadassah Blocker on November 3, 2004, in Newtonville, Massachusetts, as part of the Adult Bat Mitzvahs Oral History Project. Blocker discusses her Orthodox Jewish background, her role in Torah learning, and her advocacy for women's participation in synagogue services and adult Jewish education.

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