Jewish Life
(Photo courtesy of Rodef Shalom Congregation)
June 24, 2026, 9:53 am
Belonging still matters: A reply
Human beings need a place to belong. Jews, specifically, need a home base.
By Rabbi Aaron Bisno
Diller Teen Fellows meet with ECDC students at the Squirrel Hill JCC. (Photo courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh)
January 14, 2026, 8:52 pm
Adolescence is a moment, but JCC teen engagement favors the long game
Like an open gym, after school challah bakes, pre-Shabbat activities and monthly movie nights serve as entry point — not only for relationships between teens, but for greater communal connection
By Adam Reinherz
Community members pray in Helsinki, Finland. (Photo by Adam Reinherz)
November 24, 2025, 3:14 pm
In Finland, small Jewish community seeks sizable engagement
Helsinki's Jewish community totals fewer than 900. Growth isn't simply a numbers game, leaders say. It's about creating a cooperative of co-owners connected 'as a community and to the wider Jewish world'
By Adam Reinherz
A pro-Israel event co-sponsored by Chabad on Campus and Hillel JUC in October 2023 (Photo by Adam Reinherz)
November 5, 2025, 9:38 am
Why I’m betting on Jewish grad students
Investing in Jewish grad students isn’t just a nice thing to do — it’s a strategic imperative.
By Meir S. Zimmerman
Classrooms Without Borders seminar participants exit the Rumbula forest in Riga, Latvia. (Photo by Adam Reinherz)
October 10, 2025, 2:48 pm
Beneath Latvia’s soil, stories speak
The quest to clarify and correct Riga's Jewish story began decades ago.
By Adam Reinherz
A pedestrian passes a building in Vilnius, Lithuania, that formerly housed the ghetto library. (Photo by Adam Reinherz)
October 3, 2025, 3:29 pm
Observance and observations: Seminar spotlights Vilnius
For generations, Vilnius was a colossus of Jewish culture. Before World War II, the 'Jerusalem of Lithuania' possessed 80,000 Jews and more than 100 synagogues. Intellectual titans wrote texts creating Ashkenazic norms. An influential Jewish publishing house set the standard for scholars worldwide. While libraries and exhibitions honor what was, a Classrooms Without Borders seminar asked participants to consider ties between people and paper
By Adam Reinherz
Fox Chapel resident Mario Czonstkowsky heads toward his mother's and grandparents' former street in Kaunas, Lithuania. (Photo by Adam Reinherz)
September 26, 2025, 11:34 am
Connecting past and present: A seminar bridges Jewish history across northern Europe
Curricula addressing the Holocaust or European Jewry often include 'Auschwitz and Poland.' Less mention is made of post-war Soviet life and the struggles and strengths experienced today. With stops in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland, a Classrooms Without Borders seminar wants educators to know 'this is the place'
By Adam Reinherz
Orthodox Judaism should embrace single community members, argues Sylvia Barack Fishman.
May 18, 2022, 11:47 am
‘Don’t single us out!’ Welcome unmarried Jews
Modern Orthodox singles in their 20s and 30s reported being seated at the “children’s table” at a wedding, while married peers were seated and socialized together.
By Sylvia Barack Fishman
Lox, bagels and cream cheese are standard fare at break fasts. Andrew Silow-Carroll remembers that growing up they represented luxury for his family.
October 1, 2021, 9:24 am
The Price of Fish: What lox can teach us about thrift and luxury
I’ve always wondered how lox came to be the symbol of Jewish luxury.
By Andrew Silow-Carroll
Community members have begun working out at the JCC once again, practicing social distancing, even with trainers. Photo courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.
June 22, 2020, 2:14 pm
Loosened COVID-19 restrictions mean a resumption of Jewish life for some
Orthodox synagogues, JCC among first to reopen doors
By David Rullo
April 8, 2020, 11:03 am
Jewish Life in South Italy as we cope with the coronavirus
Italian Jews sing the song of quarantine
By Rabbi Barbara Aiello
Volunteers from the South Hills Jewish community prepare items for food pantries on Mitzvah Day, 2017. (Photo provided by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh)
January 29, 2020, 9:57 am
Studying community: Thinking suburbs, communities with distinct identities
Jewish suburban life varies depending on region and community
By David Rullo
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