In the same way I have an obligation to my Jewish ancestors to continue the fight for social justice and equity, I have an obligation to my queer ancestors as well.

When my bubbe gave me this yad, I felt like I finally didn’t have to hide some parts about my Jewish identity.

My parents explicitly educated me in social justice issues, but not everyone learned these things as a child. What was the difference between my parents and my friends’ parents that had shaped the way we were raised?

Thanks to this beautiful drawing of the biblical story of Ruth in my house, I was able to develop an appreciation for Ruth and how her journey connects to mine.

I often overlook how lucky I am that this necklace was passed down to me. My great-aunt gave it to me when I was born. Now I feel connected to my great-grandmother, despite having never met her.  

Slowly, I have come to understand that my connection to Judaism doesn’t need to be a linear path. I experience days of doubt, times of radiant joy, and moments of deep guilt.

Jwitter, or Jewish Twitter, helped me reshape how I viewed my place in a Jewish community.

I wanted my bat mitzvah to be a very public statement of my commitment to gender equality within Orthodox Judaism.

Every day I find new books to read, and I know that they will continue to help expand my understanding of my own identity, and of the world around me.

When the topic of my bat mitzvah surfaced in my two households, it became evident that my bat mitzvah was not going to be like the ones my friends were having.

Reading A Brief History of Feminism with my camp friends acted almost as a shared secret or understanding between us. All of us were realizing together that this was a movement we cared deeply about.

I’ve uncovered a thread, in the form of a chain of paintings by my great-grandfather that stretches across the United States and links me to my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, who live hundreds of miles away.

Across the country, efforts to ban books have been increasing in number and effectiveness, hitting school and public libraries especially hard. These are the places that made me who I am, so it's been an emotional experience, to say the least, to see books taken off the shelves.  

Being surrounded by Jewish women molded me into a little girl who knew that Judaism was a strength. 

Being a Jewish woman means writing about what matters to me, and what I hope could matter to you. 

On the surface, our Rising Voices Fellowship has been about Jewish feminism, thought, and writing. But, to me, it was also about the power of words.

Is my over-reliance on my mother and her eagerness to support me subconsciously preserving the stereotype that has continually shaped our community in a negative light?

If people choose not to actively “come out” to the world, they are not accepted as their full selves. To be ”known” they have to make their marginalized identities known too. But that is difficult.

While I can bop to a prayer in the right setting, my playlists have a dismal lack of casual English music that reflects my Judaism. 

I am beyond excited to start at Yale, but understanding its history as a bastion of exclusion and elitism has been paramount in shaping my opinions towards this new chapter in my life.

The problem with Jews distancing ourselves from anxiety is that it doesn’t go away when we do.

There's always that reassuring idea that in a time of need, another woman will be there to support you.

For some reason, wearing kippot gave me that same itchy, wrong feeling I had experienced from feminine clothing in elementary school or masculine clothing in middle school

Masha Gessen’s departure from PEN is about artist versus art institution, colonial power versus subject, and the paradoxical notion of uplifting some voices by silencing others.