Last Hanukkah, the we celebrated the women who light up our lives (video). Now, during Women’s History Month, we have continued the project by creating a place where you can tell us about a woman who lights up YOUR life.

Jewish Women Inspire, an ultra-sharable blog hosted on Tumblr, is a place where we can collected stories, remembrances, and notes about the American Jewish women who inspire us. We asked you to contribute by adding a brief account of an American Jewish woman whom you admire for her accomplishments, endurance, chutzpah, humor, imagination, integrity, kindness, or any other quality. Halfway through the month, 29 people have shared stories of the women who inspire them, including family members, historical figures, coworkers, neighbors, teachers, friends, and Barbra Streisand.

Here is a taste of what you can find on Jewish Women Inspire:

"Margot carries picket signs in front of the Boston Public Library, Harvard University, and doesn’t hesitate to stand up when it is appropriate, needed and so few do. Her spirit is indominatble." (more)

"My mother, Rivka Leah Komorovski gave birth to me on the deck of a relocation ship, she then was sent back to undergo treatment for TB, she left me with her sister in the US. Later she went on to Israel where she ran an orphanage for displaced children until her death. She gave me a life beyond belief by being selfless and loving in a way most people never could. She lives on in blessed memory." (more)

"As I got to know her, I came to appreciate her intellectual curiosity, her seriousness of purpose, her kind heart, and her excellent cooking. Forty years later, I still do. Associate Professor of Economic History at Tufts University since 1986 and a highly respected scholar, she is still teaching in her mid-80s." (more)

"My Mom has been an artist, an interior decorator, a clothing designer (for herself and all 5 of her children), and an extreme do-it-yourselfer ... Even my Dad knew the tool box was all hers." (more)

"As a Jew and an anarchist, I am consistently reminded, humbly and gratefully, that my identity might not exist were it not for Emma Goldman." (more)

"The sculpture park in New York leaves a lasting mark of Louise Nevelson on the city that inspired her work. Now all we have to do is teach the city her name." (more)

"I feel blessed that Claudia Kreiman is not only a close friend but also my rabbi. I am inspired by her energy, passion, easy laughter, and down-to-earth leadership, all of which infuse her work and her personal life. As a rabbi who often brings her daughter to the bima, she is a role model for so many women and men trying to figure out how to integrate family and career." (more)

"My mother, Deborah Seltzer Griffin, is an inspiring Jewish woman. She was one of only a handful of female lawyers working in Boston in the 70s, and she was the very first woman made partner at her firm ... Perhaps her most courageous feat was negotiating a maternity leave deal in the 80s when no model for one was in place. I will always admire how she broke the glass ceiling in Boston law, all while lovingly raising her family." (more)

"Heather Booth’s work of literally creating a network connecting women with abortion providers has always moved me as an act of ultimate subversion and empowerment, not waiting to be given permission, no apologies-instead, taking care of women and asserting control over our bodies." (more)

"I nominate my mother, Dr. Jacqueline R. Hott, PhD, FAAN, as the greatest Jewish mother ever ... She is still going strong at nearly 87, working six days a week as a therapist with a specialty in couples and sex therapy. She is beautiful and funny and whip smart and the most generous person I know." (more)

Who inspires you?

Click here to submit a story today.