Masthead

Judaism has always been revolutionary. It seems though that every few decades the tradition becomes ensnared in a rigidity and conservativism which defies its radical roots. Jew School is an open revolt. Offering the latest and greatest from the bleeding edge of Jewish cultural and communal life, Jew School’s more than just a weblog. It is an ever-expanding network of websites, projects, and events which promote critical thought and provide engagement opportunities for disenfranchised Jews alienated — and bored to death — by the Jewish mainstream.

Jew School represents The New Jew precisely because you cannot confine us to traditional categories and delineations. We defy existing archetypes and forge new ones in their stead. We are spiritually devout and worldly. We are proud and ashamed. We are scholarly and sophomoric. We are traditional and radically opposed to our traditions. We are queer hasidim and tzenuah feminists, Orthodox maskilim and secular hareidim, anti-Zionist Zionists and diaspora enthusiasts longing for geulah, talmud chochams who don’t believe in God and atheists who want to throw rocks at cars on Shabbos. We embrace the contradictions. And we relish in our freedom to be true to who we are without having to fill whatever mold you may wish to cast for us without ever really getting to know us.

Jew School dares to be what others can not: It pries Judaism from the lifeless fingers of the Jewish establishment and serves it up to the public with the insistence, “This belongs to you.”

Founded in December 2002, Jew School is a project of Matzat.

Editorial Policy

The ideas, thoughts, and words published on Jewschool.com by Jewschool contributors and/or commenters are the opinions of those individuals only and do not represent the views or positions of Jewschool, Jewschool-affiliated organizations, or any organizations for which the contributors and/or commenters may be affiliated with.

• Senior Editorial Staff

  • Julia Appel, Managing Editor
  • Sarah ‘Shamirpower’ Chandler, Managing Editor
  • Alana Suskin, Managing Editor
  • Kung Fu Jew, Treasurer

• Editorial Committee

  • Russ ‘Ruby K’ Agdern
  • Drew ‘The Last Trumpet’ Cohen
  • Ben ‘BZ’ Dreyfus
  • Joseph ‘Chorus of Apes’ Gindi
  • Sarah Lefton
  • Rob ‘Backbeat’ Levy
  • ‘The Rooftopper Rav’
  • Eli Rosenblatt
  • Matthue Roth
  • Danya Ruttenberg
  • Zach ‘ZT’ Teutsch
  • Daniel ‘Mobius’ Sieradski, Founder