Before Shavuot, Kolech was privileged to host a moving “gathering of sisters” when the JOFA mission came to support and express their solidarity with Israel. This visit warmed our hearts and we would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks. For the last two years Israelis have found themselves in a situation of
Visiting Israel at a Time of Danger Read More »
The folowing are excerpts from a speech given prior to JOFA’s visit to Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint. May 24, 2002 Today, you are scheduled to visit soldiers stationed at the checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, about a five-minute drive from here, and I have been asked to introduce this visit to you. On one
A Personal Touch: Visiting Israeli Soldiers Read More »
The commentator Maharsha writes at the end of his commentary to tractate Yevamot that the existence of agunot in the world causes the delay of our ultimate redemption. When we are asked whether we have done our job in bringing about the redemption (Shabbat 31a), we will have to account for opportunities that we had
Towards Standardizing Beit Din Procedures Read More »
A congregant tells the rabbi that she has an order of protection against her ex-husband, who is also a congregant of the synagogue. A teacher sees bruises on the arms of a child in her class who says he didn’t fall. An older adult in the community who used to be a regular in shul
BUILDING SAFER COMMUNITIES: A Team Approach Read More »
For most of our married life, my wife and I have been members of minyanim with a mehitzah, and currently we are members of Kol Sasson, the partnership minyan in Skokie, Illinois. As a family with two young children, we’ve been at both egalitarian and partnership minyanim over the past five years, with occasional participation
Family Seating at Life-Cycle Events Read More »
Item: A Modern Orthodox community in Queens, New York, celebrating an aufruf, holds Shabbat services in the social hall of the local yeshiva. The opaque mehitzah separating front from back is hung ceiling to floor, completely blocking sightlines. The rabbi, much beloved by his community, delivers his sermon in a voice inaudible to the women.
Why Mehitzot Matter Read More »
For the past ten years I felt that I was an outsider in my own community. I was a single, someone who, in their eyes, was neither here nor there, didn’t belong. When The Layers Project, a photojournalism and interview-based blog about the lives of Jewish women, started profiling people who were single, friends asked
Six Things I Wish I Said Sooner Read More »
We are always taught the value of passing on our traditions, teaching and Jewish practices to our children, even in the daily words of our Shema, veshinantam levanekha. I know that my husband and I take great pride in our four children, who are involved and engaged in the Jewish community in so many different
Our Gift to Our Community: Our Amazing Children, Some of Whom Are LGBT Read More »
You may have met some of us. We are the no longer-married mothers who are raising sons in the Modern Orthodox community. Not always an easy feat. With no specific statistics to impress you, I will share the considerations, frustrations, and consternations of my personal experience. When I was married, we rarely had guests at
Single Moms Raising Sons Read More »
