Southern & Jewish

Southern & Jewish celebrates the stories, people, and experiences – past and present – of Jewish life in the American South. Hosted by the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, posts come from educators, students, rabbis, parents, artists, and many other “visitors-to and daily-livers-of” the Southern Jewish experience. From road trips to recipes to reflections, we’ll explore a little bit of everything – well, at least all things Southern and/or Jewish. Shalom, y’all!

My Southern Jewish Grandma

Today’s tale of Southern Jewish family, history, and a meaningful road trip comes to us from our summer history intern, ...

“Beautiful Pathologies”: An Ugly Truth?

A recent New York Times online opinion essay, Beautiful Pathologies, got me thinking about the non-profit sector as a whole, ...

My Congregation is Amazing!

Today’s post is from Education Fellow Elaine Barenblat. As a young girl, I was very involved in my home congregation, ...

What’s In A (Jewish) Name?

This is another post from one of our terrific summer interns, Caroline Kahlenberg, who completed this piece for us as ...

Heschel’s Host: “Don’t Tell Me Religions Can’t Get Along!”

“Do you know a rabbi by the name of Abraham Joshua Heschel?”The question was asked of me by Jean Jackson, ...

My Summer in Mississippi: A New Yorker Reflects

This blog is written by Sam Gardner, who just finished his summer internship in the ISJL’s history department. The Neshoba ...

Can Newcomers “Revive” Small Southern Jewish Communities? Maybe That’s Not the Point…

At the ISJL, we’re often asked about all things “Southern” and “Jewish” – so it was no surprise that we ...

Sorry About The Calls, Y’all

Usually, when the phone rings at the ISJL office, Lynda (AKA “The Voice of the ISJL) answers with a perky, ...

Bad News Jews

It’s something that makes most Jewish people cringe: that moment when, in the midst of some celebrity or political or ...