My friend wanted to get arrested, one morning in July, on the curb of the sidewalk along a street east of downtown Houston.

Parsley reminds me of my Judaism.

The teacher told us to raise our hands if we were Jewish. I didn’t know what to do.

Inhaling the sweet scents of Nachalat Binyamin in Tel Aviv, I searched for the perfect new mezuzah. 

I always knew my name was about to be called when a teacher announced with an almost mocking grin, “I know I’m gonna butcher this one…”

ENFP. Extraversion, intuition, feeling, perception. Four words that, according to the Myers-Briggs personality test, define me as a person.

When I was younger, around the time of my consecration, my vision of God was simple.

For two hours a day, three days a week, the Orthodox rabbi led us through the strict and meticulous process of tefillin-making.

There are a few stories that you may have heard about the orange on the seder plate.

We were at a school open mic about gun control in the weeks following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting.

Existing at the border between modern and traditional values often feels like teetering across a balance beam.

I expected to feel emotion and attachment to the Kotel. However, despite the burning midday sun, my first visit left me cold.

Last March, as I prepared to visit Holocaust sites as part of my high school semester in Israel, I braced myself.

When I was in third grade, my teacher asked me to tell my class about the Jewish New Year.

Like everything we wear, our jewelry displays our tastes and preferences. On a deeper level, though, it also projects our values to the world.

In reading Ozick’s thoughtful insight about the double victimization women faced during World War II, I realized that my Holocaust education was indeed lacking.

In a passage from Pirkei Avot, Eliezer ben Hurcanus recommended “ayin tovah,” a “good eye” in Hebrew, which, my teacher explained, meant judging people in a favorable light.

I am not seen as average or conventional: not Black enough, but certainly not white enough; Jewish, but not “Jewish” enough for some.

Maybe we can shatter some glass ceilings if we shout loud enough. 

Teachers should receive training when preparing to educate students on sensitive topics, such as religion, so that they are providing the students with the most accurate information possible.

I’ll be leaving high school with a great big Jewish goodbye.

On February 1, 2019, Boy Scouts of America changed the name to Scouts BSA and opened its membership to girls.

Restrictive abortion laws demonstrate the entitlement that men and the government feel they have over women’s bodies. Simply put, this is rape culture.

Forming strong opinions is easier said than done, and for me, the exercise of writing helps me get there.

I love butterflies because, to me, butterflies represent freedom and bliss.