Letters

Jewish Women & Food (Eat, Eat, Diet, Diet)

by Susan Josephs

A recovered "hunger artist" binges and diets her way through the Jewish eating opportunities of her Orthodox youth—the pleasure/pain of Chanukah latkes, food-laden Purim parties, Shavuot cheesecakes and more. Plus...3 psychologists--Harriet Lerner, Susan Schnur and Jane Hirschmann-- examine food foibles particular to Jewish women.

• The Clean Plate Club by Harriet Lerner
• Bev Naidus: Body-Size Artist by Susan Schnur

Our Immigrant Past

• My destiny poetry by Robin Amelia Morris
• First Generation poetry by Susan Skla
• My Mother the Queen of Moth Balls poetry by Robin Amelia Morris

Identity and Anxiety

by Susan Weidman Schneider

"Continuity"—how to ensure Jewish survival—is the fin-de-millennium hot potato of the organized Jewish community. But how does feminism play in the frenetic drama being enacted in self-important Jewish commissions, task forces and conferences around the country? The real excitement in Jewish life comes from women; our new scholarship, new books, new rituals, new pedagogy. Here’s what’s really "continuity"—the best news is feminist.

Not Arabs and Not Jews: Druze Women in Israel

by Naomi Grossman

When we hear about the Druze people’s full participation in Israeli society, that means only the men. A Druze woman can aspire to an engineering degree, but not a driver’s license. This paradox makes Israel’s Jewish population look progressive on women’s roles.

Shabbat at the Nursing Home

by Susan Schnur

A nursing home is nobody’s idea of a happy ending. But an unusual mother-daughter volunteer team has visited every Friday for many years—-reviving Yiddishe memories for the Jewish residents at a Methodist facility. Plus... -Altruist at Age 14—meet Rachel Dalton, four-year veteran of visiting -"Pretend they’re in armchairs, not wheelchairs."—how to visit a nursing home and what to say when you get there. -"Bring your birds."—Unusual volunteering possibilities, from finches to clown noses.

Our Foremother: Amy Levy 1861-1889

by Yona zeldis Mcdonough