Dance in the Jewish Tradition: From the Torah to the Twenty-First Century
BY GABRIELLA FRIEDMAN The invigorating passion and animation that an ensemble of dancers embodies onstage is an awe-inspiring experience that most residents of the New York area, myself included, have…
Korahite Judicial Philosophy
BY JACOB SHAYEFAR Korah makes an interesting point. As the Midrash relates, Korah began his assault on the authority of Moses with a halakhic argument. He asserts that in any…
Remaining an Or L’Goyim in a Post-October 7 World
BY GILA GRAUER October 7 was a day that will never be forgotten, not by Israelis nor by Jews all over the world, who all united to mourn the tragic…
Shining Our Light Unto the Nations Through Jewish Teachings
BY ADIN LINDEN Jewish history is rife with enemies, from the Egyptians to the descendants of Amalek, a lineage that is seen as the greatest enemy of the Jews and…
Between Separating Ourselves and Seeing Ourselves in Others
BY YAEL BURGESS EISENBERG When a gentile came before Hillel and said he would convert to Judaism if Hillel could teach him the entire Torah while standing on one foot,…
Our God-Given Light: Its Meaning and Basis in Jewish Tradition
BY RAANAN VANDERWALDE There is a Jewish belief that it is our role to shine a light unto the nations. Many of us are familiar with this idea and shape…
The Dangerous Narrative of the Jewish “Debt to Society”
BY OCEAN TIMMINS I believe the world has a deep antipathy towards the Jewish people, implicitly baked in over thousands of years of hatred taking various forms. There is a real…
The Purpose Embedded in Every Nation
BY LIR YISSAR The struggle to understand how God could choose just one nation, and give such purpose and responsibility to one nation, has been a persistent question for Jews…
Vast as the Stars and Sand
BY ELISHAMA SCHWARTZ Some of us lounge with verdant backyards and homey porchesOthers are squeezed by neighboring skyscrapers and smokeButEither waysometime in winter,I’ll be comforted by the beam of the…
The Sacrifice
BY NAOMI RUTTENBERG Deep within evil lies a thought worn of timeIt eagerly accepts a grant of evilThe sacrifice?You know itA scapegoat lit on fire subject to a rhymePoetry cursed…