Eliana Melmed

Eliana Melmed

Eliana Melmed is a junior at Milken Community School in Los Angeles. She enjoys long bike rides on the beach almost as much as she enjoys performing in musicals and doing dissections in biology. After school, Eliana competes with her school's swim and water polo teams, and she looks forward to each weekend when she is a counselor for two-year-olds at her synagogue. When Eliana is feeling overwhelmed, she relaxes by playing the violin, curling up with a good book, or taking out a spiral-bound journal and ballpoint pen.

Blog Posts

Eliana Melmed

Blogging: Full Speed Ahead

Eliana Melmed

My first blog post was kind of like my first driving lesson: I was given the keys and told to go before I could ask, “which one’s the gas pedal?” (I’m not kidding. I had no idea.) When I first heard about the Jewish Women’s Archive and the Rising Voices Fellowship, I hadn’t thought much about what it means to identify as a feminist—I just knew that I loved writing, and I wanted to experiment with new forms of it. I’d never been taught how to blog before, and I was excited to learn.

Topics: Writing
Pharaoh Notes the Importance of the Jewish People by James Tissot circa 1896-1902

Ancient Egypt, Nazi Germany, and High School Classrooms: Is There Such a Thing as an Innocent Bystander?

Eliana Melmed

There is little more frustrating than being punished for something that you did not do.  The extra homework assignments because a few classmates were talking, no sandals to work because one girl stubbed her toe, no more school-wide pancake breakfasts because one group of students did not clean up their lunch, the trampoline is off-limits because one person couldn’t follow the rules. So many instances when one person, or one small group of people, ruined it for everybody.

Topics: Jewish History
Miley Cyrus Performs at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, September 14, 2009

Choosing Our Role Models, and Letting Them Go

Eliana Melmed

When I was younger, I used to love watching Hannah Montana on television. The lead character, played by Miley Cyrus, lived a double life as pop sensation Hannah Montana. Cyrus had so many fans, so many young not-yet-teenagers who looked up to her. I remember going to see her in concert when I was in fourth grade. It was one of the highlights of my year. 

Topics: Television, Music
Odetta Holmes

Odetta Holmes, Singing for the Voiceless

Eliana Melmed

Through her blues music, Holmes inspired people all over America to take a stand for black equality. She performed at numerous rallies, advocating for civil rights for all; in fact, her music is often called the “soundtrack of the Civil Rights movement.” 

Topics: Civil Rights, Music
Goldie Blox Advertisement

Size Zero, Flawless Skin

Eliana Melmed

I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a woman with a pimple on the cover of a magazine. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a woman with small breasts or a big stomach in an advertisement. The only time I’ve ever seen a woman in an ad with even slightly dry skin is in a “before” image.

Eliana Melmed with her Two Great-Grandmothers

The Rebel Women of Passover

Eliana Melmed

My grandfather starts every Pesach Seder with the same opening lines. He talks about how he can remember being at the Seder table with his grandfather, who was once at a Seder table with his grandfather, and if you follow the generations back only a few more times you are right back at the original Pesach celebration, the escape from Egypt. These few words add so much meaning to my Pesach experience; I feel a direct relation to the Jews who escaped slavery so long ago. But while I love being able to draw this connection to the ancient past, something has always struck me about this tale: how come women are not part of this story of family linkage?

Topics: Feminism, Passover
Miniskirt

Fashion: A Double-Edged Sword

Eliana Melmed

When I shop for clothes, I try to purchase tops that are not exceedingly cropped, low-cut, or sheer. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been excited about a cute dress or shirt, only to flip it over and find that the back is completely cut out. This is disappointing, but it also makes me question my own tendency to judge the Girl with the Crop Top. If the majority of clothes at the mall are cut out, cut-up pieces of fabric, it might not be fair to judge consumers for buying what is being sold.

Eliana Melmed Playing Doctor

Not Just Pink

Eliana Melmed

I am a junior in high school. I’m involved in the mock trial team, the drama department, the creative writing program, and a music club. I’m also on two sports teams: water polo and swimming. I could have also chosen to participate in basketball, or cross country, or tennis, or volleyball, or soccer, or a dozen other sports. I definitely take for granted my opportunities to participate in the athletics and activities of my choice.

Eliana Melmed at her Bat Mitzvah

Looking Over the Mechitza

Eliana Melmed

Although I wish they were, feminism and Judaism are not congruous in my life. I am a feminist. I am a Jew. But when I put them together, they clash. In my life, being Jewish means that I am a part of my Modern Orthodox community, it means that I go to shul every week and sit in my designated place on the left side of the mechitza, the low wall that separates men and women during prayer.

How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Eliana Melmed." (Viewed on June 4, 2023) <https://jwa.org/blog/author/eliana-melmed>.