I just got home from one of the largest conferences in the institutional Jewish world. I ran into a lot of prominent friends and colleagues there—executive directors, presidents and vice-presidents, fellow rabbis, heads of boards of Jewish communal organizations and … Continue reading
20th Nov, 2016
Avodah was dismayed to hear that Steve Bannon, CEO of Breitbart News, has been appointed to White House Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor. Bannon himself has described Breitbart as “the platform of the Alt-Right,” a movement rife with white nationalism, … Continue reading
15th Nov, 2016
Rosh Hashana is, of course, a time of new beginnings for all of us–with all of the introspection and opportunities to change our lives that it brings.And yet, for a lot of us, one of our tradition’s toughest pieces of … Continue reading
30th Sep, 2016
For the first time since our founding in 1998, seventy Corps Members from across our four sites started their year with a five day retreat at Eden Village Camp in Putnam, New York. During the gathering, Corps Members participated in extensive learning … Continue reading
29th Sep, 2016
By Cheryl Cook, Executive Director I’m delighted to announce the launch of our new website and logo. The site is the result of a multi-year rebranding process, the result of which enables us to tell the story of this work in a … Continue reading
22nd Sep, 2016
By Lisa Tencer “ALL LIVES MATTER! ALL LIVES MATTER! GET ‘EM OUTTA HERE! GET OUT! GET OUT!” I glanced around nervously as people screamed at the top of their lungs. I was hand-in-hand with a number of other white people. … Continue reading
4th May, 2016
By Ilana Levinson Every year at Passover, Jewish communities come together to commemorate, and celebrate our liberation. It is our duty on Passover to remember with intention, a history plagued with oppression- from our enslavement in Egypt to our endurance … Continue reading
28th Apr, 2016
By Essie Schachar-Hill In the Chicago bayit we often joke about how we could easily be the stars of an MTV reality show. It would be called “The Real World of Avodah,” and the synopsis would be as follows: Fifteen … Continue reading
3rd Mar, 2016
By Talia Baurer On Simchat Torah, the celebration of finishing the year-long reading of the Five Books of Moses and of starting anew, I sit with fellow Avodahniks in the pews of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST), a synagogue that … Continue reading
20th Jan, 2016
By Sarah Farbman Okay, so picture this. You’re racing home from work as fast as your little legs will take you. The sinking sun bleaches the color out of the street and you swerve through the crowded sidewalk, around school … Continue reading
6th Jan, 2016