JOOOT created a zine for 2020 Hanukkah for those celebrating the holiday from home. The organization is dedicated to creating progressive and inclusive Jewish spaces.
Editor of the magazine, Rena Yehuda Newman, interviews the writers of the Eight Nights of Jewish Zines, Hannah Gelman and Zmira Stouber, They talk about the process of creating the zine during the pandemic as well as what inspires them.
Four Jewish writers talk about the spaces that they conduct Zoom meetings and attend online classes in. They remark that they try to avoid showing the messiness of their rooms and like to display art and color.
Student Lila Goldstein writes about how her practice of tzimtzum, a process of turning inward during practice, and how it evolved during the pandemic. She found that journaling and writing often was her way of dealing with isolation and creating new traditions for herself. She links the practice of journaling to Judaism as a combination of the spiritual, the creative, the practical, and the personal.
Scholar Daniel Crasnow writes his final essay in the magazine's series "Diaspora English" on his experience teaching english in Tel Aviv and Nazareth. He reflects on his views on the Israeli/Palestine conflict and its evolvement during the pandemic and heightened tensions in the region.
Wilshire Boulevard Temple's religious school reopened with a celebration of Sukkot, which included Rabbi David Eshel leading the socially-distanced Lulav Shuffle dance!
Photo/video caption on Instagram:
We’re throwing it back to opening day of @wbtreligiousschool this past Sunday, because who wouldn’t want to learn the Lulav Shuffle from our very own @rabbidavid37? There is no better way to celebrate Sukkot than by shakin that Lulav! To learn more about our amazing religious school program, make sure to follow their account or head to our link in bio. #lulavshuffle
Journalist Laurie Segall interviews Susan McPherson, writer of "The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do, Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships". Their conversation covers the book's main themes on technology and the necessity of forging value-based relationships.
Judaism Unbound offers a group activity that those celebrating Passover can do with their family and loved ones. The activity includes a word search that the group can do in order to find a secret URL leading to the Afikoman.
Lex Rofeberg of jewishLIVE and Wendie Lash launch the first podcast celebrating the last month of the Jewish year, Elul. They interrogate the question: "why is this Elul different from all other Eluls?"
Rabbi Avi Strausberg offers a d'var Torah fo Parshat Noach. She describes the story of Noah and how God chose to destroy the world and how important it is to find wisdom in the ruins. Connecting this to the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on people in the last year and a half and she urges finding wisdom in the ruin.
President and CEO of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles talks with prominent rabbis, including Rabbi Sharon Brous of IKAR, about the many ways that Jewish Americans are preparing for the high holidays in the midst of a pandemic. They focus on the creative ways that the Jewish community across the country are reimagining the traditions of the holidays.
The company OneTable offers a few ideas for celebrating Shabbat during the COVID-19 pandemic such as virtual Shabbat with family or a "shelter-in-place Shabbat".
JewishLIVE compiled a list of resources for celebrating Passover digitally during the pandemic. Some of the resources included are recipes and links to scheduled events.
Activists Teklit Michael and Elliot Glassenberg talk about the plagues and refugees in Jewish history and how the pandemic has impacted modern-day refugees.
