Ruthie Hollander, at The Blogs

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Jun 19, 2024, 6:47 AM

7 ways Gen-Z will have to grapple with Zionism – if they care at all

Pro-Israel demonstrators sing during a protest at Columbia University, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

How can American Jewry combat the anti-Israel movement without educating toward an intellectually honest, democratic Zionism?

May 28, 2024, 12:15 AM

An aftermath of grief in the Book of Ruth

Ruth and Naomi, from Sefira Lightstone's 'Ruth,' part of the Chochmat Nashim project, 'SEEN.'

Orpah, Ruth, and Naomi each must grapple with her own sorrow and pain, and their experiences are telling for those of us who read their tale

Apr 12, 2024, 10:56 AM

The Moral High Ground

Moderate cultural dialogue is drowning, and we should be alarmed. A recent JTA article, 7 Anti-Zionist Jewish artists pull out of California Jewish museum’s exhibit to protest Israel, is an example of how waterlogged moderate dialogue has become in...

Jan 26, 2024, 7:28 AM

The New New Normal

Despair might be the easiest response right now. For many of our children, “normal” has lost all of its meaning. In less than five years, they have experienced a pandemic and all of its ill effects — increased rates of...

Oct 12, 2023, 1:10 AM

A Jew in the Diaspora

I apologize often. My arsenal is made up of sorrys, nuance, empathy. Of "all children deserve to feel safe.” Of "there are people who commit atrocities on both sides." And for the first time, I've truly understood God’s punishment of Shaul...

Aug 31, 2023, 11:51 PM

Where We Let God In

A child and parent face one another. Child made small by boughs of palm, willow, myrtle, several feet long; parent kneeling and directing the branches, hand wrapped around a smaller one wrapped around a fragrant pebbled fruit. Waving: north,...

Aug 17, 2023, 11:08 PM

The Scream & The Silence: Youth Engagement during the High Holidays

This time of year is marked by a frenetic gravity. Repetitive, a building crescendo of shofar blasts, voices caught on the words of selichot, fists pounding chests. A pulse intense and familiar, a High Holy Day rhythm. What can get...

Apr 5, 2023, 5:58 PM

Equitability & The Four Children

I think a lot about the four children every year. As someone who works in Jewish education, this text is extremely compelling to me. First we have the contrasts between the questions and answers given to the wise and the...

Mar 16, 2023, 4:29 AM

Vayakhel-Pekudei: Blueprints for Holy Work

What does it look like to commit to a project and see it through to completion? How can we create, lead, and complete in an ethical manner? Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudei lays out a blueprint for the ways we must do our...

Jan 6, 2023, 6:21 AM

When the Pieces Fit

Looking back to the teenage years, it’s easy to remember the feelings of confusion and flux. Those years — which, from a developmental perspective, are critical to the formation of healthy identity — can be difficult. My adolescent years were characterized...

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About Me

Ruthie creates innovative Jewish programming and supports the development of young Jewish leaders. She believes that storytelling and storysharing is the most powerful uniting force on this planet, and strives to operate spaces that embrace the diversity of the human experience. Currently, Ruthie lives on the Upper East Side with her husband Max (a semicha student at RIETS), a fluffy high-strung dog, and their very adventurous toddler.