EasyBlog

This morning I have thrilling news: We are excited to invite you to an event launching the new Israeli political party, Simply Love (פשוט אהבה Pashut Ahava in Hebrew, ببساطة محبة Bibisataten Mihabeten in Arabic). This multicultural party, comprised of women and men across the spectrum of Israeli society, has a unique platform built on values o...

The article by Linda Bloodworth Thomason  -- the brilliant creator of the 1980s sitcom, Designing Women -- about her harassment by Len Moonves of CBS, sheds light on the connections between a man's attitude towards women and the work he creates in the world.  Moonves sexually harassed lots of women . And in the meantime was in charge...

Below is the text of the talk I will be giving tomorrow, first day of Rosh Hashana, right before the shofar blowing, at Kehilat Renana in Modi'in: We are about to do something strange. We are going to abandon the prayerbook, the verbiage, all the texts that the Jewish people have preserved for many generations, we are going to put that all aside an...

My wishes for the year 5779: * Massive political changes: turning the US Congress blue, and getting a new prime minister and coalition in Israel.... * The restoration of hope and optimism * That the cultures of hate will be overpowered by cultures and practices of compassion, empathy, and kindness * that the women (and men!) who have suffered from ...

  Dvar Torah by Elana Sztokman, 25-8-2018, Minyan Renana, Modi'in Parashat Ki Tetze is the Torah portion ( parasha ) that is most packed with no less than 74 commandments between men – or to be more precise, commandments between men and other men, or between men and the women who didn't do anything to them. You might call this parasha , "When ...

       פרשת כי תצא: אשת יפת תואר דבר תורה של אילנה סטוקמן, 25-8-2018, מניין רננה, מודיעין פרשת כי תצא היא הפרשה הכי דחוסה עם לא פחות מ-74מצוות בין אדם לחברו – או ליתר דיוק מצוות בין גברים לגברים אחרים או בין גברים לנשים שלא עשו להם כלום. אפשר לקרוא לפרשה הזאת, "כשאתם עושים דברים איומים, תנסו להיות קצת פחות איומים." אני מגזימה טי...

Jerusalem Post Op-Ed, June 21, 2018 Since Trump took office, it has been difficult for me to be an American-Israeli. Watching fellow Israelis and American-Israelis cheer for a man who has no moral compass or capacity for empathy has been chilling. Moreover, the realization that so many members of my tribe care more about soulless buildings – like, ...

Some highlights from my year at HUC rabbinical school: * Every single Talmud class we had with the amazing Prof  Ruhama Weiss , for whom "love" is not a catchphrase or platitude but an entire way of life, whose classroom is freeing and healing -- in the Paulo Freire sense of freeing --  freedom and compassion in action. * When  Debi Shoua-Haim  conducted the entire prayer service in the female form, with God as "she" and the prayer as "she"....using some amazing texts written also by  Rabbi  Stacey Blank ... Wow, so much healing * When  Osnat Eldar  dedicated the entire prayer service to  # MeToo * When Yael Vergan did an entire service in sign-language * The time we had a Friday night tefilla on the roof of Rabbi Naamah Kelman's house in Jerusalem * Hearing talks from amazing women, like Rabbi  Yael Karrie ,  Orly Erez-Likhovski , Rabbanit  Devorah Evron , and many others. * Learning liturgy with the amazing Professor  Dalia Marx * Learning gender in bible with the amazing Dr.  Lea Mazor * When Dr.  Judith Rosenbaum  came to visit and talked about gender, Judaism, and history * Getting to play piano to accompany the tefilla * Getting to know so many interesting students from many different sectors of Israeli society. Listening to their sermons, watching them create beautiful prayer experiences. Having some beautiful, real conversations about life, God, and the world..... # gratitude   # rabbinicalschool

My daughter  Meital  wrote an article about her trip to India last year that is featured in the amazing JGirls Magazine . Thank you  Elizabeth Mandel  for the beautiful work you do!!  <3   By   Meital Sztokman 423 https://jgirlsmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Meital-3-Main-Image-300x200.jpg    Last year I got a huge surprise: I was going to fly to India with my parents! My father told me just a few days before our trip, and I was so excited that I couldn’t focus on school. My father runs an NGO in India called Gabriel Project Mumbai, and for the past two years, I’ve been begging him to let me volunteer with them.

 As the world continues to shake with revelations of sexual abuse in the most high-profile corridors of power and the #MeToo realization that it is nearly impossible to find a woman who has not been affected by sexual harassment, some members of Jewish communal leadership seem to be living in a cave. I knew this was true. Still, it’s shocking to meet this reality head on. When I learned this week that the 92nd Street Y is advertising admitted sexual predator Ari Shavit as their keynote speaker to mark Israel’s 70th anniversary, it became unambiguously clear that the insulated, powerful, and tone-deaf Jewish boys’ club is still running the show, to the detriment of women and all victims of sexual assault. On the most basic level, this decision ignores women as consumers. The idea that women and sexual assault victims would be horrified by this choice apparently did not occur to the organizers. That we would never come to an event like this doesn’t seem to matter. Whoever the victims of sexual abuse are – women and men alike – we are irrelevant. We are not even considered as potential attendees. It is a stunning dismissal of victims from the community. It reminds me of how every time I click on a link on a browser that pops open a window for call girls, I face the reality not only of the commodification of women’s bodies but also of the default assumption that all consumers are at least perceived to be men. In fact, the dominant assumption in so many areas of business and communal life is not only that a typical consumer is male, but that he is a heterosexual male who has no problem with the sexual objectification of women. It seems that these same dark forces controlling my internet browser are also making decisions at the 92Y. All they see is men, particularly ones who have no problem with sexual abuse. Read more: https://forward.com/opinion/390179/seriously-92y-you-might-be-ready-for-ari-shavits-come-back-but-we-arent/