Valerie Weisler was having a moment of incredible validation: Last year, she had received a grant from a foundation for Jewish camps to be a teaching artist. She spent her summer traveling to camps, community centers, and synagogues in 13 states and in five countries, where she delighted in sharing her story of founding The Validation Project and working with young people on solving issues and problems they see in th...
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Photos by Scott Saltzman Calligraphy literally means “beautiful writing.” It’s no wonder Linda Coppleson—a soferet STaM who is one of the growing number of today’s female scribes—was attracted to this meticulous art form that blends beauty, proportion, and posture. A Soferet STaM is a Jewish scribe who, governed by thousands of Halachot, or Jewish laws, copies sifrei Torah (Torah scrolls), tefillin (phylact...
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Yuval Ben-Ami, the son of an Israeli army spokesman, and Husam Jubran, who spent a year in a wheelchair as a teen after being shot by Israeli soldiers, are friends. The two share Israeli and Palestinian perspectives with tourists traveling Israel by tour bus. Theirs is just one of the compelling and often complicated stories that have been told by The Branch, a podcast presented by Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organi...
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In a few short weeks, we will gather around seder tables with family and friends to retell our story of freedom from slavery—a story that has shaped our Jewish community, consciousness, and values for generations. However, there are still millions of people who have no such story of deliverance because slavery is unfortunately still part of their everyday reality. The International Labor Organization reports that 21 m...
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One of the greatest Jewish women in modern history, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, co-wrote a reflection with Rabbi Lauren Holzblatt of Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C. a few years back. It was about the heroic and visionary women of Passover and how their stories still inspire. “Retelling the heroic stories of Yocheved, Shifra, Puah, Miriam, and Batya reminds our daughters that with vision a...
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Light readers beware. This diverse list of our 10 picks from the winners of the 69th National Jewish Book Awards is packed with insight, intrigue, and deep meaning about Jewish life. The Jewish Book Council carefully selected a wide variety of personal and historic tales that will leave you thinking about the characters long after the pages have been turned. Whichever of these 10 award-winning novels you choose, you w...
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Marion Haberman When Marion Haberman was pregnant with her first child, like most new moms, she searched the Internet for advice. Marion learned how to choose a baby name, and how to design a nursery, but what stood out to her was there are very few Jewish mommy YouTubers. "When I was trying to plan the bris for my son when he was born, I struggled with finding information that someone other than a rabbi might tell...
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Rabbi Josh Warshawsky With his guitar in hand and the words of Torah in his heart, recently ordained Rabbi Josh Warshawsky has been able to impact and inspire Jews around the country through the power of music. A singer, song leader, and composer, Rabbi Warshawsky travels the United States and Canada sharing original melodies with Jewish camps, schools, and synagogues. He has released three albums—all of which can...
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By Rabbi Perry Raphael Rank Rabbi Perry Raphael Rank is Senior Rabbi at Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, New York Way back when you were sitting in some Hebrew School classroom, one of your teachers may have told you that God wrote the Torah. Or alternatively, the teacher may have claimed that God dictated the Torah to Moses, who then wrote it down himself. You may or may not have questioned that tidbit of knowledg...
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Jewish tradition has long taught us the importance of preserving and protecting the planet. As Psalm 24 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers,” making any act that damages the earth an offense against the creation of God. In 2020, as millions of acres in Australia have burned (and are still ...
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