By Clare Kinberg On August 4, when Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary for retiring Senator Gary Peters’ seat, Jews in Michigan were presented with unfamiliar and possibly momentous choices. In November, El-Sayed will face off against Republican Mike Rogers, who himself was narrowly defeated by U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin in…
By Esther J. Terry A version of this article was delivered as a d’var Torah at the Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan on November 8, 2025/17 Cheshvan 5786. Seven years ago, the 18th of Cheshvan fell on October 27 in the Gregorian calendar. The parashah that morning was Vayeira, which includes both the birth of Yitzchak…
By Rabbi Sara Adler, Staff Chaplain, University of Michigan Hospitals Why do Jews begin the new year in the fading light of summer and as leaves fall from the trees, exposing their bare branches to the cold? During Sukkot, we can almost taste and smell the earth preparing for its deep slumber. Wooded trails are…
Editor’s note: When I read Ann Arbor native and University of Michigan alum Jonah Shifrin’s widely shared and engaging Facebook post about his experience with the encampment, I wrote to him to ask if I could publish it in the WJN. I think he speaks for a lot of people. I also wanted to hear…
By Zackariah Farah, Member of Ann Arbor for Public Power In the summer of 2021, Southeastern Michigan was slammed with two major rainstorms that upturned the lives of countless residents. Apocalyptic images circulated of cars stranded on I-94 and houses completely inundated. And all too predictably, in the chaos over 800,000 Michiganders lost power. In…
by Lauren Zinn
I think I also speak for others when I say I have felt silenced for decades by members of our community for questioning Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and for educating others about it. I could list many examples, but instead I want to lift up those Jews who experience the agony of our divided tribal soul brought on by the contradiction between the Torah’s teachings and Israelis’ actions in the name of Judaism. Borrowing from Rabbi Burt Jacobson, an apt name for those of us who recognize our role in harming and our responsibility in helping Palestinians is “Spiritual Activist.”