On T'sha b'Av, visions of a new world begin with grief in the current one: there is no revelation without the door of lamentation. As we approach T'sha b'Av, the day of Jewish communal mourning, I find myself struggling to let myself
Time as a different answer for a Jewish way-of-being beyond colonialism. This year I've been learning how to make Shabbat far away from other people. In the reaches of a little town closer to the English countryside than to London itself, my Shabboses are usually sparse,
Introducing myself as the new co-host of Judaism Unbound, just in time for Passover. Content note: discussions of fascism, transphobia, non-explicit mentions of sexual violence. I'm excited to announce a big change in my occupational life: as of this month, I've officially begun my
On knowing your finances, mishloach manot & matanot levyonim, and interpreting an old story. Growing up on the north side of Chicago, on a block of Lubavitcher and holocaust survivor neighbors, I remember the mountains of gift bags that would accumulate on our doorstep on Purim—little bottles of kedem
The table is where revolution begins and refuels, well-fed. I'm sick again, which my brother Gavi reminds me is the body's way of asking for attention and care. It's a normal head cold, better with a few days rest. These days I'
On whiteness, tear gas, and the need for non-linear history. So many white people in this political moment seem absolutely blindsided by the magnitude of the state's brutality, especially ICE's invasion of the Twin Cities. I am watching, real time, as white peers and adults
Who knows Torah—and how do you know you know? Who gets to claim they know it? What is Judaism if not an interpretive tradition which reinvents itself through the mouths of those who feel the Torah is not over there, not far away, not even in heaven—but right
On storytelling, witnessing, and giving testimony through image and word. I'm a comix artist whose work is primarily autobiographical. I've been writing and drawing about myself since I was very young. Most young cartoonists have memories of being at school and having another kid (or kids)
This newsletter is a week delayed; I've been off the map for two reasons. The first, I've been at an artist residency at Sadeh Farm, the UK's only Jewish land project. The second: I was beleaguered with new, terrifying, and debilitating stomach pain at
On the American Calendar, today is Black Friday. Yesterday, Thanksgiving. Wouldn't it be nice to have communal holidays that weren't about colonizing people and buying things? How about subscribing to The Trans Calendar instead? On opposite sides of the year lie our two Trans holidays: one
Content note: brief mentions of suicide, genocide, violence. Tragedy is a story, a type of story. It is a narrative structured through fatalism and defined by its heartbreak. The story tells us there's no way out, no possibility for transformation. A tragedy is a story that we know
Content note: discussions of sexuality, as well as mentions of sexual and political violence. Last week I had the pleasure of attending Porn Film Festival Berlin, a five day film festival at arthouse cinemas across Berlin. I attended this festival to see the premiere of "Mr. Bound & Gagged&