by Hannah Greenberg, Class of 2029 Most of us know what it feels like to be forgotten. A friend forgets to call back. A birthday goes unnoticed. You speak in a meeting and no one seems to hear. These tiny fractures accumulate and leave us wondering whether our presence truly matters. Judaism does not shy away from this experience. In fact, the Talmud argues that, at the edge of the Red Sea, an entire nation wondered whether they, too, had slipped through the cracks of history

by Anna Veronese, Class of 2028 Recently I re-watched the 2010 film The King's Speech , in which King George VI struggles with a debilitating stutter as he prepares to lead his nation through World War II. Thousands of years earlier, the Torah presents a strikingly similar story: Moses, chosen to lead the Israelites out of slavery, faces Pharaoh with a speech difficulty and crippling self-doubt. Three verses in Shemot describe Moses's speech difficulty. The first one is found

by Yael Turitz Kaplan, Class of 2027 The gemara in Sota 11b tells us: “In the merit of righteous women in that generation, the Jews were saved from Egypt.” And yet, when we begin the epic story of the exodus in Parshat Shemot with a list of names, women are absent from the list. What women is the gemara talking about? On what merit did they help bring the Jews out of slavery? In Masechet Sota, the gemara goes on to tell us about the women of Bnei Yisrael who persisted in havi

by Rabbanit Dalia Davis, Class of 2022 In fourth grade we learned Parshat Vayechi. My teacher had us memorize all of the blessings that Yaakov bestowed upon his children. At the time, I knew all of them by heart (as well as all the accompanying hand movements), but I didn’t notice any absences. Today, I no longer remember all of the words, but I do see one glaring omission: Where is Dinah? Before Yaakov dies, he summons his children: “And Jacob called his children/sons and sa