Related Blog Posts on Death and Mourning, Holocaust, Jewish History, and Jewish Values

Photo of Adrien Brody in a scene from the movie "The Brutalist"

The Brutalist: A Jewish Immigrant Saga for the Ages

Wes Hopper
Brady Corbet's "The Brutalist" opens with Hungarian architect, Jewish Holocaust survivor, and soon-to-be freshly minted U.S. immigrant László Toth in the shadowy depths of a ship headed into New York Harbor.
star of david starry lights

For Some of Us the Holidays Are Just…Hard

Jaimie Green
As we head into the holiday season, I am acutely aware of how much different this year is going to be than previous ones. I will be celebrating without my mom for the first time. My mother died in January 2021, and I'm still dealing with the unexpected waves of grief that wash over me, sometimes out of nowhere. As I head into this first winter holiday season without her, I'm not quite sure I know what to expect, other than everything is going to be very different.
Photo of a group of people wearing masks, superhero shirts and holding up different superhero signs that says "smash," "boom," "krunch," and "kapow."

Extraordinary Ordinary Heroes

Rabbi Deborah Bodin Cohen
Simcha Blass, Helen Suzman, Eddie Jacobson, and Abby Stein all contributed to our world in different ways. Yet, they shared traits - commitment, integrity, resolve and an inner sense that they could make a difference.
Photo of the silhouette of two women's head and upper bodies standing back to back

Women of Valor: Revisiting Biblical Role Models

Michele Braun
Focusing this contemporary lens on Deborah and Yael reveals a story of women acting so outside of expected norms that I stand in awe and am compelled to magnify their adventures for our own times.
An image of a woman's silhouette standing with the sky and clouds behind her, with the words "Breathe Bravely" in purple

Breathe Bravely

Tani Prell
This reflection on the theme of bravery explores the ways that the author's mixedness, Jewishness, and range of emotions are tied to what it means to her to be brave.
This is an image of a dish call chuletas (pork chops); a dish that looks like pork, but it's actually french toast, bread molded into the shape of pork chops.

Crypto-Foods: the Triumph of Survival

Crystal Hill
During the Spanish Inquisition, there were plenty of ways that one could be identified as a Jew. One way people would identify their neighbors as Jews was observing whether they would eat non-kosher food that was popular with the Christian population such as pork, sausage, or fish without scales.
an image of a father and two kids reading a book

The Importance of Storytelling

Rabbi Maya Y. Glasser
The Jewish people love to share stories, as memory is a central Jewish value. We cannot forget what has happened to us because we must share it with future generations. The past is one of our best learning tools.
A person in a blue jean jacket sitting at a table in front of two glasses of beer

He’Brews, He’Leads

Ellie Rudee
Third-year Hebrew Union College-NYC student Jesse Epstein hopes to make Judaism more accessible, meaningful, and relevant for today’s Jewish community – through beer. He recently became the owner of Shmaltz Brewing Company, a beer-brewing brand aimed at providing community members with a mode and environment for consumption steeped in Jewish ethics, text, and tradition.