Faith and Practice

Choices and Change: How I Became a Social Justice Rabbi

By Rabbi Lev Meirowitz Nelson

I didn’t set out to become a social justice rabbi. I didn’t grow up in an activist family or do a lot of community service in high school, and my Judaism is not all about tikkun olam.

“I’m looking for an internship in lobbying,” I said to my high school guidance counselor toward the end of junior year.

“Ok. Lobbying for whom?”

“I don’t care — could be the NRA, could be Planned Parenthood. I just want to learn how this lobbying thing works.”

Media and Tech

Morning Jew: Anti-Gay Laws, Crypto-Jews, Olympic Weddings, and Mishpokhe Messages!

By Heather Gold and Katie Halper

The Week in Review with Morning Jew: this week, comics Heather Gold and Katie Halper tackle new anti-gay Jim Crow style laws, crypto-Jews in New Mexico and Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir’s new Jewish husband. Plus a new feature debuts: Mishpokke Messages. (Send us yours!)

Watch! Laugh! Share!

Life and Action

Am I a Racist? Tackling the Tensions of an Inclusive Multiracial Jewish Community

By Erika Davis

Earlier this month, a few brave Jews made a trek to the middle of Brooklyn. I know what you’re thinking, what’s so brave about Jews in Brooklyn? They were brave not only to venture outside during an ice storm, but also because they knew they would be spending the evening talking about privilege and race in the Jewish community at the Jewish Multiracial Network (JMN) Parlor Meeting. The question: Am I racist?

Media and Tech

Morning Jew: A Younger, Sexier ADL Head (of Hair); Woody Allen & a Bubbe Alert!

By Heather Gold and Katie Halper

In the new Morning Jew, Heather Gold and Katie Halper weigh in on Natalie Portman, Woody Allen, a bubbe’s heartfelt warning to a gay grandson not to go to Sochi. Plus, a nomination to take the place of the ADL’s Abe Foxman, who’s stepping down. Watch now to find out who the “new face, new head of hair,” younger, sexier ADL head should be.

News and Politics

Morning Jew: Dylan Farrow, David "Bridgegate" Wildenstein, Boy Who Cried Shonda, and More

By Heather Gold and Katie Halper

“It would be good for the Jews to not have Woody Allen represent us anymore. I still want jokes, but they can be less self-loathing, and they can be jokes that aren’t based on misogyny.”

In this week’s morning Jew, Heather Gold and Katie Halper weigh in on which of the week’s headlines are good for the Jews. Dylan Farrow, David Wildstein, talmudic hate mail, and more.

Life and Action

A-Listers for a Cause, Relative Creepiness, and Ethical Realtors: The Leftist Ethicist

By Mae Singerman

Dear Leftist Ethicist, I have a distant family member who has turned from a C-list to an A-list celebrity because of a role on a popular TV show. We hardly know each other. I am a passionate employee of a grassroots organization and would like to ask him to support us. He is apolitical as far as I know, but probably leans conservative. What is the best way to approach him without being creepy? Or is it even worth reaching out since we’re pretty removed?

News and Politics

Kicking Away the Ladder: Immigrants, BIDs & an Uncertain Future for Street Peddling in NYC

By Samuel Stein

Will a Business Improvement District in Queens deprive new immigrants of the opportunities that helped so many Jewish families secure a successful footing for their families in the United States?

Like a lot of Jewish kids, I grew up hearing about the ways my family first experienced life in America. In 1902, my great-grandparents Solomon and Sarah Stein journeyed from Poland to Ellis Island, and the following year they had their first child. The family started out on Allen Street — now renamed “Avenue of the Immigrants” — until they crossed the Williamsburg Bridge, rented a place in Bushwick, and eventually settled in Midwood. With limited English and education, Solomon and Sarah did what they could to provide for their kids. Sarah sewed clothing at home; they couldn’t afford a storefront, so Solomon would sell the clothes in the street, going door to door building a customer base. They raised a family of five children, all of whom went to college.

News and Politics

Lessons From the Field: Good Neighbors, Good Wages

By Nathaniel Eisen

President Obama’s State of the Union this week is breathing life – and hope – into the conversation around raising the minimum wage. And it reminds us how local organizing can lay the groundwork for national economic justice issues. As the president put it: “It is you, our citizens, who make the state of our union strong.” Consider this: In December, Washington DC and two neighboring counties in Maryland raised their minimum wages at the same time, the first time jurisdictions aligned their strategic efforts across state lines.

The Jewish community was at the heart of this victory. Here’s what we learned.

Media and Tech

Morning Jew with Katie Halper and Heather Gold: From the Warsaw Ghetto to the Grammys to Scandinavia

By Heather Gold and Katie Halper

In this week’s Morning Jew, comics Heather Gold and Katie Halper ask if this week’s news is good for the Jews — from billionaire, Kristillnacht-fantasizing Ted Perkins to Grammy marriage equality moment with Macklemore, Queen Latifah and Madonna, and Warsaw Ghetto hero Irving Milchberg and Sweden and Denmark’s ban on circumcision. Good for the Jews? Laugh. Weigh in. Share.