The Russian-speaking Jewish community is on the rise, and not a moment too soon!
The past year has been a year of many surprises, some not so pleasant. Covid, social and economic unrest, the violence in Israel, antisemitism. The headlines, as we know, have not been great. However, there have been some incredibly positive surprises, at least as they relate to my observations and involvement in the Russian-speaking Jewish (RSJ) community. Never have I seen so much energy and desire to be involved in communal affairs from this group!
Let me start with one of the biggest surprises; members of the RSJ community reaching out to me and to my colleagues at nonprofit organizations inquiring how they can make sizable donations. Now, perhaps to some people who have been involved in Jewish communal life this is not a shocker or a rare experience, but to me this a total paradigm shift. Nine years ago, when I got involved with the RSJ community on a lay leadership level fundraising was a dirty F
the social context of hair for Jews of color today, SARAH
SELTZER talked to CHAVA SHERVINGTON, a longtime
diversity activist in the Jewish community, as well as an attorney and mom,
who by her own admission has become “obsessed with hair issues” as she
helps her kids navigate the complex politics of their Black hair.
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I wanted to take off my ring, but I needed a ritual to acknowledge that Divinity was present, even at this moment of loss.
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My mother’s hair is colorful ropes of cotton, carefully and methodically wrapped in a rainbow of layers growing in width as the ends disappear into hidden corners below her hairline. As a girl, I often sat in my mother’s room, watching her in this morning ritual as she added the last detail of her dressing.. Read more »