Jewish Journeys
I recently had the honor of seeing Family in Transition, a documentary by Ofir Trainin that centered on a family living in Nahariya, Israel, called the Tsuks. In this town of just 56,000 people, the Tsuks stand out as the only family with a parent who is transgender (Amit). The film chronicles the challenges that Amit, her former wife Galit, and their children endured during Amit’s gender transition, while showcasing the beautiful diversity within the Jewish world. I had the chance to sit with Amit and others involved with the film to discuss how her story can inspire the Jewish community... Read More
Noah benShea is the international best-selling author of the Jacob the Baker series, translated into 18 languages. Jacob is a poor but pious baker who lives an anonymous life and writes notes to himself, trying to make sense of his life, until one of his notes is accidentally baked into a loaf of his bread. When a woman finds the note and Jacob is “discovered,” suddenly people from near and far come to Jacob with their questions about life, loss, prayer, and love. ReformJudaism.org: The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) had a significant hand in the creation of the original Jacob the Baker in... Read More
I’ve been having a hard time expressing how the murders at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue have hit me, partly because I would have been horrified even before I became Jewish, but mostly because I understand there’s nothing unique about my grief except that the fear imbedded in it is new to me. When I first became involved in Judaism, I was surprised by how aware Jews were that they could become targets of societal violence. I’d grown up among Protestant World War II veterans, not Holocaust survivors, and I took safety for granted. I also took American progress toward inclusion for... Read More
On the night of January 21, 2005, a drunk driver paralyzed me. I was 21 and just starting my music career. I remember only two things from those first moments: the acrid smell of an exploded airbag and the desperate confusion as I tried and failed to move my legs. What happened? I remember thinking. Why can’t I move? Why am I like this? What’s wrong with my body? It doesn’t work anymore! Help me! Somebody, please help! Help me! I had suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury, along with a punctured lung, lacerated spleen, facial laceration, and eight broken ribs. My next memory was... Read More
The upcoming auction of Marilyn Monroe’s personal prayer book is making news. According to the catalogue description, the siddur contains many pencil notations in the margins, possibly by Monroe, when she was learning about Judaism. Monroe converted to Judaism on July 1, 1956 by Rabbi Robert Goldburg, then spiritual leader of Congregation Mishkan Israel in New Haven, CT, who officiated her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller on the same day. Shortly after her death on August 5, 1962, Rabbi Goldburg wanted the record to show that he and Monroe took the process of conversion seriously... Read More
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