Ritual Inclusion

Scribes in a Circumscribed World: From Esther to Me

Purim is the one day of the year I feel empowered in my community. The rest of the year, services ...

Women of the Tent: The Power of Women’s Prayer Spaces

It was a sunny winter day in Boca Raton, Florida. My mother and I approached the home where local history ...

Women’s Megillah Reading in a Small Town–Some Tips From Our 5th Year

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania — we are the capital city of the Commonwealth. No, Pennsylvania’s capital is not in Philadelphia. Several years ago ...

A Heralded Compromise That STILL Leaves Out Women

I’m one of those hard-to-categorize Jews, caught somewhere between the Conservative and Orthodox denominations. My practice leans Orthodox, my passion ...

Bat Mitzvah as Rite of Passage into Self and Community

My daughter Ktoret Ashira was born on Yom Kippur in Jerusalem in 2001. Two and a half years ago we ...

Between the Holy and the Frustrating

It’s Friday afternoon in a quiet Maryland suburb. Cars pull into driveways and kids get off school buses, ready to ...

#HumansofJOFA

In honor of our 18th anniversary tribute dinner, we launched the photography campaign #HumansofJOFA. Modeled on the famous (and oft-replicated) ...

Is It Too Early To Teach My Daughter To Be A Feminist?

My 15-month-old daughter has a game she likes to play. She enjoys walking up to my husband while he is ...

How a Six Minute Video Changed My Life

That night, a video changed my life. It was just over six minutes long, yet its message touched me profoundly ...

All Your Males…

I hate Jewish holidays.I got married soon after becoming Orthodox, and I was excited to celebrate the Jewish holidays fully ...