by Webmaster | Sep 29, 2020 | Identity
Can we forgive those who murder? Those who commit violent crimes? Destroy our families? Just before Yom Kippur 5781, on Friday, September 24th, I sat down with Victoria Washington, a criminal defense attorney and victims’ rights advocate, to discuss these very...
by Webmaster | Sep 29, 2020 | Identity
As a seventh grader in Buenos Aires, an event occurred that had a profound impact on me: The 1992 terrorist attack on the Israeli embassy, which left 29 dead and more than 200 injured. I vividly remember the raw pain we Argentinian Jews experienced that day, as well...
by Webmaster | Sep 22, 2020 | Holidays, Identity
The following is the text of a drash that Davis delivered on Erev Rosh Hashanah during a virtual service at Brandeis Hillel. After all that we’ve been through as individuals, as a nation, and as Jewish people, I think it’s about time for some new beginnings. I don’t...
by Webmaster | Sep 16, 2020 | Holidays, Identity
Growing up in Southern China, I wasn’t raised Jewish at all. The first time I heard of Rosh Hashanah was in college, at Berkeley Hillel. Working to connect with my Jewish heritage as an adult, the overwhelming number of holidays on the Jewish calendar was a hurdle....
by Webmaster | Sep 15, 2020 | Holidays, Identity, Jewish Ritual
Rosh Hashanah is one of my favorite holidays. It’s a time when we can block out all outside forces, be introspective and completely and brutally honest with ourselves, strip ourselves of all vanity and self-consciousness. Rosh Hashanah is about second (and third and...
by Webmaster | Sep 11, 2020 | Identity, Jewish Ritual
For most of my life, I’ve been surrounded by Jewish people. I was born in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, in Central Africa, and moved to France at age 10. My best friend growing up in France, who remains my best friend to this day, is Jewish. Later, I was in a...
