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Philadelphia cartoonist Signe Wilkenson rarely adds words to accompany her poignant artistry.  But on March 17, 2019, when the above image was published in The Inquirer , she added her voice: “After the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting last fall, I drew the initial version of this cartoon but for timing reasons it never ran. I’m sorry but not shocked for the opportunity to redraw it now after the unGodly carnage at the mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. There aren’t enough armed guards to protect every church, synagogue, mosque, ashram and temple around the world. It might be time for God’s children to figure out a way to get along.” And then tragically, on Easter Sunday, another unthinkable atrocity occurred, targeting innocent people in churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. I felt the tremors of this attack – 9000 miles away, in the safety of my home – on the second day of Passover. Each year since I was a child, the recounting of the Passover story has been a source of ...

On June 20 th , 2013 Krista Tippett spoke with Joy Ladin, Gottesman Professor of English at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University in New York, an author of seven collections of poetry, and currently writing I Am What I Will Be: Reading God and the Torah from a Transgender Perspective . Six years ago, Joy transitioned from male to female identity. She became the first openly transgender professor at an Orthodox Jewish institution. In her conversation with Krista, Joy shared that throughout her life her body didn’t match her soul. As she spoke, I couldn’t help but be enlightened by how her story helps all of us reflect on how gender shapes the ongoing journey of being “at home” in ourselves. I found it particularly poignant what Joy shared about the convergence of her Jewish identity with that of her gender identity and expression. For example, she connected gender identity with the Torah—specifically that God is portrayed as a genderless character [though male pronouns are ...

This spring break, I had the privilege of volunteering my time for a week with Interfaith Philadelphia as a part of my alternative break program. The week was full of different trips and experiencing different faiths and traditions. I was exposed to faiths I did not even know existed before the week, and others I knew little or next to nothing about. The week also included experiencing the trip with other students from a different college. My faith tradition is Catholic, my Theology degree is from a Catholic university, and the foundation of that degree is a Christian-based understanding. Therefore, to be introduced to faiths that did not have Christ as a prominent figure was amazing! You may tell yourself that you will “get around to exploring other faiths”, and it just never happens because life tends to get in the way. So this week was a great way to unplug from my world, experience someone else’s, and see the world in an entirely different light. It also allowed me to g...