When my sister came to visit a few weeks ago, I had one of those beautiful AVODAH moments, where different worlds came together in a quietly harmonious kind of way. Over the past few years Sophie has become increasingly more observant of Jewish traditions. She adheres to strict standards of Kashrut and is shomer shabbas [...]
Read full post...On the first night of Pesach, I, along with my wonderful housemates, welcomed around 40 guests into our home for the first seder. The magnitude of the event was somewhat accidental. We all just kept thinking of more people who might be interested in participating in this tradition. As a result, what we thought [...]
Read full post...I recently received an email from a friend teaching English in China. The subject line was “Bad Day,” and my friend wrote about all the difficulties of teaching in a tightly structured, test-driven school – how the intensity and pressure drove one of her students to take his own life. “I miss the USA with [...]
Read full post...Passover is coming! This is the one Jewish holiday I get truly giddy about. And I am especially excited to experience it with my new family this year, as sadly I will not make it home in time for the two seders. Pesach is so steeped in tradition for me, so I am curious how [...]
Read full post...Recently, two AVODAH New Orleans Corps members were interviewed for Repair The World’s blog. Repair the World is a website that features service opportunities for Jews of all ages and backgrounds.
The following is excerpted from Lisa Koenig’s interview with Jordan Aiken, who works at the New Orleans Women’s Shelter, and Rachie Lewis, working at the [...]
New Orleans as a city seems to be healing. Potholes in our streets are slowly being filled, blighted houses slated for demolition are disappearing, and schools are re-opening. We are winning lawsuits that protect our citizens’ rights while recovery agencies are rehabilitating parks and playgrounds overrun by drugs. And yet the people of New Orleans [...]
Read full post...Rachie Lewis’ placement, the Orleans Public Defenders office, was featured on WWL TV because of their decision to refuse new cases over the legal caseload limit.
For more on OPD, check out this article from The Gambit.
Read full post...Outside of New Orleans, Mardis Gras is perceived by most as a time of debauchery, gluttony and a poisonous materialism. This image certainly reflects what I expected this past month to be prior to arriving here. Yet recent experience has convinced me that this is a rather inaccurate depiction of a very complex tradition. The aforementioned hedonism exists [...]
Read full post...It’s the end of February in New Orleans, and the magnolia trees are blooming. As I bike along the city’s potholed streets, the purple flowers are my unlikely guarantors that the wet chill of New Orleans winter is finally over.
Turning onto St. Charles Avenue, a different bloom catches my eye; vibrant multicolored beads droop from [...]
Although the city of New Orleans has been super busy with the Super Bowl, elections, Mardi Gras, work, visitors, and a variety of other fun events, I have been given the additional opportunity of planning for a group of 16 Northeastern Hillel students to come down for an alternative Spring Break trip February 28th-March 7th. [...]
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