“Hatikvah means “the hope” in Hebrew. For these two members of the Hatikvah slate of candidates for the World Zionist Congress, who come from different backgrounds, generations, and professions, “hatikvah” also means “integrity.” The Challenges For Molly Wernick, it began when she arrived on her college campus in the late ‘00s after...
“You will come around,” said a particularly dickish family friend as he dismissed my point about the importance of a social program out of hand. “You’ll grow out of this. It is against your interests.” He wasn’t the only person who said some version of this to me as a kid, but...
My feet refused to enter the tiny, crowded sanctuary. I lingered at the threshold, singing along to the broken-hearted, visionary Friday night liturgy. Like called to like across oceans of time and space, summoning my own broken heart to service and to song, to find comfort and camaraderie in our weekly island...
Here is Our Light, edited by Rabbi Miriam Jerris and Sheila Malcolm, is a collection of original liturgical pieces and short liturgical commentaries. Although Humanistic Jewish congregations also use some traditional Jewish sources, contemporary and older music and poetry, and material adapted from general secular culture, this particular book only contains new...
Arkansas Hanukkah, 2019: Visiting the goyish side of our family in Fort Smith for the holidays, we take advantage of the rare “Chrismukkah” convergence, making latkes to eat along with the leftovers from our traditional, hillbilly Christmas breakfast. There are sausage balls and bacon from that event, supplemented by a ham that...
Rabbi Michael Rothbaum is the rabbi of Congregation Beth Elohim in Acton, MA. He lives in Maynard with his husband, Yiddish singer Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell I’ve been teaching and working in synagogues since the early 1990s. My memories of that early work are of pleasant and warm communities, if a little...
Whether you’re a casual consumer of podcasts or you break into a cold sweat at the thought of not having any at the ready, check out this roundup of podcasts and podcast episodes about abortion and reproductive rights. Each of them will elevate your understanding of abortion access, abortion stigma, why abortion...
Kenneth L. Marcus (left) and Kenneth S. Stern (right) (Or: Why the Executive Order on Antisemitism Does Matter) By Caroline Morganti and Isaac Brooks Fishman Earlier this month, President Trump issued an executive order on antisemitism, which created more confusion than policy. It is not clear from the face of the order...
Laynie Soloman is a faculty member and Director of National Learning at SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva. Chanukah is filled with miracles—long-lasting surprise pockets of oil, an unexpected military victory, the legacy of zealous resistance in the face of hegemonic powers—but one of the most miraculous aspects of this holiday is how...
On the first day of Holy Week I sat on the floor with the other penitents chanting and singing words both ancient and modern. We sang “Oh Lord prepare me to be a Sanctuary,” and then we chanted: “It may be the holiday season but Amazon sucks for so many reasons.” It...