15 Easy and Sustainable Swaps You Can Make Today

Overhauling your entire life to be more eco-friendly and conscious can be a really overwhelming task. When you’ve lived one way your whole life and are now trying to make a change, you may be thinking, “Where do I even start?” At times like these, when it’s hard to know what to do, it seems easier to just do nothing at all. That mindset ends here.

Lifestyle

How to Go Green with Yehudit Refson of Neve Yerushalayim

Some people are born with a passion deeply embedded in them. They know from when they’re children what they’re drawn to and what they want to do with their lives in some capacity. For Yehudit Refson, that pull was — and still is — nature.

Editor's Letters

Tammuz 5781: Taking Care of the World Around Us

They say the only thing we have when we leave this world is the mitzvot we did while were in it. It’s not the clothes in our closets or the money in our bank accounts. We all have limited time on this earth and it’s a constant balance figuring out exactly where we should put our efforts and live. To counter that feeling, I’ve been trying to just look at the small moments, the granular breakdown of life that feels so much more approachable and manageable in the day-to-day.

Wellness

“How I Found Light in The Darkest Year Yet”

Light is many things. It is bright. It can be extinguished or lit. It lets us take in visuals that are hidden around us. It helps us see and can bring us strength within ourselves. This past year has been a challenging year for the entire world — one compared to darkness — when we’ve had to work extra hard to bring in light. As a kindergarten teacher, I experienced tremendous anxiety.

Fashion

Turning Pain Into Activism and Style with Elisheva Rishon

Growing up as a Black woman in a primarily white, Orthodox Jewish community wasn’t always easy for Elisheva Rishon. Despite Judaism being a religion that prides itself on acceptance, negativity and discrimination can unfortunately exist beneath and on the surface — even among the attitudes of the most upstanding Jews. While the Torah is perfect, humans are the ones who carry it out, and often, we falter.

Wellness

7 Ways to Feel More Confident Right Now

A healthy confidence level can only lead to greater things in the world. True humility doesn’t come from feeling like nothing. It comes from knowing all your strengths and doing your part to bring them out into the world yet being humble in understanding that they come from your Creator.

Power Women

How Amanda Thum Infused Her Life with Confidence and Now Helps Others Find Their Own

Confidence is a muscle — one that ideally grows over time. It’s often a daily challenge and lifelong process. There are so many reasons one might struggle with confidence. Even those who grew up in idyllic homes may still struggle based on societal influences or difficulties with friendships. That’s what Amanda Thum, 28, founder of The Confidence Class, is working hard to reverse.

Food

Meat and Dairy Meal Ideas for Your Shavuot Table

For weeks now, we’ve been counting up the days during the period called the Omer, which takes place between Pesach and Shavuot. Every day we get just a little bit closer to commemorating one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar. Soon—in less than a wee—we’ll, G-d-willing, be celebrating the holiday of Shavuot, when we received the Torah at Mount Sinai. Each year, we reaffirm our commitment to the Torah and the laws Hashem gave us on that day (or two days if you live outside of Israel). Whether you indulge in meat or dairy on Shavuot, these recipes will ensure that your table is festive and your food delicious.

Power Women

Nourish Your Soul From the Outside In: Meet Ora, of Ora’s Amazing Herbal

Taking care of our bodies is a spiritual thing. It’s a mitzvah to feed our bodies healthful, nourishing food, move them and nurture the vessel our soul lives in every single day. Ora Assayag, 47, of Ora’s Amazing Herbal feels this passion deep in her core and has built an entire company of salves, skincare products and oils for so many conditions that heal and soothe our bodies from the outside in.

Editor's Letters

Reflecting on the Meron Tragedy: Creating Purpose Through the Pain

I had been looking forward to Thursday night all week. Our local Moscow shul was having a big Lag B’Omer party. There was a festive meal complete with a giant wok of plov (a Russian rice and meat dish), a face painter for the kids and a bonfire, of course. Due to COVID-19, this was my son, Ezra’s, first Lag B’Omer. He’s 15 months old and as the men danced and sang, I stood there watching, holding him in my arms, the firelight dancing all around his face. He would not stop clapping.