I have been dancing since I was a very young child. However, because I attended a Jewish day school, my dancing was an extracurricular pursuit at first. After graduating, I was accepted into the Joffrey Ballet Summer School. Following that summer, I went to a seminary in Israel. After a day of learning, I would […]
Dancing for Women: JeWTA Promotes Talent Within the Orthodox Community Read More »
Working on campus under the auspices of the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus was an awesome and empowering opportunity for me. I always felt very blessed that my husband, Eli, and I ended up at the University of Maryland, College Park, because it was exactly the kind of community in which I felt
On Being a JLIC Educator on Campus Read More »
We Jews—and, in particular, we Orthodox Jews— tend to think that it’s all about us. We labor under the illusion that we are an autonomous society, immune from external cultural trends and changes. However, when examining the changing nature of rabbinic authority in the twenty-first century, we must take into account a few significant worldwide
Democratization of Halakhic Authority: Opportunities and Challenges Read More »
Change happens in many ways. Sometimes it is through the bravery of leaders who fight for rights and bring about change by inspiring a movement. Sometimes there is a violent revolution that brings about rapid, drastic change. Sometimes there is a grassroots movement, where the masses demand that change take place. Eden is part of
Grassroots Change Begins in the Mikveh: The Story of the Eden Center Read More »
The Jewish world has lost a great luminary with the passing of Belda Kaufman Lindenbaum, visionary Orthodox feminist activist and indefatigable supporter of Orthodox women’s education. A founding board member of JOFA, past president of the board of Drisha, founding board member of Yeshivat Maharat, and founder of Midreshet Lindenbaum, Belda was larger than life.
Belda Lindenbaum, z”l: Our Founder and Superhero Read More »
This year, for the first time in my life, I spent Passover in Israel. My eldest is there for her year between high school and college, and we thought it would be a meaningful experience for all of us to be in Jerusalem when we conclude our Seder with “l’shana haba’ah bi-Yerushalayim.” And so began
The Biggest Question: Whom to Ask? Read More »
Orthodox girls are raised to be Orthodox women, and Orthodox women get married and, in some circles, cover their hair. Buying a long flowing wig is almost a rite of passage. I decided to cover my hair because my husband asked me to. His mother, sisters, and sisters-in-law all cover their hair, and in his
Hair Covering: An Issue in the Workplace and Within Oneself Read More »
Growing up in a Modern Orthodox community, I did not encounter open or positive discourse about female sexuality. Besides the quick basics of reproduction covered in biology class, little or no effort was made to ensure that the women in my all-girls high school were familiar with our bodies, in touch with our sexuality, or
A Call for Open Conversation on Reproduction and Sexuality Read More »
“Shabbat Morning Groups for Our Children Are Back … this Shabbat!” read the subject line of an email from my synagogue sent a few months ago, in May 2021. After more than 14 months of spending Shabbat mornings at home with my four children, the prospect of going back to shul filled me with excitement—and
Did COVID-19 Change Us, and How? A Study of Four Modern Orthodox Communities Read More »
As I sat down to write this article, I kept coming back to the thought, “What do I have to say about COVID that has not already been said?” The global experience of COVID, and the myriad ways it has affected us individually and communally, have been analyzed and expounded upon by philosophers, politicians, economists,
Disruption Can Be Our Friend Read More »
