“They’re having auditions for a community orchestra. It’s a women’s orchestra. They don’t play on Shabbat,” my teacher informed me. It sounded too good to be true. I had trained for years as a clarinetist, earning my degree in clarinet performance. I loved music, I lived and breathed it, playing classical, jazz, learning to compose, […]
Canada’s First Female Hasidic Politician May Be Bound for Parliament Mindy Pollak, 29, is negotiating unchartered territory for someone of her background. To her knowledge, no other Hasidic woman outside Israel has ever entered the political arena as she has. Re-elected last November for her second term as a councilor in the Montreal borough of […]
Competitive gymnastics used to be off-limits for most Orthodox Jewish girls above the age of bat mitzvah. Regulation leotards, mixed with male judges and male spectators would compromise the modesty standards for many of these young women. In addition, most competitions are held on Shabbos. All of this has changed now that there is an […]
“Avital has a lot of faith. She always says, ‘Even if we go down, Hashem will give me something to go for.’ So it makes her very optimistic because she believes.” With thanks to Kamatech.
When most people think of an Orthodox Jewish woman they conjure up a lady in a skirt, armed with a great challah recipe. But not all Orthodox women are alike. Ziesel Miriam Rahimi wore fatigues (with a skirt!) and was armed with a rifle. As a young ba’alas teshuva Rahimi decided to join the IDF. […]
“Orthodox Jewish nerd” may have been an insult in the past, but as “nerd” has become cool and “geek” has become chic, there is now a growing community of observant Jews who are proudly embracing this trend. How many Orthodox Jews reside in the world of fandom? No one knows exactly, but the Facebook group “Orthodox […]
