Personal Reflections

Naima Hirsch Gelman provides three powerful poems exploring important themes in halakhic womanhood.

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

Ayelet Wenger on women and Torah and Talmud and some things (that get) in between.

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.

Dr. Devora Steinmetz offers a meditation on the significance of Hanukkah and darkness.

Nathaniel Helfgot reflects on all of the things he needed to know as a rabbi that he didn’t learn in rabbinical school.

Natalie Zemon Davis, a Jewish historian known for shining a light on the lives of marginalized people in the early modern period, passed away in October. Ronnie Perelis commemorates Dr. Zemon Davis by reflecting on the experience of teaching her revolutionary work to his students at Stern College for Women.

As the annual infertility awareness Shabbat approaches, Shoshanah Haberman reflects on the biblical stories of our infertile foremothers, connecting them to her own experiences and to the lives of 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.

After Professor Yaakov Blidstein's passing on Thursday, Marc Herman recalls his teacher's astonishing blend of scholarly creativity and intellectual humility.