Saying goodbye:

• On Tablet: Marc Tracy discussed Elizabeth Taylor as the ultimate archetypal "Jew by choice." He also remembers Taylor for her pioneering AIDS work. In a personal piece, Rachel Shukert writes, "It sounds like a cliché to say so, but of everything Elizabeth Taylor suffered from, it was never a failure of the heart." 
• Sarah of Feministe lost her grandmother the same day we lost Elizabeth Taylor. She reflects on how grandmothers connect us to our history. "Elizabeth Taylor. grandmother. Emma Goldman. grandmother. Clara Lemlich. grandmother." 
• Michael Berenbaum and Jeanette Friedman say goodbye to Marilyn Henry, an advocate for survivors in The Forward.
• We lost Yiddish theater star Shifra Lerer. Read about her funeral in the New York Times, or remember her sense of humor by watching "The best of "Shvitz! My Yiddisheh Workout" (her parody of Jane Fonda) on Youtube.

Other news:

• Feminist icon Gloria Steinem turned 77! Shelby Knox celebrated by sharing Seven things she learned from Gloria in the Ms. Magazine blog. 
• In Jewish Lights, Rabbi Jill Jacobs writes that spirituality and social justice activism are not mutually exclusive: "Prayer and action should complement, support, and provoke one another."
• Heeb reviews Sarah Silverman in Peep World.
• Philanthropist (and JWA Founding Board Chair) Barbara Dobkin received the Shaw-Hardy Taylor award for Advancing Women’s Philanthropy.
• Ann Friedman brilliantly parodies the New York Times, shames them for ignoring women writers.
• Tattoos? Motorcycle? Rabbi? Learn more about Rabbi Rochelle Kamins' unorthodox journey to the rabbinate.