Tag Archives: Jewish identity
Reclaiming My German Citizenship
by Donna Swarthout (Berlin, Germany) It was last June that my husband Brian and I completed our applications for German citizenship before moving from Bozeman, Montana to Berlin, Germany. By reclaiming our German citizenship we hoped to come “full circle” … Continue reading
Filed under Family history, German Jewry, Jewish identity
A Jew by Choice
by Anna Gersman (Schomberg, Ontario, Canada) Doubts, fears and uncertainty have plagued my life and the choices I have made, including my decision to become a Jew. I was brought up an atheist, knowing nothing of God, prayer or ritual. … Continue reading
Filed under Canadian Jewry, Jewish identity
“Man is a Wolf”
by Lev Raphael (Okemos, MI) My demanding and charismatic mother has been dead for eleven years but I still often think about her, wishing she were alive. There’ll be a question I want to ask her about her past, or … Continue reading
Filed under American Jewry, Family history
Jerusalem: December 24
by Cherryl Smith (El Cerrito, CA) I’m wheeling my new rolling cart out of the supermarket on HaPalmach on Christmas Eve, strolling past Bank Hapoalim, which looks pretty crowded, and congratulating myself on the purchase of the brown and white … Continue reading
Filed under American Jewry
Following the Lead of My Radical Foremothers
by Dina Ripsman Eylon (Thornhill, Ontario, Canada) The idea to start an academic journal on Jewish women came to me while researching the lives of Rachel Yanait Ben Zvi, Mania Shochat and Netiva Ben Yehuda for an article on women … Continue reading
Filed under Jewish writing, Judaism
The World’s Oldest…Question
by Irina Tsukerman (Brooklyn, NY) …is “Who am I?” In my case, it means who am I as a Jew. Am I even a Jew? My ethnic identity and my religious identity should be one and the same, because all … Continue reading
Filed under American Jewry, Jewish identity, Ukrainian Jewry
The Mezuzah
By Gloria Scheiner (Sarasota, FL) “Ouch! Oh no, not again.” My son, Adam, got another cut on his finger kissing the mezuzah. When Adam’s kids were small, he carried the children on his shoulders so they could kiss the mezuzah … Continue reading
Filed under American Jewry, Jewish identity
Marrying Jewish
by Norri Leder (Houston, TX) I got married at 33, just two months shy of 34, and, let me tell you, it was cause for celebration. My sister and I have five first cousins. Between the seven of us, one … Continue reading
Filed under American Jewry
Writing Practice: Simple Acts
The simplest acts in our lives–from breathing to brushing our teeth to bending over to lace our shoes–are sometimes taken for granted. Can you think of an act that you perform daily or weekly which you may overlook in your … Continue reading
Filed under American Jewry, Jewish identity, Jewish writing, writing practice
From Jew-ish to Jewish
by Rachel Reeves (Brighton, UK) I feel frustrated at the moment. I’m sitting here on the train, wishing I had my laptop instead of having to resort to my illegible scrawl. This will be my ‘nth’ iteration of my innermost … Continue reading
Filed under Jewish identity, Jewish writing
