Rising Voices Blog Posts

Rising Voices

Learn more about the Rising Voices Fellowship, JWA's thought-leadership program for young Jewish women and non-binary teens.
Illustration for "With All Your Heart" Weekly Prayer Book: Image drawn with crayon of woman with red hair, bordered by color blocking in blue and maroon

A Young Feminist's Siddur

Elle Rosenfeld

When I stared down at my siddur for the first time, the one I would come to memorize, I ran my pudgy fingers over the fiery red woman featured on its glossy cover.

Topics: Feminism, Prayer
Photo of Maddie Nowack with Camp Havaya Friends Over Background with Pomegranate Pattern

Marking My Growth as a Feminist, Asian, and Jewish Woman with My Camp Shirts

Maddie Nowack

My camp shirts represent a timeline of my growth into a proud, strong Chinese and Jewish woman.

Collage of Photos from Lucy Waldorf's Internship at Adamah

Growing My Identity and My Feminism Through Jewish Farming

Lucy Waldorf

The new movement of Jewish agricultural and regenerative farming has been at the center of my identity development.

Photo Collage of Amelia Posner-Hess reading Torah at her Bat Mitzvah

Wrapped in the Tallit of Jewish Matriarchs

Amelia Posner-Hess

My prayer shawl, which is titled “The Garden of Eden,” was designed specifically for Women of the Wall.

Collage of Torah, Jade Chai Necklace, and Image of Amanda Xinhui Malnik

My Necklace is a Symbol of My Jewish-Chinese Feminist Identity

Amanda Xinhui Malnik

My jade chai necklace has become my most prized possession as a Jewish-Chinese feminist.

Collage of Zoom Youth Phone-Banking Call Screenshot and Shabbat Candles, Pomegranate Symbol

The Power of Jewish Community: From Synagogue Services to Zoom Phone-Banking

Maddie Feldman

To this day, I’m astounded by congregants’ enthusiasm as they hopped on weekly—and eventually daily—Zoom voter phone-banking sessions.

Photo of Mirushe Zylali in her handmade entari

Reinventing Fashion: What’s Old Is New Again

Mirushe "Mira" Zylali

Fashioning my own dress in a traditional Ottoman style helped me reclaim my multilayered roots.

Photo of Painted Over Star of David

Fighting Contemporary Antisemitism: From High School Textbooks to the Halls of the Capitol

Rose Clubok

Since discovering subtle antisemitism in my AP Government textbook, I haven’t read any of the assigned pages.

Collage with Three Women in Underwear; Background of Squares overlayed with underwear

Commercial Femininity: A Jewish Reckoning with Victoria's Secret's Legacy

Goldi Lieberperson

Growing up, Victoria's Secret models represented my default (and only) view of femininity and what it means to be an adult woman.

"Survivor" Collage by Judy Goldstein

"Outwit, Outplay, Outlast": Where are the Jewish Women on "Survivor"?

Judy Goldstein

Out of 20 Jewish Survivor contestants, only six have been women.

Topics: Television
Photo of Books Arranged in an S-Shaped Pattern Across a Blue Background

Confronting Harmful Themes in Young Adult Fiction

Lily Pazner

The themes in the YA fiction I read in middle school fueled my internalized misogyny.

Topics: Feminism, Fiction
Image of Large White Columns

Injustice in the Justice System: An Inside Look at the US District Court House

Ma'ayan Stutman-Shaw

As an intern at the US District Court House, I recognized a pattern, both in the cases that were brought forth and in the defendants’ backgrounds.

Six year old in pink dress seated next to elderly man dressed in a suit, sitting in pews at a synagogue

My Grandfather: Guide in My Jewish Feminist Journey

Simone Feinblum

It may seem strange to credit my 87-year-old grandfather for the development of my Jewish and feminist identities, but he helped me gain the confidence to speak my mind and advocate for myself.

Drawn Figure With Coins in Background

Teen Access to Wealth: On Summer Camp, Systems of Oppression, and Guilt

Jessie Schwalb

I’ve come to understand that my access to wealth and privilege can be leveraged to fight the systems that gave me them.

Image of a march at Amsterdam pride: figure holding up sign that reads: "Rainbow Capitalism = Queer Erasure"

The Dangers of Rainbow Capitalism

Liana Smolover-Bord

Is corporate support during June really "Pride," or is it just commodification of queer culture to bolster capitalism?

Young Women Praying at the Wall

Create a Space for Women to Pray in Our Synagogues

Rena Kosowsky

As a Modern Orthodox Jew, prayer spaces for women (or lack thereof) in synagogues I've attended have made me feel like an outsider in my own religious space.

Illustration of White Woman with Pink Hair in Front of City Buildings and Small Dots in the Background

Reexamining My Privilege in My City of Minneapolis

Noa Gross

Last summer, protesters in my city of Minneapolis were begging a system to change.

Figures in Conversation, with a Coffee Mug Patterned Background

Solidarity Through Conversations About Privilege

Ella Thompson

As a mixed-race Jewish woman, I’m no stranger to discussions about privilege.

Topics: Activism, Education
Image of Rowan Jimenez Singing, wearing hat and sunglasses.

The Privilege of Health and Healthcare: A Tribute to Rowan Jiménez

Dahlia Plotkin-Oren

Since Rowan's passing, I've learned about how lacking the United States is when it comes to healthcare accessibility.

Diesel La Torraca as Austin, Brianne Howey as Georgia, and Antonia Gentry as Ginny in Ginny & Georgia

"Ginny and Georgia": A Jewish Feminist Take

Rose Clubok

Ginny and Georgia raised significant questions for me as a Jewish feminist. Given its recent renewal for a second season, I think these questions are worth engaging.

White Puzzle Pieces on Blue Background

A 1,000-Piece Puzzle: My Jewish Ancestral History

Judy Goldstein

My ancestral history is like a 1,000-piece puzzle with half of the puzzle pieces missing.

Background Collage of School supplies with Picture of Dodie Altman-Sagan Studying at Gann Academy, 2019 in the forefront.

Underfunded and Unavailable: The Need for Accessible Education in the US

Dodie Altman-Sagan

In my family of four kids, my dyslexia made me the odd one out. I believed it was uncommon, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Background of Figures in Profile; Figure with Megaphone in Forefront

Lessons From Andrea Dworkin: On Creating the Feminist Movement We Need

Lily Pazner

Dworkin didn’t try to make feminism trendy or more appealing; instead, her contributions were biting, radical, and definitely controversial.

Bella Abzug at a New York Press Conference, 1972, by Diana Mara Henry

Battlin' Bella: Why We Need The ERA Today

Rena Kosowsky

I believe that Bella Abzug’s approach to the courts and legislature on issues of discrimination and inequality must be applied to activism today. 

Gilda Radner as Roseanne Roseannadanna Cropped

Laughing and Crying: The Compassionate Humor of Gilda Radner

Jessie Schwalb

Gilda Radner demonstrated that sharing one’s struggles publicly through humor can be a powerful act.

Topics: Comedy, Writing

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Rising Voices Blog Posts." (Viewed on November 21, 2024) <https://jwa.org/blog/risingvoices>.