by Bradley Chalupski Every Jewish household is different. The anchor of my Jewish household as a child was the love of my Jewish mother to my Catholic father (a love for which I am forever grateful). It’s not surprising then that Judaism, religiously or communally, did not play a large role in my life growing up. Read More »

1. A Hanukkah Hip-Hop Graphic Novel 2. Rabbi, can you teach me how to dougie? Read More »

Smith Magazine has teamed up with Reboot (the people who brought you the National Day of Unplugging and Sukkah City ) to bring you “Six Words on Jewish life.” Submit your six-word memoir (www.smithmag.net/jewish ) by January 4th for a shot at being included in the book and a guarantee at being on the website. Read More »

By Sarah Kornhauser and Leilani Love Hanukkah is about a light that was supposed to last only one day, that lasted one more day, and then one day more, and so on for eight days. Miracle or not, there was definitely a collective effort for conservation. Out of that effort, we as a Jewish people were able to keep moving forward. Read More »

Hanukkah begins in mere days! To kick off the season, here are some of the tidbits on the holiday from this week: 1. This week’s cry heard round the world: Matisyahu shaves his beard! Check out Heeb Magazine for the follow up video .   2. The Editor of Tikkun Magazine suggests on HuffPo that we Occupy Hanukkah and Christmas .   3. Read More »

by Joshua Einstein My name is Joshua Einstein and I have been a MH (Moishe House) Hoboken resident for almost 5 years. It has been an incredible adventure in friendship, programming, and community building. When I first applied I was post collegiate and as an only child I really needed to get out of my parents’ house. Read More »

By Erica Brooke Fajge If you’re a young, single, Jewish female, have I got the book for you: Secrets of Shiksa Appeal: Eight Steps to Attract Your Shul-Mate by Avi Roseman, a.k.a. Abby Robinson, a New York native/Washington D.C. resident/IT consultant/singles columnist/yenta who makes this book a pleasure to read. Read More »

This week… 1. The New York Times reports on a new Jewish edition of the New Testament , edited by a Brandeis University Professor. 2. Tablet presents comics by Jewish women about comics by Jewish women .  Was that tongue twister enough for you? 3. Read More »

by Zahara Schara A rose by any other name is still as sweet… yeah I don’t buy it.   For as long as I can remember I never liked my name, I blame it on the fact I was not named for almost a week, believe it or not I was difficult from the beginning I nearly killed both my mother and myself. Read More »

It’s almost Thanksgiving!  Here at Alef we are thankful for our readers, our writers, and the fabulous reporters and journalists who bring you the links that we collect and share every Friday. 1. If you haven’t already heard about the Hazon Israel (bike) Ride , then this is your chance to learn more. Read More »

By Ruvym Gilman This post originally appeared on Alef on 11-30-2009. “Dai,” she said, giving me that exasperated look I had such a knack for eliciting. But I kept at it, being playful while she tried, unsuccessfully, to wash the dishes. Read More »

1. From NY Magazine – what do a bunch of old Jews know about living forever? 2. In Moment Magazine reputable Artists, Scientists, and Scholars discuss the source of Jewish Creativity . 3. They’re alive!  The Dead Sea Scrolls are on display in Times Square – Jewish Ideas Daily reviews the exhibit . 4. Read More »

by Patrick Aleph PunkTorah , the non-profit Jewish multimedia company and recent winner of the Jewish New Media Innovation Fund will soon publish the OneShul Torah Commentary: an English translation of the five books of Moses with commentaries written by unaffiliated Jews online. Read More »

By Meredith Druss This post originally appeared on Alef on 1-5-2011. It’s a good time to be a Jewish girl. Read More »

In this week’s pita… 1. The Forward 50 is a list of 50 Jews (in every field from politics to baseball) who have made an impact on the world this year. Watch the video below for the top five. 2011 Forward 50 from Jewish Daily Forward on Vimeo .   2. Jonathan Rosen, of Nextbook , reviews a new history of Jerusalem .   3. Read More »

by Bradley Chalupski My name is Bradley Chalupski and I race Skeleton sleds for Israel. Skeleton, for those of you who don’t know, is this: Yes, I go head-first down an ice chute for Israel (and yes, to answer your next question, I do have a Jewish mother who does in fact tolerate this!). Read More »

by Emily Comisar This year I went to Yom Kippur services for the first time since I was in college. The experience overall was surprisingly moving, but there was one moment in particular that has given me much to think about in terms of the way that I relate to my partner. Read More »

The High Holidays are behind us and we’re ready for a fresh start in the new year!  Send us any links you think we should add: 1. Shouting out to Moishe House Rocks! – a recipient of a Jewish New Media Innovation Grant.  Check out their video on the Havdallah service for the end of Shabbat: 2. The discussion and debate over Jewish I.Q. Read More »

By Ari Averbach This post originally appeared on 10-29-2010 The day after Vanessa and I met at a bar (ugh, I know, right?) I got an email from JDate – “We Found You a New Match!” and it was her. No joke. Now, I would take this as a sign, except that JDate sends out this same email every day. Read More »

by Alef Staff Moishe House , G-DCAST , and Birthright Israel NEXT have teamed up to bring Jewish life how-to’s to the web. In honor of Sukkot, here’s one on how to build a Sukkah.  Find more videos on MoisheHouseRocks.com . Read More »