Student Affairs
During our conversations over Zoom, some of the fellows in my cohort expressed interest in the Islamic pilgrimage, Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam. Two years ago, I had the privilege of going on Umrah, the lesser pilgrimage. I decided to share my reflections on that enlightening journey, though to do it justice …
Tomorrow is the United States Presidential election. I am sure you already knew that, though. It’s hard to miss with the constant barrage of advertisements, the slew of social media posts, and lots of yard signage. I know for me personally, I feel a great sense of anxiety regarding tomorrow’s election results. Regardless of what …
Halloween is just around the corner, and I cannot tell you how excited I am. As a horror movie fan, a former special effects makeup artist, and someone who loves demanding free candy from strangers, this holiday has always been one of my favorite times of the year. Yet, it’s a pretty Un-Jewish holiday. Its …
We live in a time and world full of natural disasters, social/political unrest, and widespread suffering from a host of ailments. If we let it, that weight and chaos can cloud and darken what hope we may have left for the future. Although the outlook may seem bleak, I am deeply convinced that things will …
The United States now more than ever is suffering from political polarization. The upcoming presidential election mixed with social and modern media has led to turmoil amongst families and friends. And like everything else in life, politics involves religion. I recognize that the United States functions with a separation of church and state. Yet I …
For the longest time my favorite President was, and to some degree still is, Thomas Jefferson. My affection was not the result of his inventing the swivel chair, introducing the United States to ice cream, or constantly searching for a then extinct Mastodon. Instead, it was tethered to his position on Church and State. His …
Last fall, I started teaching Hebrew school at a synagogue off campus. Repeatedly throughout the course of that whole first year of teaching, I found myself having to step back and reevaluate key things about my religion. In December, my kids traipsed into the synagogue building after school dragging slush in on oversized snow boots …
Growing up in Middleton, WI I was always in both the ethnic and religious minority. My peers and friends were all Christians practicing to various degrees, but nevertheless were still identifying themselves as Christian. I, on the other hand was a Sunni Muslim which made me feel as if I didn’t fit in with the …
I don’t like saying I’m an atheist to people who aren’t. It feels like I’m saying they’re wrong about the world in the most profound and consequential way possible. It feels like I’m implicating myself in a whole stream of atheism—dubbed New Atheism—that prizes confrontation, polemics, and bigotry over the universal respect for humanity its …
As a child, I was obsessed with the news. When I would come home after school, I’d sit in front of the television and flip through the channels so that I could watch the news programming at 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, and 6:00pm. If on the rare occasion my parents let me stay up late on …