 Official Hevria logo | |
Type of site | Essays, blogging, Judaism, arts education |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 2014 |
| Founder(s) | Elad Nehorai Matthue Roth |
| Editor | Matthue Roth |
| URL | hevria |
Hevria is an American Jewish arts and culture website and collective.
| Official Hevria logo | |
Type of site | Essays, blogging, Judaism, arts education |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 2014 |
| Founder(s) | Elad Nehorai Matthue Roth |
| Editor | Matthue Roth |
| URL | hevria |
Hevria is an American Jewish arts and culture website and collective.
Hevria was founded as a group blog in April 2014 by writers Elad Nehorai and Matthue Roth. [1] The site's name is a portmanteau of the Hebrew words "chevra" (group or society) and "briah" (creation). Roth and Nehorai conceived of the project during an email conversation in 2012 with writer Chaya Kurtz, who had gotten attention for an xoJane article entitled "What Women's Media Needs to Know About Chassidic Women Archived 2017-01-28 at the Wayback Machine "; the three theorized that a full website could give even more insight into Hasidic Jews, and Nehorai subsequently recruited other blogging contacts to participate. [2]
Beginning as a collaborative group blog for personal essays, poetry, and fiction writing, the website evolved into a creative collective hosting communal gatherings, arts workshops, weekend retreats, "creative farbrengens", and other events. [1] [2] [3] Other Hevria projects have included "Hevria Sessions", a series of live studio performances by up-and-coming Jewish musicians such as Levi Robin and Bulletproof Stockings, [2] and Neshamas, a sister site that publishes anonymous stories involving heavier topics such as abuse and mental illness in the religious Jewish community. [3]
On January 2, 2020, Nehorai announced that he would be stepping down as editor of Hevria, citing concerns that the attention he was receiving as an activist was distracting from the site's mission. He clarified that Roth would be taking over the site's leadership and that he would remain involved in a less visible capacity. [4] In January 2022, Nehorai posted an article to his Substack newsletter giving more details about his decision to leave Hevria, in particular citing the backlash to an article he had written defending LGBT rights in the Orthodox community as a culminating moment. [5]
In 2016, Nehorai and filmmaker Matthew Bowman began producing through Hevria a five-episode documentary web series on the Israeli community of Bat Ayin, located in the Gush Etzion area. [6] [7] [2]
From 2017 to 2019, Nehorai hosted HevriaCast, the website's official podcast, wherein he interviewed artists, writers, and other creatives in the Jewish world. The podcast was recorded at CLAL Studios in New York City, and the standard intro and outro music was the song "Voice Lessons" by Darshan. Many Hevria contributors were guests on the show, as were Hasidic artist Yitzchok Moully, comedian Mendy Pellin, actress and filmmaker Amy Guterson, social media personality Adina Sash, and musicians Dalia Shusterman, Isaiah Rothstein, Bram Presser, Jon Madof, Basya Schechter, and Eprhyme, among others.
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is a branch of Orthodox Judaism, originating from Eastern Europe and one of the largest Hasidic dynasties. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and it caters to secularized Jews.
Agudath Israel of America is an American organization that represents Haredi Orthodox Jews. It is loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel. Agudah seeks to meet the needs of the Haredi community, advocates for its religious and civil rights, and services its constituents through charitable, educational, and social service projects across North America.
Bat Ayin is an Israeli settlement in Gush Etzion in the West Bank, between Jerusalem and Hebron, founded in 1989 by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburg, in lands that Israel confiscated from the neighbouring Palestinian villages of Khirbet Beit Zakariyyah and Jab'a. It is administered by the Gush Etzion Regional Council, with a population of less than 1,000, consisting mainly of "Ba'alei T'shuva" Jews with Hasidic tendencies. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but Israel disputes this.
Schachter, Schächter or Schechter is a Yiddish and German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Jewish education is the transmission of the tenets, principles, and religious laws of Judaism. Jews value education, and the value of education is strongly embedded in Jewish culture. Judaism places a heavy emphasis on Torah study, from the early days of studying the Tanakh.
The Jewish Press is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York City. It serves the Modern Orthodox Jewish community.
Mishpacha- Jewish Family Weekly is a Haredi weekly magazine package produced by The Mishpacha Group in both English and Hebrew.
Elke Reva Sudin is an American painter, illustrator, fashion designer, and lecturer. In 2010, her Hipsters and Hassids painting series premiered in New York City, comparing and contrasting the Hasidic Jewish and hipster Brooklyn cultures. She founded the live sketching company Drawing Booth in 2014, and is also a founder of Jewish Art Now. In 2023, she launched a collection of luxury scarves with her own custom designs.
Binah is a Jewish women's magazine published weekly by Binah Magazine Corporation in the United States. Additional distribution takes place in the United Kingdom and Israel. Binah Magazine Corporation is a subsidiary of Hamodia Publishing Corporation. The magazine debuted in Elul 5766.
Yishai Romanoff is an American Hasidic musician, best known as the lead singer for the Breslov punk band Moshiach Oi!. Romanoff, as well as the rest of the band, is featured prominently in the 2012 documentary Punk Jews. He is also a drummer for Shabasa labelmates Blanket Statementstein, RockaZion, and Shin Shin Mem.
Rabbi Zalman I. Posner was an American rabbi and writer associated with the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. Posner served as a congregational rabbi and community leader in the American Southeast for five decades, serving the Orthodox congregation Sherith Israel and founding an Orthodox Day School both in Nashville, Tennessee.
Punk Jews is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Jesse Zook Mann and produced by Saul Sudin, Evan Kleinman, and Alexander Emanuele. The film profiles several non-traditional Orthodox Jewish artists, activists, and groups based in New York City.
Orthodox pop, sometimes called Hasidic pop, Hasidic rock, K-pop, Haredi pop, and Ortho-pop, is a form of contemporary Jewish religious music popular among Orthodox Jews. It typically draws stylistically from contemporary genres like pop, rock, jazz, and dance music, while incorporating text from Jewish prayer, Torah, and Talmud as well as traditional Jewish songs and occasional original English lyrics with themes of faith and positivity. The genre was pioneered in the 1970s by artists like Mordechai Ben David and the Miami Boys Choir, who incorporated secular pop and dance influences into their music in contrast to the more traditional Jewish music of the time, and has had continued success in the modern era with singers like Yaakov Shwekey, Lipa Schmeltzer, Baruch Levine, and Benny Friedman.
Basya Schechter is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, cantor, and music teacher. She is the lead singer and founder of the world/folk rock band Pharaoh's Daughter and has released two solo albums. She has also collaborated with the groups Darshan and The Epichorus.
Shulem Deen is an American author, essayist, former Skver Hasid, and critic of Hasidic Judaism. He is the author of the memoir All Who Go Do Not Return (2015), and is a regular columnist at The Forward. He is also the founding editor of Unpious, a journal for voices critical of Hasidic lifestyle and beliefs.
Amy Gordon Guterson is an American Orthodox Jewish actress, filmmaker, and educator. She is best known for her role as Chaya Epstein in the long-running video series Agent Emes. She is the founder and director of the Tzohar Seminary for Chassidus and the Arts and co-founder of the Jewish women's theater troupe Kol Isha. She is also a board member of the Arts and Torah Association for Religious Artists (ATARA), founded by Miriam Leah Droz.
Matthew "Matthue" Roth is an American author, poet, columnist, spoken word performer, video game designer, and screenwriter.
Elad Nehorai is an American writer, activist, and social and political commentator. A left-wing, formerly Orthodox Jew, his writing and activism typically revolves around social justice, mental health, religion, opposition to antisemitism, and advocacy for arts education, particularly within the Jewish community.