Spring 2002

In this issue: From pushke to power suite: Jewish womens philanthropy now. Transgender Jews: rituals, politics, the Talmud’s seven genders, and more. Trans Jews speak out on why finding their place matters. Deconstructing the story of Dena: a new view of the Biblical sister.  Behind
the myth, suicide among Israel’s founding mothers. 400 guests for Passover? A new family tradition.

 

A Surprising Lesson from Those September 11 Obituaries

by Ruth W. Messinger

Ruth Messinger launches our new opinion section of Lilith with her thoughts on 9/11 obituaries and what they suggest about Jewish men and their children. 

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Why Don’t Jewish Organizations Support Parenthood?

by Rabbi Laurie Rice

Rabbi Laurie Rice, pregnant, confronts the rotten maternity benefits most Jewish institutions offer.

Trading Anna Karenina for Golda Meir

by Yehonatan Geffen, translated by Naomi Danis

Behind the mask of mythology, poet Geffen exposes the extraordinary, smoldering losses of Israel’s pioneer women, including his suicidal mother.

From Pushke to Power Suit

by Susan Weidman Schneider

Feminism, Judaism and women’s new financial resources are—finally—joining forces. A spate of Jewish women’s foundations are making news in nearly 20 cities across the continent, as Jewish women change the way they’re changing the world.

Transgender Jews

by Susan Weidman Schneider

Life lessons from the mythological Lilith. Betty Friedan on her feminine mystique & being Jewish. Those thorny Jewish women's organizations.

Zhid

fiction by Yona Zeldis Mcdonough

Rose-petal jam and stolen furs lure a young immigrant mother in 1940s America.

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Deconstructing Dena: Genesis 34:1-31

by Rabbi Avis Miller

The biblical Dena (or Dinah), as most of us know, was portrayed in conflicting ways—harlot, rape survivor, passive sister. But what did this strange story mean in its time?

Four Hundred Guests for Passover

by Rhoda Asch

Try this one yourself! Rhoda Asch has figured out how to re-invite, annually, all who have ever come and eaten at her Seder.

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