Laurie Kimmelstiel weaves Jewish prayer shawls on a traditional Swedish loom. Their softness, their comfort, their beautiful design envelops the wearers, allowing them to focus on prayer and God’s presence. “It separates them from the rest of the world,” says Kimmelstiel of New York. Her spiritually-guided weaving is informed by hiddur mitzvah, she says, “the…
WITH SOCIAL PRACTICE ARTIST, SHOSHANA GUGENHEIM KEDEM AND WIKIPEDIA EDITOR, RAYMOND “PEACERAY” LEONARD March 10, 2024 | 11am-3pm OJMCHE, in partnership with social practice artist Shoshana Gugenheim Kedem and as part of the Art + Feminism Project, will host the 3rd Annual International Women’s Day Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon to edit and/or create Wiki pages for Jewish…
By Romie Avivi Stuhl On Oct. 7, Ana Sazonov awoke to messages from her family and friends asking if she was okay. She had just flown to the United States after volunteering on the front lines in Ukraine. Unaware of what had happened overnight, she quickly called her friend in Ukraine who was still on…
A weekly glimpse into the Israel you won’t read about in the news By Sivan Rahav Meir Translated by Yehoshua Siskin Invitation to the Western Wall These days, when there is so much advice going around on how to cope, here’s another suggestion: Come to the Western Wall. Just come. Last week, I…
Our contributing writer Tara Dublin recently self-published her debut novel, THE SOUND OF SETTLING, A Rock and Roll Love Story, to rave 5-star reviews and reader demands for a sequel and streaming series. It is a fun read. Inspired by Tara’s real-life ultimate “meet-cool” with Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters in 2001, THE SOUND…
The life of Victoria Leshiner, a Jewish woman living in Donetsk, Ukraine, was completely normal until about a month ago. When the war began, she started looking for a way out with her two children, a 20-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son. Having lived in Israel some 20 years ago, she decided to immigrate to Israel as…
Renowned historian of the Holocaust and Jewish history, Deborah Lipstadt, was finally confirmed this past Wednesday as an ambassador to combat antisemitism for the Department of State. The grueling eight-month process of hearings and delays only seemed to strengthen the resolve of Jewish groups supporting her nomination. Groups as diverse as the Orthodox Union and…
At the beginning of March, prior to the pandemic, Jodi Fried hosted The Jewish Mama Mashup online summit, where she interviewed 20 Jewish women from around the world who were experts in many different areas. After this summit, Jodi was inspired to start The Empowered Jewish Mom Movement, a closed Facebook group that welcomes all…
Photo: Rachel’s Well Community Mikvah. Photo by Victor Paru Rachel’s Well Community Mikvah (Jewish ritual bath) opened in January 2018 in a secluded, natural setting on the Schnitzer Family Campus. Owned by the Jewish Federation of Portland with ritual supervision provided by the Oregon Board of Rabbis, the community mikvah is open to all who…
Photo: Dr. Robin McCoy, daughter, Molly, and husband, Steve. In 1997 as a family friend, I visited Robin McCoy during her internship and residency at the University of Utah. When I saw Robin in her lab coat, I remember asking her how people reacted to her looking like a kid. When I repeated the question…
