“Shabbat!” Music Video (“Uptown Funk” Parody)

“Shabbat!” performed by Soof Hacohen and AJ Goldsman, lyrics by Ellie Fridman __________________________ We do not own the rights to the original music. Music credit: “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars__________________________ Ellie Fridman’s original parody lyrics can be…

Art: an alternative means of interfaith?

Sponsored and funded by the Pamela and Randol Schoenberg Foundation, the Fine Art Show located at Hillel on May 21 drew dozens of applicants and 150 viewers, and left the winner with $1,000 and the Philliss and Lou Mann Prize…

Jewish wanderlust: Jewish destinations outside of Israel

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” — Marcel Proust As a graduate embarking on a ‘year off’ before law school, I find myself curious to see the world while the…

Recovering the plundering of the Holocaust

“Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” by Gustav Klimt, Public Domain ____________ The Holocaust was one of the worst events in human history, and people keep it in their minds so they should never forget. Never forget the infiltrations of Nazis…

Is marrying Jewish still relevant?

Illustration by Angelina Ellyason ________________ With its many laws and customs, Judaism has always valued the sacredness of marriage. Consequently, marrying Jewish has prominently been seen as non-negotiable for many in the Jewish community. The apprehension of assimilation and having…

Poem: “I wear this dot on my head”

I wear this dot on my head because I exist in an ever-elapsing ellipsis which began on the head of that mountain Sinai when we heard Moses sigh n’ I cried ‘I will do and I will listen’ and we…

All in the same: a walk through four quarters in “Jerusalem 3D”

My Mother’s Day was spent visiting the mother of all lands, Eretz Israel. After a short drive to the California Science Center in downtown, my family and I were graced with a long line for the sold out screening of…

Sefirat Ha’Omer: the 49-day challenge

You shall count for yourselves — from the day after the Shabbat, from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving — seven Shabbats, they shall be complete. Until the day after the seventh sabbath you shall count…

Hiding behind progression: Jewish passivity in the 1960s and beyond in America

The 1960s marked a time of revolution and confrontation for many minorities, including Jews. However, Jews hardly addressed their experiences of anti-Semitism during this time. Why did they not respond to discrimination, and what should we should do now to solve the resulting crisis?

The difficult history of Russian Jews

How can it be that there are so few religious Russian Jews left, when the vast majority of 18th century Jews lived in the Russian Empire? In fact, it is estimated that the Russian Empire had a population of 5.25…