The Midrash to Proverbs opens with a quote from the Book of Job: “Where can wisdom be found? Where is the source of understanding?” (Job 28:12). In the Midrash, Rabbi Tanhum ben Hanilai suggests that these questions refer to King…
In search of the Israeli Bob Dylan
Israel is a place characterized by multiple conflicts. Situated in one of the most politically unstable regions on the globe, the nation-state of Israel is comprised of ancient populations and recent arrivals who have sedimented its modern society into layers…
6 Ways to get Involved in the Los Angeles Community
Challah for Hunger Challah for Hunger is a national charity that bakes and sells challahs on college campuses. The organization donates all the proceeds toward ending hunger in local communities and spreading awareness of the current problems of food shortage…
An Ethical Kashrut Certification—Tav HaYosher: Where Are They Now?
Discourse around labor circles in California has, in the past decade, been stung with major shifts in equity. This change has even seen local light on UCLA’s campus, specifically in regards to boycotts from the custodial staff who felt they…
Finding Female Empowerment in Judaism, Part II: Women’s Customs
In my prior article, Finding Female Empowerment in Judaism, Part I: The Stories of the Bible, I highlighted several Bible stories that demonstrate and exude female empowerment. I will now continue the series by examining women’s spiritual roles in the…
D’var theory: The ancient and contemporary polymath
It often seems like one’s academic major in higher education is a blood-bound oath, and America’s culture of specialized labor promotes that stoicism in kind. Judaism by contrast touts the polymath, a person of wide-ranging knowledge or skill, as the…
Candlelight vigil for Pittsburgh synagogue shooting held at Federal Building
Jews and people of other faiths gathered at the Federal Building at the intersection of Veteran Avenue and Gayley Avenue Sunday evening for a candlelight vigil in solidarity with the Pittsburgh Jewish community after 11 people were killed in a…
Kosher Korner: Strawberry (and Banana) Fluff
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have much time to fuss in the kitchen when it comes close to the end of the quarter. Long marathons of writing papers and studying take their caloric toll, though, so, unless…
“If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?”
My experience at the Bayit began after I was asked this question: “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?” This question has been in the “Bayit Interview Question Bank” for a few years,…
Kosher Korner: homemade falafel
With the 2016 presidential elections heating up and recent political divisiveness on campus, it’s nice to find something that everyone can agree on, like the need for immigration reform, the need for better management of public transit in LA, and…