jewish identity Archives

Recently, I had a life-changing experience that completely transformed how I feel about my body, my health, my sleep, and my identity. And it all started with a gob of spit. I don’t know why I… bought a 23andMe DNA kit. Maybe I saw an ad. Perhaps a friend recommended it. I can’t remember, but I’ve always been curious about my ancestry, my background, and my health. (I mean, who isn’t?) So I went online and bought a kit. When it arrived, however, I let the small, square white box sit… >> Read More

synagogue

Seriously, Stop With the Shushing!

Emily Aronoff Teck

I’m going to go out on a limb here and bet that, whenever you were most recently at synagogue, you witnessed someone shushing, eye-rolling, audible sighing, or glaring at another person during… services. And if you have small kids, I’m going to take this a step further and bet that this behavior was directed at you or your offspring. But I’m here to say that this needs to be stopped. Finished. Shut down, once and for all. And, to be clear, I’m talking about the shushing and… >> Read More

jewish identity

Being Jewish Kind of Sucks Now That I’m a Mom

Heather G. Stoltz

A few weeks ago, I was at a Friday night Shabbat service with my family. My 2-and-a-half-year-old looked up at me from his seat and asked, “Mommy, who’s singin’?” “That’s the… cantor,” I whispered back. Of course, he had to follow up my answer with a question: “Why?” (Did I mention he’s 2-and-a-half?) I leaned over and answered, “Because she’s singing the prayers.” The woman sitting on the other side of him sighed loudly. And of course, my son inevitably asked again: “Why?” I put my… >> Read More

holocaust

Holocaust Survivor Couple, Married 75 Years, Die Weeks Apart

Joanna C. Valente

If there was ever a love story to make you cry and smile at the same time, it's the story of John Jacob Rothschild and his wife, Renee Rothschild. The Holocaust survivors, who were married for 75… years, recently passed away within weeks of each other. Talk about kindred spirits. Last week, John died at age 98 of a stroke at his home in Louisville. Renee died of a stroke seven weeks earlier. Their love ran so deep that John famously snuck into a Nazi internment camp in France to find Renee, then his fiancee. This… >> Read More

This Jewish Actor Opens Up About Playing Disney’s First Gay Jewish Teen

Joanna C. Valente

Disney's first gay Jewish teenaged character is here — and he's played by a Jewish actor, no less. The Disney series Andi Mack showcased two milestones recently recently: In October, the… character Cyrus Goodman (played by 16-year-old Joshua Rush) revealed that he’s gay, and in the latest episode, Cyrus celebrated his bar mitzvah. The episode stays true to tradition: Cyrus recites his Torah portion while wearing a tallit (prayer shawl), which is actually the same one Rush wore to his own bar mitzvah. He told the… >> Read More

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