One woman can’t do it because she is breastfeeding her newborn. A man can’t do it because he is diabetic. And another can’t do it because he is on daily medication that must be taken with food and water. There are so many reasons why fasting—a way in which we practice self-denial—is just not feasible on Yom Kippur. Still, Jews can observe the holiday in ways that are personally meaningful. Putting your health first is a ...
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By Jared Rogers Upon arriving at the University of Pennsylvania, I was terrified of not finding authentic communities to call my own. Before college, I lived and breathed Conservative Judaism; I was a student at Schechter Long Island, a counselor at Ramah Nyack and an officer on USY’s International Executive Board. Unsurprisingly, I fell in love with the Conservative Jewish Community (CJC) at Penn. CJC provided me...
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It’s said that you can’t truly understand and empathize with someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. While that wasn’t possible, 43 staff and teens traveling on one of the USY on Wheels Classic buses this summer got close while revisiting the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which was the target of the worst anti-Semitic mass shooting in U.S. history last October that left 11 members dead ...
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Loved and respected by everyone around him, Benjamin Beezy seemed to have the world at his fingertips. After attending Milken Community High School, Ben graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California, completed law school and was working at a high-caliber law firm—all while still being involved in the Valley Beth Shalom community in Encino, California. Still, all this wasn’t enough to overcome the h...
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(L-R) Ariella, Gideon and Eliana doing theHamotzi blessing on Challah before eating. As far back as Gideon Manzur can recall, he helped his father plan and build the sukkah in their backyard every year right after the high holidays in anticipation of Sukkot. First, the 10-by-10-foot structure would go up. Then, his father would take Gideon and his brother in the family truck to nearby train tracks lined with palm tree...
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Rabbi Kevin Hale, a trained sofer STaM scribe and member of the Rabbinical Assembly whose work focuses on evaluating and restoring Sifrei Torah, shares a special journey with his scribal mentor: It is an exquisitely beautiful day in the middle of Elul in Western New England, and I am in my studio, hunkered down over an unusually tall 250-year-old Torah scroll with quill in hand and inkwell safely to one side, quietly ...
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When Terry Oved looks back on what’s been the foundation of his career as chairman and founding partner at Oved and Oved, LLP, there’s one thing that immediately comes to mind for the New York-based lawyer—the Torah. With new, innovative programs such as Young Jewish Professionals (YJP) New York’s “Torah with the CEO’s”, established businesspeople like Terry have the unique opportunity to speak with the next generation...
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Volunteering in the school system of the Indian village of Ashte was just one of the the trip highlights for students and staff. India is a country like no other. With its sights, smells, sounds and tastes, India boasts a colorful culture and a beautiful chaos. For a group of nine students and one staff member with the Nativ College Leadership Program in Israel, a three-week trip to India proved to be both inspiring a...
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In the United States, more than half a million people face homelessness. Most Americans have at least encountered somebody who is battling homelessness—whether it was giving a friendly nod while passing them on the street or stopping to share spare change. Earlier this year, teens from New York’s Westchester Jewish Center saw homelessness through a different lens as they spent a week giving back to the growing homeless p...
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When Genea Moore was a college student in the early 2000s, scouring her local paper for job opportunities, she had no idea her enthusiasm and open mindedness would land her, a Jewish woman of color who converted in 2015, a job at a synagogue that would prove life-changing in so many ways. Now executive director at Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, New York, Genea’s career in Judaism—which ultimately led to her conversion—...
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