COLUMNS ON IDENTITY & RELIGION

If The Pilgrims Had Been Jewish (and tolerant of sea sickness)

I’m an Observant Jew, and I Need Christmas Music More Than Ever Before (enough said)

The Anxious and the Pious (the comedic intersection of being anxious AND religious)

COVER STORY: Prince of Persians (on the incredible work of Rabbi Yitz Jacobs in combatting assimilation among Iranian American Jews)

The Radically Self-Loving Jew: Part I (beyond Star of David necklaces)

The Radically Self-Loving Jew: Part II (advice for experts)

How Ancient Persians Essentially Saved Judaism As We Know It Today (yes, Cyrus the Great was a Zionist)

Loneliness is a Disease, and Judaism Has a Cure (Americans have a unique problem with loneliness)

An Ode to Hillel (and my heartfelt gratitude)

How Jews Who Keep Strictly Kosher Pack for Vacations (hint: it involves frying pans and colanders)

In 2022, the Jewish People Need a National Resolution (it’s about time)

The Night I Set God Free (and saved the little girl inside me)

We’re All Heathens (one man’s heathen in Jerusalem is another’s religious fanatic in L.A.)

The LA Rabbi Who Saved Countless Iranian Jews (thank you, Rabbi Dershowitz)

The Hardest Word in the World (and why Judaism obligates us to accept heartfelt apologies)

Rescued, Redeemed, Robbed (how one refugee has struggled to live the American dream)

How Are Jews Supposed to Respond to Terrorist Attacks? (two viewpoints: psychology and faith)

Dear Persian Jews: Tradition Is Not Enough (on the unsustainable reality of lackluster Judaism)

What Happens to Unanswered Prayers? (are prayers ever really “wasted”?)

How Do You Connect with a Season of Joy When You’re Not Happy? (and your back is sore)

Meet the Jewish Writer Who Created “I Love Lucy” (and also served as its head writer and producer)

Two Words That Helped Set Me Free This Passover (and long after)

Why “Ask a Jew” Is My Favorite Jewish Podcast of 2022 (recognizing Yael Bar Tur and Chaya Leah Sufrin)

Should Jews Celebrate Halloween? (Los Angeles rabbis of various denominations weigh in)

In American Jewish Life, Don’t Take Halloween for Granted (what I learned about American Jews on Halloween)

It’s Time For Mizrahi Studies on Campus (on the imperative for Mizrahi Studies as a field worth studying)

The Year I Wanted Out of Religion (a confession about what many mothers are thinking, but none will admit)

Why Do Persian Jews Beat Each Other With Scallions During the Passover Seder? (yes, it’s okay to wish you were Persian)

I’ve Waited 15 Years for This Wedding (on the ultimate happy moment for Gilad Shalit)

It’s Time to Talk about Grandmothers (why Mizrahi stories are crucial when addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)

Persian and Jewish. American and Jewish. Jewish and American (the blessings and woes of the triple identity)

Too Persian (when your identity is empowering in one country and a liability in another)

Holiness by Proxy (the time I got lost in the voices of children in prayer)

Trick. Or Treat. Or Sukkah (do Persian Jews have any business putting skeletons on their front lawns?)

These Riots Mean Something Different for Refugees (especially those with PTSD about civil unrest(

Set Up to Fail: The Liability of Being a Jew on Campus (and the resilient students who inspire us)

This Thanksgiving, I’m Grateful for Councilmember David E. Ryu (and his supportive staff)

A Jewish Children’s Book that Addresses Parental Conversion (finally)

Los Angeles Needs Safe Spaces for Jewish Foster Children (and the amazing woman behind the efforts to secure such spaces)

The Black, Puerto-Rican Jew in 1960s America (an awestruck profile of Sammy Davis, Jr.)

Continuity, Persian Style (how an ancient Persian song…and its songstresses…are slowly fading away)

The Uplifting Wave of Kobe Bryant (what the legend meant to one refugee family)

Gilad Shalit: Why His Engagement Means So Much to Jews (Mazal Tov to Israel’s son)

The Symbols Behind the Hate (breaking down anti-Semitic attacks, symbol by symbol)