The Beacon

Of All The Dishonest

Rebecca Ross — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:00:39 +0000

I have a problem with ultra-Orthodox Kiruv. I have a problem with the full-color glossy Kiruv, sold with carefully worded posters, programs, videos, and double standards. I have a problem with the Kiruv that loudly declares that they welcome all Jews, but then denigrates their backgrounds when they think that nobody is listening. That’s the [...]

Letter From the Editor

Aryeh Younger — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:00:34 +0000

Dear readers, Growing up in a Modern Orthodox community in the Midwest, I always found a special place in my heart for Kiruv organizations. In high school, I was the president of my city’s chapter of NCSY, an organization that aims to bring younger Jewish people closer to Orthodoxy. In my early childhood, I spent [...]

The Right Mekarev

Yeshayahu Ginsburg — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:00:28 +0000

When dealing with the topic of Kiruv, there is always a little bit of a double-edged sword. Back in high school, I remember that a Rabbi once described NCSY to me as, “Mekarev HaRechokim Umerachek HaKrovim“: it brings closer those who are far [from Orthodoxy] and pushes away those who are close. While my experiences [...]

Jews Shaking it the Harlem Way

Ofir Azran — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:00:26 +0000

From your favorite NFL stars to your hippie granny, everybody seems to be doing the “Harlem shake” these days. Some have even called it the new Gangnam style, but that’s because they just don’t know better. The Harlem shake ushers in the new era of video memes. Twitter’s vine app bravely ventured into this new [...]

Revolutionizing Kol Isha

Rachel Winestone — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:00:17 +0000

Kol isha (the restriction that a woman’s voice must not be heard by men) can be a very hurtful prohibition for a woman who considers singing an important part of her identity. As a dancer, I know that performing publicly is prohibited. But if I were to stop dancing, I would be giving up a [...]

Blog Talk: An Interview with Heshy Fried, Author of Frum Satire

Hannah Rozenblat — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:00:16 +0000

Frum Satire was created by Heshy Fried in 2006. Since then, the blog’s popularity has exploded, with an ever-widening readership and hundreds of comments. The blog, which discusses Jews and the differences between us in a humorous light, has garnered a wide variety of responses, from admiration and appreciation to anger and outrage. In this [...]

Is She Hot? Are You Sure?

Mordecai Segall — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:00:14 +0000

It’s time to have a conversation with other straight males about the problems we cause ourselves. Let’s be perfectly honest. We are attracted to a woman’s physical appearance. We also live in a society that decries any acknowledgment of this as anti-feminist. We are accused – often correctly – of treating women as objects of [...]

Going off the Derech

Faye Lax — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:00:10 +0000

No. it wasn’t the restrictions; it was more than that. It was like being imprisoned. I walked around my house feeling trapped on all four sides. I walked outside feeling ambushed by my community, my ultra- Orthodox community. Wherever I went, it was like there was a rope tied around my neck, blocking my blood [...]

Reaching the Wrong Crowd

Daniel Kaiserman — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:00:02 +0000

It was spring semester for the Yeshivot in Israel. The Ohr Sameach in Jerusalem had just been donated a full set of Artscroll Talmud. Many students cooed at the freshly printed books lining what was formerly a completely barren shelf. Only a handful dared touch the sacred tomes. Some days they simply sat there, gathering [...]

Halakha and the Laws of Robotics (Part 2 of 3)

Jeremy Jaffe — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:56:48 +0000

(Part 1 can be found here) Halakha encompasses what are known as the Hukim – laws which seem to be purposeless – and the Mishpatim, laws which seem to be purposeful. Had the Halakha only consisted of Mishpatim, Leibowitz’s position would be untenable. The Mishpatim are laws which conform to our own intuitions about morality [...]

Jewish Response to Hume on Miracles

David Errico-Nagar — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:56:33 +0000

“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecc. 1:9). Man is born. Man dies. The world takes its natural course and nothing new occurs. If Solomon is correct in this dictum, then how can miracles be possible? [...]

When Not to Be Fruitful and Multiply

Josh Sollum — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:56:00 +0000

God commands mankind to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and conquer it, and have dominion over the entire animal kingdom (Genesis 1:28). We listened to God. The world population is now seven billion people and growing. How long do men and women need to continue growing as a species in order to fulfill [...]

Letter from the Editor

Aryeh Younger — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:03:23 +0000

Dear readers, The topic of eating disorders in the Orthodox Jewish community first piqued my curiosity after reading this [TRIGGER WARNING: This article deals with the topic of eating disorders and may be triggering to some people] article in Tablet Magazine over the summer. The article describes how prevalent the disorders are in our community [...]

Trigger Unwarned

Simi Lichtman — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:00:42 +0000

TRIGGER WARNING: This content deals with the topic of eating disorders and may be triggering to some people. When the Amherst Student published an article about rape in October, the article included a disclaimer at the top, “Trigger Warning: This content deals with an account of sexual assault and may be triggering to some people.” [...]

Stop Judging Me for What I Wear

Hudis Lang — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:00:34 +0000

An Orthodox woman’s level of observance is often determined by the way that she dresses. But is the Orthodox dress code really as clear-cut as people make it out to be? In my local Jewish community, people just look the other way when a woman wears a skirt that is a little too short or [...]

Diagnosis

Faye Lax — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:00:33 +0000

TRIGGER WARNING: This content deals with an account of an individual with anorexia and may be triggering to those struggling with an eating disorder. It couldn’t be. Those doctors were wrong; they had to be. After all the tests I took, the pain I went through, and the tears that were shed, this was the [...]

Living with Bulimia: An Interview

Avram Mlotek — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:00:31 +0000

TRIGGER WARNING: This content deals with an account of an individual with bulimia and may be triggering to those struggling with an eating disorder. —–The identity of the person interviewed has been changed for purposes of privacy.—- We’ve just finished bentching and are about to go on our Shabbos afternoon walk. It’s our shana rishona, [...]

Under the Radar

Talia bat Pessi — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:00:24 +0000

TRIGGER WARNING: This content deals with the topic of eating disorders and may be triggering to some people. It was just a regular online chat with one of my best friends, talking about whatever random stuff we always talk about. Teachers. Schoolwork. Gossip. The usual suspects. That’s when she told me that she’d had an [...]

Theater Talk: A Review of The Heiress

Hannah Rozenblat — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:00:17 +0000

Jewish Orthodox women are no strangers to the social pressure of finding a husband. Catherine Sloper, the protagonist of The Heiress, finds herself in a similar predicament when her cousin’s recent engagement throws the spotlight onto her own single-hood. Cripplingly shy and socially awkward, Catherine does not inspire the viewer with confidence that she will [...]

Zu Schorah V’Zu Torah?

Binyamin Weinreich — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:00:15 +0000

Jewish education in America is facing a crisis. Ever since the economic meltdown in 2008, publication after publication, from venerable weekly newspaper to personal blog, has declared that the sky is falling and day school tuition has reached the point of unaffordability for the average Jewish family. Jewish communities across America are finally doing some [...]

Help is Out There

Staff — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:00:05 +0000

Dear readers, If you suspect that you or a loved one has an eating disorder, help is near. Use the links below to seek assistance. Use the NEDA locator to find treatment centers near you: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/find-treatment/treatment-and-support-groups Begin learning how to care for a loved one: http://www.something-fishy.org/helping/whatyoucando.php See that Orthodox accommodation for treatment exists: http://renfrewcenter.com/services/specialized-programs/observant-jewish Of [...]

Without Prose

Nomi Kornfeld — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:00:05 +0000

TRIGGER WARNING: These poems contain graphic accounts of an individual living with bulimia. They may be triggering to those struggling with an eating disorder. I am bulimic. A non-functioning person. I see all the normal people who eat. Who live in a world where food is their friend and not their enemy and I wonder [...]