Life and Action
From Farm to (Seder) Plate: Supporting a New Crop of Modern-day Isaiahs
Six months ago, my relationship with tomatoes changed forever. Once, they were simply the most delectable part of a salad. Now, I can’t bear to look at one without thinking about the hands that picked it. That’s why there will be a tomato on my family’s Seder plate this Passover. And I won’t be alone. Thousands of Jews across North America will be putting a tomato on their Seder plates, a symbol of the worker who picked it and the campaign to end slavery in the Florida tomato industry. This is our collective way of fulfilling the famous promise found in the Hagaddah, “It is because of what God did for me when I went free from Egypt.”
What happened six months ago? One morning just before daybreak, I found myself huddled with a group of five rabbis in a dimly lit parking lot in Immokalee, FL.
News and Politics
As a Landmark Civil Rights Trial Unfolds, A Passover Call to Action
Authors
Marjorie Dove Kent Hopes to Pack the Courts before a Seder in the Streets This Week
“East Flatbush is calling for calm,” said Marjorie Dove Kent, executive director of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), on Sunday. The killing of Kimani Gray coincides with Floyd v. City of New York, a federal class-action lawsuit filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights against the NYPD, challenging its practice of “suspicionless and race-based stops” against “hundreds of thousands if not millions of people.” Opening arguments for the trial were heard on Monday. This Wednesday, March 20th, Kent hopes the Jewish community will pack the courtroom in downtown Manhattan, then celebrate with Seder in the Streets, the latest installment of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice’s trademark boldness.
Media and Tech
A Not-So-Brief Reflection on Limmud NY 2013 Through Twitter
If Twitter is all about about capturing a moment in time, what happens when we look back? @EstherK reflects on the Twitter trail of Limmud NY 2013. From @ to #.
News and Politics
Letter from the (New) Editor
Zeek is back.
After a stint of recalibrating, we’re rolling out a new incarnation of Zeek, and I’m both proud and a bit giddy to be taking over as editor in chief.
My biggest hope for Zeek? That our readers (you!) will find an online magazine that’s unlike any other — one that showcases the people, ideas and conversations driving an inclusive and diverse Jewish community. One that’s smart, progressive, and Jewish. The kind of magazine that engages people. Inspires action and innovation. Isn’t the least bit shy about rabble-rousing or kickstarting debate.So here’s what to look for: an online magazine that’s unabashedly progressive, covers the vitality and voices of a growing movement, and profiles and promotes the ways Jews pursue justice in America. We’ll tell the kinds of stories that make clear and urgent the links between social justice and Judaism, while keeping a sense of humor.
Faith and Practice
Families, Holy and... there is no other kind: A Jewish Ayahuasca Journey
I saw, behind my father, his father, and his father, and his. I saw, behind him and to his left, his mother, and her parents, and hers. Stretching backward in time, I saw generations of my ancestors, not in any particular detail, but like a phalanx of men and women supporting me and holding me. And then, above and behind my father, I had a vision of something that felt like the God of our ancestors, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
News and Politics
A Green Gevalt: Nigel Savage and David Weisberg on the Hazon/Freedman merger and the Jewish environmental movement
On December 3, 2012, two of the Jewish world’s leading environmental organizations announced their merger. Zeek’s Jay Michaelson sat down with Nigel Savage, founder of Hazon, and David Weisberg, executive director of Isabella Freedman, for a in-depth conversation about what it all means.
Media and Tech
In Defense of the Online Minyan
The synagogue in ancient Alexandria, Egypt, was so large that they had to wave flags so that the people in the back knew when to answer “amen.” The online service is essentially the same thing.
Arts and Culture
Shtus Jews Say: Jewish Memes, Jewish Identities
The variety of “Sh-t Jews Say” videos reveal much about how American Jews see themselves in relation to each other and to the society in which they live.
Events
What We Talk About When We Talk About Israel: A Conversation with Daniel Gordis
What We Talk About When We Talk About Israel: A Conversation with Daniel Gordis Moderated by Bari Weiss of Tablet Magazine JFNA General Assembly 2012 Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD November 13, 2012, 9 am
Arts and Culture
Appropriation or Reconciliation? Islamic Elements in the Art of Israeli Religious Women
Women religious artists have sought to reclaim a common, local, cultural space (artistic, religious and concrete ) whereby religion and culture constitute a common ground for connection, and not only a platform for dispute and conflict.
![[the current issue of ZEEK]](../../image/2/100/0/5/uploads/leftistethicistgraphic-52842c6a.png)
- 5000 Pages of Zeek
- Founded in 2001, Zeek was the first Jewish online magazine, and we have over 5000 pages online to prove it, all available free of charge. Read more in the Archive.
