Religion
Sparking Jewish Joy with Stephanie Butnick
Listen NowIn this bonus episode of Can We Talk?, Jen Richler talks to Stephanie Butnick, founder of the Jewish lifestyle newsletter GOLDA, about sparking Jewish joy through rituals, books, art—and shopping.
7 Questions for Fashion Designer and Artist Elke Reva Sudin
Emma BreitmanJWA sat down with visual artist and entrepreneur Elke Reva Sudin to discuss her impressive artistic and entrepreneurial pursuits.
Sara Stern-Katan
Sara Stern-Katan (1919–2001) was a Holocaust survivor, leader, and politician who played a central role in Religious Zionist movements in Poland, Germany, and the State of Israel.
Women in the Secular Humanistic Rabbinate
Secular Humanistic Judaism is an intellectual movement that interprets Judaism as a human-shaped and multi-faceted culture without the involvement of any supernatural entities. In the second half of the twentieth century, these intellectuals formed Secular and Humanistic Jewish communities and ultimately created the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism (IISHJ). Approximately half of the rabbis and community leaders trained and ordained by IISHJ since 1987 have been women.
Nina Beth Cardin
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin is a rabbi, writer, and former director of Jewish Life at the JCC in Baltimore, Maryland, and the founder of the Jewish Women’s Resource Center.
Episode 135: LGBTQ Jews in the Federal City
Step into the history of queer Jews in Washington, DC as Nahanni tours the Capital Jewish Museum’s current exhibit, “LGBTJews in the Federal City” with curators Jonathan Edelman and Sarah Leavitt. Through artifacts, photos, and oral histories, the exhibit looks at decades of federal discrimination and the fight for equality, the AIDS epidemic and national response, and the transformation of Jewish communal life locally and nationally. Highlights include a panel from the AIDS memorial quilt, a purple, sequined gown from DC’s favorite Jewish drag queen, and a pair of rotary phones that dial up oral history clips from local LGBTQ community members.
How My “Wild Feminist” T-Shirt Made Me Rethink My Position in the Jewish Community
Marlo DabareinerAs I read my classmate’s message to me, I was reminded of the same debate that I had been having in my head about what feminism should or shouldn’t look like.
The Fractions of Myself
Naomi BeinartI am not just one of my identities, I am all of them, shaped by every box I've had to circle, every affinity space I’ve been a part of.
7 Questions for Merav Opher
Deborah LeipzigerJWA sat down with Jewish astronomer Merav Opher to discuss her work on the heliosphere.
Yoatzot Halacha
In 1997, Nishmat, a women’s seminary in Jerusalem, began training Orthodox women to become Yoatzot Halacha, or Jewish legal advisors. Yoatzot Halacha receive extensive training in Jewish legal texts and medical and behavioral sciences; after training, a Yoetzet Halacha might answer questions through a hotline or website or serve in a community in the US, the UK, or Israel. Yoatzot Halacha are one of a number of innovations in the field of Orthodox women’s leadership and literacy.
Episode 133: An Israeli Trauma Therapist on Healing After October 7
On October 9, 2023, two days after the Hamas attack, Israeli trauma therapist Merav Roth visited survivors of Kibbutz Be’eri in the hotel they had been evacuated to. Some had seen family members murdered; others were raped or fled homes that were set on fire. Merav stayed and worked with them for weeks. She also helped organize hundreds of therapists to provide emergency aid to survivors. For the past two years, she has continued to work with survivors, with the families of hostages, and with hostages released in every round of agreements—including the most recent one. In this episode of Can We Talk?, Merav describes how some of the hostages coped in captivity, what she's hearing from Palestinian colleagues in Gaza, and what long-term recovery from trauma can look like. This episode contains descriptions of violence.
Stoking the Fire: Lighting My Great-Great-Grandmother's Shabbat Candlesticks
Clio PetrulisWhen I light candles on Shabbat, using the same candlesticks that my ancestors lit over 100 years prior, I feel connected to everyone who has come before me.
How Ritual Placenta Burial Helped Me Seed New Connections
Lucy MarshallI unearthed the ancient Jewish tradition of burying my placenta. In the process, I cultivated new connections with my ancestors, my children, and myself.
7 Questions for Hannah Lupton Reinhard
Emma BreitmanJWA sat down with painter, Hannah Lupton Reinhard, to discuss her vibrant portraits studded with Swarovski crystals.
"The Matriarchs" Review
Sarah Jae LeiberThe Matriarchs imagines a universe where life’s unfairest moments can be made more tolerable through friendship, conversation, and understanding.
Straddling the US-Canadian Border as a Jew
Mara Koven-GelmanWhen liberal folks hear that I am also a Canadian citizen, they assume I can return to my homeland with perceived progressive values.
7 Questions For Artist Evie Metz
Sarah GroustraJWA chats with multidisciplinary artist Evie Metz about recurring motifs in her work, making the familiar unfamiliar, and613, her new five-foot-tall pomegranate sculpture.
Death of Cynthia Culpeper, the first pulpit rabbi to announce her AIDS diagnosis
In January 1996, Rabbi Cynthia Culpeper stood before her congregation in Montgomery, AL, and announced that she had contracted AIDS, becoming the first pulpit rabbi to disclose an AIDS diagnosis.
The Rituals We Pass Down
Frani ChungA mother wrestles with whether to continue the painful ritual her own mother passed down.
L'dor Vador, Under One Roof
Dorrit CorwinA granddaughter reflects on leaving her grandparents’ home—and how one final ritual turned goodbye into sacred memory.
Midrash for a New Generation
Sarah GroustraThis bold anthology reimagines biblical stories through modern voices and identities.
When Women Led Small-Town Jewish Life
Austin Reid AlbaneseIn mid-century Salem, Ohio, a handful of women carried Jewish life, interfaith connection, and civic leadership on their shoulders.
Episode 128: Orthodox Women Rabbis Crack the Stained-Glass Ceiling
In June 2025, the thirteenth cohort of Orthodox women rabbis graduates from Yeshivat Maharat, the first Orthodox yeshiva in North America dedicated to ordaining women. In this episode, we look at the status of the so-called stained-glass ceiling for Orthodox women rabbis as they seek pulpit positions, and we talk about the unique challenges for women’s leadership in the Orthodox movement. We speak with Rabbanit Leah Sarna, Maharat Ruth Balinsky Friedman, and Yeshivat Maharat’s founder and president, Rabba Sara Hurwitz.
Episode 127: The Scribe and Her Quill
For centuries, writing a Torah scroll was a sacred task reserved for men. But a couple of decades ago, a handful of women decided to pick up the quill—without waiting for permission—and paved the way for other women to do the same. In this episode of Can We Talk?, we hear from women who write Torah scrolls and explore what it means to inscribe yourself into tradition.
