Writings from KH Members

Rewriting the Bible from a Feminist Perspective: Two Sample Writings from KH Members

Our intrepid education coordinator Ellen Honig created an opportunity for the women of KH to imagine
the Bible from a woman’s perspective. It was an intriguing and fun course. Here are two samples of our
work.

Click Here For Linda Milberg’s “What Really Happened to Moses on the Mount”

Click Here For Ellen Honig’s “Genesis”

Marcel Infeld Kaplan’s Judaism

I was asked to write for the KH website on a topic of interest to members. I chose Rabbi
Mordecai Kaplan’s approach to Judaism.

Click Here to Read Marcel’s Discussion of Kaplan

Commentary on Two Works by Ellen Frankel

For a collective commentary on the siddur, My People’s Prayerbook, I was asked to provide comments
especially pertinent to women’s  experience.

Click here for Ellen’s commentary on one of the most beloved hymns
in the Friday evening service, L’cha Dodi.

During a scholar-in-residence engagement in Buffalo, I presented a program called “The Evil Eye and
Other Jewish Superstitions.” After I did my presentation, I had an encounter with a local therapist who
told me this story, with tears in his eyes.

Click here for Ellen’s presentation on “The Evil Eye and Other Jewish Superstitions”

Following are two works by Herb Levine

Click here for Poems for the Festival

I wrote a new siddur, because I could no longer pray out of the old one. As part of the Siddur, I wrote
one poem for each Jewish holiday to set the tone for the special day. I wrote the poem for Sukkot to get
at the rich experience of the holiday, having committed myself over many years to building and
celebrating in a Sukkah. The poem evoking Passover came to me in a flash as part of a one-hour writing
workshop where the prompt was to write about an object with significance to one’s Jewish identity; it’s
dedicated to my daughter-in-law. I wrote the Shavuot poem because I think it’s important that there’s a
way into the holiday that doesn’t have to do with being commanded, but simply has to do with how we
live every day.

Click here for Herb’s story about “Playing Monopoly with Melvin'”

For many years, I told the story of “Playing Monopoly with Melvin” as an oral tale, because it has such a
great punch line. I came to write it down when Rabbi Goldie Milgram put out a call for the book she was
co-editing, “Mitzvah Stories.”

D’var Torah by Richard Belle

I had great fun putting it together.

Click here to read Richard Belle’s D’Var Torah 8/11/23