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Rising Voices Blog Posts

Rising Voices

Learn more about the Rising Voices Fellowship, JWA's thought-leadership program for young Jewish women and non-binary teens.
Collage of trees, cattle, and fish on blue patterned background

Honoring the Shmita Year

Miriam Niestat

Taking inspiration from Rabbi Bernstein’s efforts with Tu B’Shvat, I wonder what a Shmita haggadah might look like.

Collage of various images of Emma Goldman on green background

Emma Goldman and A Jewish Approach to Liberation

Miriam Stodolsky

Goldman drew upon her Judaism as a source of radical moral guidance and held fiercely to her Jewishness without limiting herself to it.

Collage of Maud Nathan on floral orange background

Remembering Maud Nathan on Election Day 2022

Irene Y. Raich

Suffragist Maud Nathan could never have predicted the labor protections and voting rights we have now, and just like her, I can never give up on fighting for what is right.

Collage of Bessie Hillman on orange and yellow patterned background

Lessons on the Labor Movement from Bessie Hillman

Nora Auburn

No one figure serves as the champion of the early 20th-century union movement, but Bessie Abramowitz Hillman comes close.

Collage with outlines of the UK and Arkansas divided by a white line, on a red background

Being Jewish in the UK at Christmas

Irene Y. Raich

I loved the time I spent in England, but I would’ve enjoyed it more had my school attempted to create a more diverse, welcoming, and not Christian-centric environment.

Photograph of Hanukkah candles outdoors collaged on a dark pink background

Celebrating My Patrilineal Jewish Identity with Hanukkah

Ava Weinstein

I wondered, and still do, why it is that I can’t be accepted as a “real Jew” everywhere I go.

Topics: Hanukkah, Ritual, Schools
Outlined drawing of high heels and Jewish stars on bright purple background

Finding My Hineni

Rosie Yanowitch

Hineni invites you to confront your own presence, and its unique and vital impact it has on any given point in time.

Collage of Stars of David and pens on dark blue background

We Need Better Holocaust Education

Sam Mezrich

If non-Jews had more understanding of what our people went through, it would take a lot of emotional labor off the shoulders of Jewish kids.

Noa Karidi at her bat mitzvah collaged on a blue watercolor background

Honoring the Women of the Wall With My Tallit

Noa Karidi

By choosing this tallit, I am honoring the hard work of other women that allowed me to go through this process.

Outlined drawings of New York City skyline, Star of David necklace, and subway cars

Wearing My Star of David Necklace, Loud and Proud

Nora Auburn

The thought of wearing something that declared my Judaism felt strange.

Outlined drawings of women's faces and hamsas on a yellow-orange background

Jewish Women Count: How B’midbar Taught Me to Be a Jewish Feminist

Samantha Berk

Standing in front of my closest friends and family discussing a holy text that claimed women “do not count” taught me to pay more attention. I became a Jewish feminist.

Needlepointed tallit bag with hamsa on orange background

Stitching My Tallit Bag, Stitching My Identity

Clara Sorkin

With my grandmother and my mom in mind, I chose a design for my tallit bag that represents the influence that women have had throughout my life as a proud Jew.

Black and white checkered stars and photo of folded napkin

Oma Irene's Napkin

Aviva Schilowitz

Particular emphasis is put on setting the table for these occasions. So much of my Jewish and familial identity is tied to these meals.

View of mountain range on a pink checkered background

Why Do I Cry at Services?

Sonia Freedman

With all the joy in the room, I didn’t understand why my eyes would begin to water.

Collage of torah scroll, tallit fringes, and raised fists on a pink background

With My Tallit, Becoming a Jewish Woman

Tessa Cooperstein

There is a point of tension for me in both being valued in the Jewish community and being devalued by the Torah’s discussion and treatment of women. Owning my own tallit reminded me that I am valued twice.

Collage of candlesticks on a stack of books with a light purple background

Setting My Feminist Intentions with Shabbat

Olivia Gnad

When I unfold my little silver candle holder and light the flames, I bring in the light of a commitment to practicing my Judaism alongside my feminism.

Blue kiddush cup on dark blue patterned background

How My Kiddush Cup Inspired Me to Celebrate

Maya Viswanathan

Even though Kiddush has traditionally been done by men and I was just a girl, I took it upon myself to make Kiddush each week. 

Collage of shelf and candles on blue background

L’dor V’dor: How Ritual Plays into Grief

Judy Ruden

This is how we grieve: crying, laughing, brisket and Yahrzeit candles. Again and again and again.

Photographs of Miriam Niestat, her family, and a loom collaged on woven green background

Weaving My Asymmetrical Jewish Identity

Miriam Niestat

My uncle had the idea that maybe I could weave a tallis of my own. But I didn’t want it to somehow invalidate my bat mitzvah.

Topics: Crafts, Family, Ritual
Photo of wall covered in hamsas, on a yellow patterned background.

Unity through Symbolism: The Hamsa

Leila Nuri

As a teen with a Muslim-Palestinian father and a Jewish-American mother, the hamsa has always meant a lot to me.

Topics: Crafts, Family, Palestine
Photographs of Torah, a book of commentary, and Shabbat candles collaged on patterned orange background.

Imagining Feminist Torah Commentary For Everyone

Miriam Stodolsky

For the past year, I’ve been reading the parasha each week. It's been fascinating, meaningful— and incredibly exasperating.

Outlined drawings of city skyline, old synagogue, girl writing, and other doodles on red background

Confronting the Mechitza in Hamburg

Adina Gerwin

At the Hamburg synagogue, I found myself in a place literally built to go against the foundational egalitarian principles my Judaism had always been about.

Outlined drawings of hamsa, pomegranate, and candles over blue background with pens

Writing My Jewish Magical Realism

Sofia Isaias-Day

My two identities and their literary traditions, Torah and magical realism, work together to shape my writing style.

Topics: Fiction, Ritual
Illustrated Outline of a Woman Sitting Cross-Legged; Background with Stars of David

Microaggressions in High School: Learning to Advocate for More Inclusive Communities

Georgia Fried

I’m calling out a system that doesn’t make Jewish students feel seen at school—a system that doesn’t educate people on religions that aren’t the most mainstream ones in our culture.

Illustration of Campers Sitting on a Log Side-By-Side

Social Dates, Gossip, and Exclusion: Combating Toxic Hookup Culture and Heteronormativity at My Jewish Camp

Talia Bloom

I'll admit that my time as a camper was sadly tainted with anxiety and self-deprecation as I tried to navigate the toxic culture, and I currently see the same feelings developing in my young campers.

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Rising Voices Blog Posts." (Viewed on March 19, 2024) <http://jwa.org/blog/risingvoices>.