Blog

These Haikus focus on weekly Torah portions.

The Passover seder is about telling our story, which is often done by communally reading the Haggadah, a written collection of stories, rituals, and commentary. Without accessible options, people with various disabilities are prevented from fully participating in the seder.

Cory Silverberg (they/them) is a sex educator, author, and social justice advocate who writes books for young people that center queer, trans, and nonbinary experiences and narratives in collaboration with the artist Fiona Smyth. Together they have published more than 12 books.

Judaism's relationship with astrology is one that has many twists and turns. Jewish interest in the zodiac can be traced back to the time of the Babylonian exile, which is evidenced by the fact that many of the Hebrew names of the constellations are actually Hebraicized versions of the original Assyrian names.

Throughout the Torah, we are instructed to move through the world with an extraordinary degree of mindfulness to the experience of others; we, too, were slaves to Pharoah in Egypt. We, as Jews, are implored by the divine to notice that which others might not observe and to advocate for one another because we know what it is to be somehow exceptional.

My Hebrew name is Emunah, and I have autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).

The saying goes, "tell me what you eat, and I'll tell you who you are." Food is not only fuel for our bodies, it's also a conduit of culture, storytelling, and identity. The Jewish people know this well. Our culinary traditions have preserved our stories and history, from generation to generation.

Third-year Hebrew Union College-NYC student Jesse Epstein hopes to make Judaism more accessible, meaningful, and relevant for today’s Jewish community – through beer. He recently became the owner of Shmaltz Brewing Company, a beer-brewing brand aimed at providing community members with a mode and environment for consumption steeped in Jewish ethics, text, and tradition.

Clothes may not make the woman, but there is no doubt that there are times when the clothes we wear make a difference. Clothes can help define us; think of a doctor donning their long white coat for the first time. Clothes can also help others identify us; a firefighter or an EMT arriving in uniform tells me that help has arrived. Sometimes, the clothes we wear help us imagine a different future for ourselves. Organizations that provide people with affordable business attire for interviews, such as Bottomless Closet or Dress for Success, have long understood that first impressions matter.