I was not born with internalized anti-antisemitism. I was not always so certain that anything short of being murdered by a Nazi constituted antisemitism. I did not always make excuses and apologies and say that my fellow Ashkenazim complaining about antisemitism were a bunch of whiny white people pretending to still be oppressed. What happened? ( Read more... )

Framing resolutions or goals as things I wanted to do this pst year was really helpful to me. For one, it let me look at what experiences I wanted to have. Secondly, it let me test out things without feeling beholden to them. There were things I didn't try this past year that were on my list but I didn't feel any shame around it. So now this year, ( Read more... )

1. Went to Japan: This year probably the biggest thing that happened was our Japan trip with a group of 5 amazing people. The trip itself had its stress of planning, but overall it all came together really well. We got to share the place we lived for 3 years with our friends, spend time in places we didn't always spend a lot of time in, and have ( Read more... )

While 2016 has been a year that has been personally challenging in addition to the state of the world challenging, I wanted to reflect on how I did on my different goals from this post-Trying new modes of fitness: YES!!! I tried Air, Air Yoga, and Bikram yoga this year. I also changed my weight routine up and now use the weight room. I have found ( Read more... )

There are many things I like about the LARP that I am joining. I love the community I'm playing in. I love the character I've created and how she's linked with other characters. I love the grey cloak I made and going fabric shopping with my best friend. And at the same time, I also recognize that there's a part of me with a lot of apprehension ( Read more... )

I don't have a clear timeline on how my Grandfather's parents ended up in America. I know some of it but it's a hard history to trace. My grandfather's side is made up of Russian/Ukranian Jews. The entire Megibow family (that we know of) relocated to America to avoid pogroms and the Tsar's army. A cool thing about this is that if you see someone ( Read more... )

"The Psalmist said that in his affliction, he learned the law of G-d. And in truth, grief is a great teacher, when it sends us back to serve and bless the living. We learn how to counsel and comfort those who, like ourselves, are bowed with sorrow. We learn when to keep silent in their presence, and when a word will assure them of our love and ( Read more... )

The theme at last night's meeting was trust, and I spoke about learning to trust myself. Well apparently I'm getting a crash course in that ( Read more... )

I had originally wanted to write this article to complain about how hard it is to navigate religous dietary restrictions with an eating disorder. I wanted to vent my frustration and hope that someone in a comment would give me a rule to follow that would absolve me of having to deal with it. However, while pursuing a friend’s facebook page, I felt ( Read more... )

We all come to the gaming table with a variety of experiences. We don't leave our identities, and the privileges (or lack there of) associated with them, outside our gaming venue. And as we explore new worlds, new groups, or new gaming experiences, it can give us a chance to look at how we show up at the table. The two identities I think a lot ( Read more... )