Category Archives: Alpha Epsilon Pi

This Above All: To Thine Own Self Be True

What if Pippi Longstocking Went Blonde?(Source: http://www.getkooky.com.au/pippy-blonde-plaits-hair-wig-costumes-halloween-female)

What if Pippi Longstocking Went Blonde?
(Source: http://www.getkooky.com.au/pippy-blonde-plaits-hair-wig-costumes-halloween-female)

Forget a Karaite Tipping Point, today I wonder whether Karaite Judaism will even survive another generation.

A rabbi affiliated with the Aish HaTorah movement once helped crystallize my thoughts on Jewish identity and continuity. He was speaking at a gathering of undergraduate brothers from Alpha Epsilon Pi, where I was the Director of Jewish Programming. The rabbi asked us how we would respond if one of our future daughters were to be teased for having red hair. Even though the attendees were (mostly) between 18-22 years old, we intuitively knew what to do. We’d tell her how her red hair made her unique. We’d find strong, red-headed role models. We’d make sure she knew that her red hair was beautiful. As the rabbi explained, “The answer is not to dye her hair.”

Continue reading

23 Comments

Filed under Aish HaTorah, Alpha Epsilon Pi, JFNA General Assembly, Karaite Rabbanite Relations, New Moon, Secular Karaism, What is Karaite Judaism