Personal Reflections

In her latest for the Lehrhaus, Mali Moskowitz reflects on dating after divorce, Jewish marriage, and the ongoing journey for self-discovery.

Enter the Baltic Coast in the late 1980's, in George Kuchinsky's reflection on a childhood encounter with anti-semitism.

In this personal reflection, Phil Lieberman addresses the unique pain that accompanies the loss of an abusive parent and considers the uneasy coherence of this pain with Jewish traditions of mourning.

Sarah Rindner contemplates whether Torah u-Madda as it’s sometimes interpreted can engender unreflective allegiance to trends in contemporary society that might harm our religious communities.

Can we learn Torah from Star Wars, superheroes, or the hit Netflix show ‘The Crown’? Olivia Friedman, a teacher at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Chicago, says yes, arguing that bringing pop culture into the Judaic studies classroom in a meaningful way not only makes learning more fun, but models the type of integration that Modern Orthodoxy stands for.

Malka Simkovich with a careful reading of the work of the late Leonard Cohen.

Merri Ukraincik contemplates G-d's role in our lives.

Hillel Broder reviews the latest release from Jeremiah Lockwood.

In honor of the yahrtzeit of Dolce, the wife of Rabbi Eleazar of Worms, Chaya Sima Koenigsberg explores Rabbi Eleazar's moving elegy for his wife and reflects upon Dolce's character as a model for Koenigsberg's own life and the lives of Jewish women today.

What can the Talmud teach us about living through a pandemic? Avi Strausberg argues that it teaches us quite a bit about strengthening acts of kindness and solidarity in our communities.