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Collage of two faces with Star of David and Muslim star and crescent

February 10, 2022

I’m Jewish. My Partner is Muslim. Here’s How We Make It Work.

Zia Saylor

Celebrating our differences has brought my partner and me closer—but it hasn’t always been easy.

Topics: Marriage, Feminism, Spirituality and Religious Life, Prayer

https://jwa.org/blog/im-jewish-my-partner-muslim-heres-how-we-make-it-work

Painting of Miriam looking to the right of the frame with timbrel in hand

Second Temple Reception of Women in Tanakh

Second Temple discourse on women and gender is grounded in biblical interpretation and everyday life and, as such, has the potential to shed light on tumultuous debates about what different communities deemed problematic, acceptable, ideal, and anomalous with respect to a woman’s role in society. A selection of Second Temple texts envisioning Dinah, Miriam, and Sarah indicates these varied perspectives, as well as how these figures were used to promote the ideologies of the particular communities the texts represented.

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/second-temple-reception-of-women-in-tanakh

Episode 87: Jodi Kantor Said

Listen Now

In 2017, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey broke the New York Times story about Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s sexual abuse of women. They chronicled the experience in their book She Said, which was made into a film by the same title in 2022. In this episode of Can We Talk?, Nahanni Rous talks with Jodi Kantor about how Weinstein tried to pull the “Jew-to-Jew” card with her, what she learned about taking on a bully, and how she felt about the film’s portrayal of her as a working mom.

https://jwa.org/podcasts/canwetalk/episode-87-jodi-kantor-said

Grace Paley

Grace Paley wrote highly acclaimed short stories, poetry, and reflections on contemporary politics and culture. A rare example of a writer deeply engaged with the world, Grace Paley made an impact as much through her activism as her writing.

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/paley-grace

Ursula Kuczynski (Ruth Werner)

Operating under at least five different names in the course of her career, Ruth Werner (a pen name) was a singularly accomplished spy, whose espionage activities spanned some fifteen years, from 1931 to 1946. Twice awarded the order of the Red Banner, the highest Soviet military decoration, Werner also held the rank of colonel in the Red Army.

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/kuczynski-ursula

Illustration of Family Tree With Empty Boxes

February 3, 2023

Understanding Epigenetics as a Descendant of Holocaust Survivors

Elle Rosenfeld

As a kid growing up in a tight-knit Jewish community, “l’dor v’dor” (from generation to generation) was a phrase I heard on a weekly basis. Now, I see this sentiment in a new light.

Topics: Holocaust, Family, Science

https://jwa.org/blog/understanding-epigenetics-descendant-holocaust-survivors

2019-2020 Rising Voices Fellows Zine Cover Page Cropped

September 11, 2020

An RVF Zine: Reflecting on the 2019-2020 Rising Voices Fellowship

Rising Voices Fellows

The 2019-2020 Rising Voices Fellows reflect on their time in the Fellowship and on their collaborative zine-making process.

Topics: Activism, Art, Writing

https://jwa.org/blog/risingvoices/rvf-zine-reflecting-2019-2020-rising-voices-fellowship

May 15, 2018

Discussion Guide for Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

Larisa Klebe

The film Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, which premiered in theaters last November, explores the unusual and tumultuous life of Hedy Lamarr—a Jewish and Austrian-born Hollywood actress considered to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Topics: Film, Inventors, Technology

https://jwa.org/blog/discussion-guide-for-bombshell-hedy-lamarr-story

February 14, 2018

To Women Writing Bravely

Devon Spier

By coming to know our foremothers, we are actually coming to know ourselves and by taking up the weight of the pen and writing our own story, we are freeing all women, then and now. For women’s stories are the keys to our collective liberation. To all the women writing bravely today, I dedicate this piece.

Topics: Poetry

https://jwa.org/blog/to-women-writing-bravely

August 28, 2013

Announcing the Rising Voices Fellowship for Teens

Jewesses With Attitude

Prozdor and the Jewish Women’s Archive are thrilled to announce the pilot year of our Rising Voices Fellowship!

The fellowship is open to female-identified teens in grades 11 and 12 who have a passion for writing, a demonstrated concern for current events, a commitment to improving their writing skills, and a strong interest in Judaism—particularly as it relates to issues of gender and equality. These fellows will write 8-12 monthly posts for “Jewesses with Attitude,” the Jewish Women's Archive blog.

Learn even more here! Apply here!

https://jwa.org/blog/announcing-rising-voices-fellowship-for-teens

"Don't Patronize Reds!" Advertisement by Anonymous

October 27, 2012

Dr. Judith Rosenbaum Talks Living the Legacy with Jewschool

Gabrielle Orcha

This fall, the Jewish Women’s Archive released its latest online curriculum in the Living the Legacy series, a Jewish social justice education project.

Topics: Labor Rights, Unions, Jewish Studies

https://jwa.org/blog/dr-judith-rosenbaum-talks-living-legacy-with-jewschool

October 18, 2012

This is not about women playing dance. It’s about revolution.

Susan Reimer-Torn

The most courageous fourteen year old girl I have ever set eyes on, Malala Yousafzai, was shot in the head for her advocacy of education for women and I am spending my time organizing a flash mob o

Topics: Feminism, Women's Rights, Dance

https://jwa.org/blog/this-is-not-about-women-playing-dance-it-s-about-revolution

August 9, 2012

The Future Shomer Shabbos Weightlifting Olympian

Deborah Fineblum Raub

Last January, a 4-foot, 9-inch bundle of power named Naomi Kutin squatted and focused her considerable energies on the task at hand: hoisting a whopping 214.9 pounds (more than double her own 97 pounds). At the moment of that seemingly impossible lift, beating out her much older competitors, Naomi set a new powerlifting world record for women in her weight class.

Topics: Sports, Olympics

https://jwa.org/blog/future-shomer-shabbos-weightlifting-olympian

December 30, 2011

MTV After Hours: Putting Scarlett Johansson and Matt Damon to the test

Kate Bigam

Hanukkah may be over until next year, but that doesn't mean we can't still enjoy some of the best Hanukkah video goodies the Internet has to offer.

Topics: Hanukkah, Film, Spirituality and Religious Life

https://jwa.org/blog/mtv-after-hours-putting-scarlett-johansson-and-matt-damon-to-test

September 2, 2009

The "mother-in-lawsuit," God as a woman, and everything you wanted to know about bagels - Link Roundup Sep. 2, 2009

Leah Berkenwald

Yesterday I participated in that wonderful September 1st Boston tradition called "Moving Day," where everybody across the city plays a traffic-ridden game of musical apartments. To make up for my absence, here is a mega link roundup. Enjoy!

Mother in law-suit? A Jewish woman is suing her daughter-in-law, a standup comedian, over her “malicious” mother-in-law routine. No joke! [Heeb]
After a Muslim woman recently made waves in a “burquini,” Elle magazine takes a look at swimsuit scandals throughout history. [Elle]
David K. Israel of Mentalfloss lists the “Top 20 Jewish Comedians of All Time.” Guess how many women he left out? Tsk, tsk, Mr. Israel. I’ll meet your Howard Stern and raise you Sophie Tucker or Joan Rivers or any of the rest of the Jewish women from Making Trouble. [Mentalfloss]
Amid celebrations of Women’s Equality Day, Nancy Ratzan reminds us that women are still paid less than men. [The Forward]

https://jwa.org/blog/dlr9-2-09

July 22, 2008

Mars, Venus, and the Jews

Judith Rosenbaum

I just came across a fascinating series in Slate, challenging the science of sex differences. (It happens to be written and edited by two brilliant Jewesses - Amanda Schaffer and Emily Bazelon - whom I am privileged to know.) Schaffer and Bazelon take on what they call the new "sex difference evangelists" and offer powerful, data-driven rebuttals to their arguments on sex differences in the brain.

Topics: Children, Natural Science

https://jwa.org/blog/sexdifferences

Kamala Harris speaking at the 2019 National Forum on Wages and Working People

June 29, 2021

"Do Not Come": Kamala Harris's Warning to Migrants

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

During a recent visit to Guatemala, Vice President, Kamala Harris issued a stark warning to would-be migrants: "Do not come."

Topics: Immigration

https://jwa.org/blog/do-not-come-kamala-harriss-warning-migrants

December 20, 2018

I Love You, Sarah

Larisa Klebe

In this particular political moment, Sarah Silverman’s latest project, her show on Hulu called I Love You, America, is exactly what I need.

Topics: Activism, Television

https://jwa.org/blog/i-love-you-sarah

Lynne Avadenka in Yeshiva University Museum

March 3, 2016

Will You Hear My Voice: Artist Lynne Avadenka Revisits Rahel

Adina Kay-Gross

I first heard the lyrics of Zemer Nugeh, a poem by seminal pre-state Israeli poet Rahel, as a 14-year-old at summer camp in the early 90’s. I had no experience with heartbreak or loss, and yet the haunting words affected me. I’d spend the evenings walking through open green fields, kicking up dust at sweaty folk dancing sessions, feeling inspired by nature and Hebrew culture and pining for the summer when I’d get to spend six weeks in Israel.

Topics: Art

https://jwa.org/blog/will-you-hear-my-voice-artist-lynne-avadenka-revisits-rahel

May 7, 2010

Changing Targets: Technology and Jewish Education

Ari Davidow

Earlier this week I listened in on the “Technology and Jewish Education” conference organized by the Lippman Kanfer Institute and Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner, held at the JESNA offices in New York. I heard many familiar themes: Jewish education is underfunded, and in particular Jewish educators lack both resources and training to take advantage of technology.

Topics: Jewish Education, Technology

https://jwa.org/blog/technology-and-Jewish-education

Ruth Lapidoth

Professor Ruth Lapidoth is a major Israeli expert in international law. As a young woman, she decided to specialize in this field, seeing it as a path towards dialogue and a means to solve the Arab-Israel conflict.

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/lapidoth-ruth

Eleanor Glueck

For half a century, Eleanor Glueck worked with her husband, a professor of criminology at Harvard Law School, to produce studies of juvenile delinquency and adult crime. In addition to statistical modeling of crime, they did follow-up studies to understand the roots of criminal behavior.

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/glueck-eleanor

Michal Bat-Adam

Director, scriptwriter, and actress of stage and screen Michal Bat-Adam has been hailed for her sensitive and nuanced portrayals of mental illness and women’s inner lives. The interweaving of past and present, fiction and reality, memory and its creative representation are hallmarks of Bat Adam’s work.

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bat-adam-michal

Sally Gottesman

Sally Gottesman, born 1962 in New Jersey and residing in New York, is a non-profit entrepreneur whose leadership and philanthropy have had a major impact on the Jewish feminist and justice landscape.

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/gottesman-sally

Maimonides

Maimonides, referred to by the acronym Rambam, was a medieval Sephardic Jewish sage who studied medicine and practiced as a physician throughout his lifetime. His legal and philosophical writings made him one of the greatest and most widely read medieval Jewish philosophers.

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/maimonides

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