Teen Scene

By Talmidah Y Over the course of my childhood, I’ve wanted to change my name a few times. I remember the first one I chose at age seven. I was...

By Reuben Gampel I watched as my friends choked up at Belzec, the Nazi death camp, where six hundred thousand Jews were murdered. I saw tears fall from their eyes...

By Talmidah Y I feel like my life these days is just checking off a bucket list of all of the dangerous things that every seminary girl accidentally does during...

By Reuben M. Gampel When I was twelve years old, I started fasting for the entire day on Yom Kippur. I handled the fast well until about 3 p.m., when...

Culture. I don’t think I understood that word until I got to seminary. Long, black three-tiered skirts. Aroma coffees. Pastel spiral notebooks. All of the things that are part...

By Reuben M. Gampel One of my concerns prior to leaving for my gap year was where I would stay during the chagim or on an “off Shabbat,” when the...

By Talmidah X I vividly remember my first pre-seminary freak-out. August 2013. Sleepaway camp trial week. Eight years old. I was sticking the last prepackaged outfit into my BunkJunk duffel bag...

By MB She did that! He said this! You are guilty of that! Sounds familiar? Well, we all have our side of the story of what happened. A lot of times we...

By MB The topic we’re all done with. The one that we can’t stand hearing. Corona. My father is in the hospital battling it. My mother just got over with...

She listens to all my experiences, fears, and exciting news. She cried with me, tells me to be strong, and makes sure I’m okay. She laughs with me when things get...