In this issue: Lilith discusses the new minority, Jews who choose to be romantically involved with other Jews, and why they’ve made the choice. How a woman found a community and her identity at Jewish socialist summer camp. Photographer Joan Roth’s adventures to bring back photographs and life stories of Jewish women all over the world.
by Tova
Tova is a working class Jewish lesbian who writes poetry, fiction and essays, she is on the editorial collective of bridges, a journal for Jewish feminists and their friends
by Rachel Altman
Only 48% of Jews under 40 will marry Jews, the demographers tell us. Who are these Jews who choose Jews? Read the first-person accounts of the lives and times of eight Jewish women who are—-or who want to be—-romantically involved with other Jews. Their comments are personal, often funny, sometimes wrenchingly poignant. And an added attraction: Some Jewish questions to ask yourself before you fall in love. (Save the list for a friend if you’ve done your falling in love.)
by Susan Schnur, Karen Prager and Jusyn Lezin
by Jyl Lynn Felman
She has moved from the lushness and intimacy of "The Dinner Party" to quite different imagery in her new "Holocaust Project" (soon to appear at a museum near you). Felman tells us about Chicago’s process—-using the collective talents of women across the country, often under recognized—-and the product which, even with its horrific subject matter, may not, Felman suggests, be harsh enough.
by Joan Roth
Here’s the story (make that stories, plural) of Joan Roth, fearless feminist photojournalist. Roth has gone everywhere, dangerous and exciting—-usually alone—-to bring back the photographs and the life stories of Jewish women in Yemen, Ethiopia, Morocco, India and elsewhere. For LILITH she renders here a startling set of portraits of Jewish women in Romania, Hungary, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Buchara, including a witch who cures headaches, a caterer with an axe for a cleaver, and Seidy Gluck the aging Yiddish theater star.
by Susan J. Gordon
When Seventh Avenue puts crucifixes on runway models, and catechism beads and crosses become a fashion statement, what does it mean for a Jewish woman to wear a Star of David around her neck? Our author comes out of the jewelry box only on certain occasions, and she tells when—and why.
In a related story, a young Jewish lesbian—-H. Hadar--explores her own motivations for wearing identifying jewelry, and tells why she can’t (yet) wear her Jewish star/pink triangle earrings to work.
fiction by Ingrid Hughes
Catch up with a Biblical story that’s not so familiar to most of us. The desert has its ways, and Tamar her desires, and a feminist retelling its satisfaction. This tale, which we rarely read in Hebrew school, or examine as adults, involves a goat, a ring, a deception, and the victory of a smart woman determined to follow her own instincts.
adapted by Peter Sichrovsky and Ari Roth
In the startling format of a stage monologue—-suitable for auditions, we imagine—-a brief, chilling recollection of growing up with a Nazi father.
New Ways to Learn
Clothing as a Measure of Assimilation
Mothertongue Theater Explores What It Means to be a Jew
Standing Again in the Diaspora
Women on the Air in Israel