Jofa Recent Media
holidayspurimresources
Purim Resources 5784/2024
Purim is just around the corner — Saturday night and Sunday, March 23-24! Please take a moment to complete this form if you know of a women’s Megillat Esther reading taking place in ...
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Dina BrawerHanukkahShema Bekolah
Hanukkah: A Lesson in Fixed Spontaneity
By Dina Brawer [1] Imagine the elation felt by the Hasmoneans who recaptured the Temple and their jubilant euphoria when their frantic search produced a small jar of pure oil. ...
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Channa Lockshin BobHanukkahShema Bekolah
Hanukah: The People’s Holiday
By Channa Lockshin Bob[1] Many cultures celebrate a midwinter holiday. In fact, many of these holidays are celebrated through candles and food. While Hanukah was only celebrated from post-Biblical times ...
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High HolidaysShema BekolahShemini AtzeretSimchat TorahSukkotTorah
Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah
With many thanks to Rabbanit Bracha Jaffe, Jofa has resources to help you learn to leyn Megillat Kohelet for Shabbat Sukkot, or V’zot HaBracha for Simchat Torah. If you need ...
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Daphne Lazar PriceJofaJournal Fall 2023
Jofa: The Next 25 Years
F R O M O U R E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R By Daphne Lazar Price In 1997 ...
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agunotjewish divorce
Jofa Statement on New Jersey Legal Decision Supporting Agunah’s Free Speech
September 6, 2023 Background: Several organizations participated as friends-of-the-court. The ACLU of New Jersey, the ACLU, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, Sanctuary for Families, and Unchained at Last filed a ...
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As we Turn Toward Elul,
Let’s Find Our Strengths
by Evonne Marzouk
This coming week is the reading of Parshat Shoftim, the first parsha of the month of Elul. It is a month, of course, associated with teshuva (return) in preparation for ...
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agunotjewish divorce
The Agunah Crisis and the Courts:
The Agunah Crisis and the Courts:
New Attempt to Solve an Old Problem
By Anna Urowitz-Freudenstein
The complicated details of Jewish divorce are based on only two verses in the Torah (Deut. 24:1-2 – They are in this week’s Torah reading, Parashat Ki Teitzei). Clearly the ...
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reproductive justice; reproductive freedom; religious freedom; abortion; reproductive rights
One Year Later: Reflections on the Dobbs Decision and What Remains at Stake
One Year Later: Reflections on the Dobbs Decision and What Remains at Stake
By Daphne Lazar Price
As we near the one year anniversary of the Dobbs decision – which overturned federal constitutional protections of privacy and abortion rights that have stood since the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision – ...
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Shavuot
May 25-27
Around the World
If you’re organizing a women’s Megillat Ruth reading or learning opportunity for Shavuot, we’d love to hear about it and spread the word! Please simply reply to this email, or drop us a ...
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Passover
Why this Passover is like no other
By Daphne Lazar Price, April 9, 2023 Jews must be able to live free of fear, including in Israel, where rockets from Lebanon are antisemitic violence, plain and simple. Read ...
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Jofa Makes the “10 to Watch,” by The Slingshot Fund
•The Slingshot Fund has released its 2022 “10 to Watch,” a list of 10 relatively new Jewish nonprofits responding to the current concerns of American Jews in original ways.• This ...
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reproductive justice; reproductive freedom; religious freedom; abortion; reproductive rights
What does Halakhah say about abortion?
The discussion of abortion in halakhah begins with the life of the mother. Pikuaḥ nefesh, the obligation to preserve life — in this case, the life of the mother — trumps every other ...
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reproductive justice; reproductive freedom; religious freedom; abortion; reproductive rights
The politics of abortion
The typical pro-choice and anti-abortion positions in debate in American society today do not line up well with halakhic views on abortion. Halakhah never frames the issues in terms of individual choice, ...
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reproductive justice; reproductive freedom; religious freedom; abortion; reproductive rights
Shaming women who have abortions is not a Jewish ethic
(JTA) — I have long been a keeper of women’s stories, many of which relate to fertility and reproductive choices, experiences generally shrouded in secrecy. While I am honored to ...
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