by shamirpower · Monday, May 5th, 2008
Jewschool would like to congratulate our colleagues at Jewcy and Zeek on their new partnership:
Zeek, an online journal that has helped shape modern Jewish-American culture, today announced that it is joining forces with Jewcy.com, one of the web’s most innovative and rapidly-growing online communities. Beginning today [May 1], Zeek’s online content will be published at www.jewcy.com/zeek.
Zeek joins Jewcy as the first content partner in Jewcy’s initiative to create a publishing network of editorial sites serving the YoCo psychographic – young, culturally omnivorous Americans looking for meaning and community.
“We are joining strength with strength,” said Jo Ellen Green Kaiser, chief editor of Zeek and formerly the managing editor of Tikkun magazine. “We’re a leader in Jewish intellectual, cultural, artistic, and spiritual life, and Jewcy is the largest and most dynamic Jewish community on the internet.”
“Zeek is the first of many partnerships to come in our effort to assemble an all-star team of the nation’s most original, creative voices,†said Tahl Raz, CEO and founding editor with Joey Kurtzman. Kurtzman added: “Zeek consistently publishes daring, groundbreaking work. This had to happen.â€
Zeek will retain its editorial independence and continue to publish its print journal. Its most recent issue, published last month, is a 120-page anthology of Russian-Jewish art, fiction, and poetry.
The venture is the first such merger among the publications and organizations collectively known as the ‘new Jewish culture,’ and represents a joining of two of the leading forces in independent Jewish media. Said Kaiser, “This is a natural evolution of the work all of us have been doing, and we’re thrilled to be joining forces.”
We applaud the proliferation of indy-Jew-media. Mazal tov!
by backbeat · Friday, January 25th, 2008
Richard Silverstein, from Tikun Olam, has a great piece in today’s Haaretz about the Jewish blogosphere and its role in presenting dissenting views in the Jewish community.
In the age before blogs, Jewish leaders were like political bosses. They ruled their roosts, and anyone who questioned them was easily frozen out of communal discourse. Their politics were conservative and generally supportive of the Israeli right. For its part, the Jewish media was a corporate entity that largely expressed the views of such leaders. The few dissenting individuals and organizations made barely a ripple in the communal pond.
Blogs have changed that.
Read the full article here.
by shamirpower · Tuesday, December 25th, 2007
One of Lilith Magazine’s EcoUshpiztin, Betsy Teustch (yes, ZT’s mommy) celebrates one year of her new blog, Money Changes Things. Here are a few highlights of her anneversary post:
Ten Kid Gifts Least Likely to Become Landfill
Easy ways for getting rid of catalogs and eliminating junk mail credit card offers
who knew you could microwave popcorn on the cheap in your own reusable bag !!!
by sarah · Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
Ah, a website after my own heart. The title alone puts it into my RSS reader.
Designist Dream (say it slowly, y’all) is a fun new blog watching Israeli design, architecture and fashion. It’s also got a totally worthwhile Chanukah gift guide. Time is short, so if you’re in Tel Aviv, run-don’t-walk to pick up a ridiculously cool underwater lamp or Israeli phone token cuff links today!
Seriously, though, there is so much great design around every corner in Tel Aviv (and beyond) that it’s great to see people starting to promote it on English websites. I look forward to watching this site grow.
Designistdream.com
by biz · Monday, December 10th, 2007
CK at Jewlicious has decided to hold a poll. We’ve all been blessed with a glorious opportunity: “to decide who you feel is more Jewy, good for the Jews, cool or Jewlicious.”
While not condoning what really seems to be a simple popularity contest, if its going to happen, Jewschool’s founder Mobius should be getting your votes. So point your mouse over there and do it!
by Rav Shmuel · Monday, September 17th, 2007
Thank you Nikol for ruining my day.
Well, maybe not for ruining it but certainly for injecting a sour note.
In a response to my post earlier today about Yidcore’s new “shteller” (position) you wrote; “That’s all fine. What, however, do you think about Obadiah Shoher’s criticism pf Rosh Hashanah as a holiday that has nothing to do with New Year?
Nikol, Nikol, Nikol. I’m not really sure what your comment has to do with my post other than the fact that the topic is Rosh haShanah. But think. Do we really need to spend our time paying attention to what far right doomsday prophets are saying about Rosh haShanah? I think not but I sensed that you were upset and followed your link despite myself and that’s where the sour note entered my day.
Obadiah Shoher’s post about Rosh haShanah is so offensively ignorant that if he didn’t seem to be a radical supporter of Israel I would think he was an Anti-Semite. His post even includes the prerequisite Anti-Semitic cartoon! But you’d be proud of me Nikol. I made up my mind not to let this get to me and I’ve decided instead to have some fun with his post!
I propose a little game. I put together a list of 9 quotes from his post that are blatant and completely ignorant errors. The rules are as follows: Read his post. As you’re reading come up with a mental list of errors. Then compare your list to mine and if we agree then you win! 
Now, on your mark get set, GO! (READ POST)
Here’s my list:
More »
by BZ · Tuesday, April 10th, 2007
In addition to Jewschool’s series in which we argue over the mitzvot and Mah Rabu’s fun with numbers, an assortment of other blogs are counting the omer daily, each with a different spin.
- Counting the Omer is providing 49 different reasons (1 a day) to go vegetarian.
- Every day, Counting the Amirs gives us another person or thing named Omer, Amir(a), etc.
- Divah World, Life Cultivating Life, Crawling to Uman, and Blogshul are all focusing on the kabbalistic associations of each day of the omer, linking each day to a set of sefirot and writing related observations.
- BeardFest07 is some guys who aren’t shaving during the omer and are posting periodic photographic updates.
- And for a competely different count, here’s the Karaite perspective. The Karaites (like the Boethusians, well-known to Jewish calendar geeks) interpret “the day after the sabbath” (Leviticus 23:15) literally, to mean the day after Shabbat, so they start counting the omer on the Saturday night of Pesach, and Shavuot always comes out on Sunday. (Rabbinic Jews interpret “the sabbath” to mean the 1st day of Pesach, so they start counting the omer on the 2nd day of Pesach, whatever day of the week that is.)
Who else is blogging the omer?
