For Week Three of the Omer, we focus on Tifereth, which generally centers around beauty or compassion — essentially balancing the Hesed, the lovingkindness, of Week One and the G’vurah, the discipline, of Week Two. Last week, we reflected on the way in which our discipline and boundaries have been stressed and...
The filmmaker discusses how his lush, mysterious new documentary helped him come to terms with the undefined space in which Jews and immigrants must live. The Man of the Monkey is available for free streaming nationwide through April 29, as are all films of the Miami Jewish Film Festival. by Ursula Rigberg Wagner...
Guest post by Dan Osborn. Let me tell you an origin story. It’s the early 2000s. The United States is embroiled in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and I’m in suburban New England trying to figure out the most pressing geopolitical realities of our time. Yet, I didn’t know where to turn....
Avigayil Halpern is publishing a weekly feminist dvar Torah on the parsha through her newsletter, Approaching, which is being crossposted to Jewschool. You can subscribe to Approaching here. Tazria and Metzora largely deal with interactions of human bodies with one another and with the sacred. Tzaraat, which is often translated as leprosy,...
For Week Two of the Omer, we focus on G’vurah, which generally centers around discipline, boundaries, judgment — essentially providing a channel and exercise through which the Hesed, the lovingkindness, of Week One can flow. Over the past year, we have all had our discipline and our boundaries challenged. In difficult —...
Eliana Fishman works in political data in Washington, DC. What is Hishbati? Hishbati is a new non- and anti-Zionist Beit Midrash. We provide a space for Jews to learn and teach Torah without the assumption that Zionism is inherently Jewish, or even a good idea. By being open about our hashkafah we...
Throughout the four years of the Trump administration, the rising threat of right-wing antisemitism, and the broader exclusionary ethnonationalism of which it was a core part, spurred a wave of organizing and discussion across the Jewish Left- and for good reason. But what about under Biden? The first issue of Jewish Currents–...
Avigayil Halpern is publishing a weekly feminist dvar Torah on the parsha though her newsletter, Approaching, which is being crossposted to Jewschool. You can subscribe to her newsletter here. Parshat Shmini begins with the conclusion of the ceremonies that dedicate the Mishkan. Moshe passes on priestly responsibilities to his brother, Aharon, and his...
For each week of the Counting of the Omer, we plan one or two (or more, if the motivation strikes) posts that tie the theme of the week to songs/artists that do not come from within Judaism but whose approach to indie rock, punk, hip-hop, neo-soul, Afrobeat, or other modern genres resonate...
The filmmaker sits down with Jewschool to discuss her much buzzed-about first feature, litmus tests for Judaism, and the false promise of sexual power for young women. by Ursula Rigberg Wagner Since its debut at South by Southwest last year, writer-director Emma Seligman’s first feature film, Shiva Baby, has deservedly been racking...