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Eidel Pappenheim-Dubin: A Forgotten Pioneer of Jewish Women’s Leadership
On February 22, 1917, a beautiful baby girl was born in Vienna to Kalonymus Kalman Pappenheim and Sophie Schiff. She was named Eidel and was the second of seven children born to the Pappenheim family. Time would tell how much Eidel would accomplish in her short 26 years of life. The Pappenheim family were Orthodox…
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Why Can’t a Woman Be a Judge?
In 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg smashed two glass ceilings when she was appointed as an associate to the Supreme court of Justice of the United States. RBD, as she became known, broke two impressive ceilings, she was the first Jewish woman, and only the second woman, to serve as a Supreme court justice. Serving as…
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Who was Naama, the wife of Noach?
There is a Midrash1 which takes each line of Eishet Chayil – King Solomon’s beautiful alphabetical poem about the Jewish woman – and aligns it with different righteous women throughout Tanach. This includes the Imahot, Yocheved, mother of Moshe and Chana, mother of Shmuel. Contained inside this Midrash is the name of Noach’s wife: Na’ama.…
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Lilith: A Demon, Not to Be Defended nor Glorified
In college, I analyzed the history of vampires in a creative writing class. Interestingly, from each culture researched, the earliest dated origins of vampires came from the Old Testament. No, this is not a comprehensive report on the link between vampires and the various blood-libels against Jews throughout Milena (although, what an interesting topic that…
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Bereshit: Chava, Uncovering Women’s True Essence
Bereishit is all about beginnings, foundations, conception. The first day on earth, the first person, the first relationship – it all starts here. Certainly in this parsha too we can find the blueprint of who we are. Chava’s soul is the root of ours, her feminine energy is the source of ours and her nature…
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What Is the Nature of Simchat Torah’s Joy?
Joyous cries of ‘Ashreinu ma tov chelkeinu’ and ‘Vetaheir libeinu’ belted out, circles of old and young interlocking with each other, a proud man clutching a sefer Torah in the centre, swaying back and forth with delight. Simchat Torah is the peak of the High Holy Days; the climax of a period which began with…
