Elissa Strauss has written for the Forward over a number of years. She is a regular contributor to CNN, whose work has been published in a number of publications including The New York Times, Glamour, ELLE, and Longreads.
Elissa Strauss
By Elissa Strauss
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Life Prime Ribs: Is Sexy Anne Frank Costume Kosher?
Producers of “180,” a short documentary that compares abortion to the Holocaust and has been viewed 1.5 million times on YouTube, are now lobbying to show their film in high schools, reports the Washington Independent. The Religion News Service writes that Ray Comfort, the man behind the film, was born to a Jewish mother and…
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Life A Rabbi and a Minister Respond to ‘Personhood’
Pro-lifers are having a busy month. There is the Personhood amendment set to pass November 8th in a general election vote in Mississippi, with support from Democrats and Republicans, which would define human life as legally beginning at fertilization. This would render all abortions and morning-after pills illegal, and, according to some, could result on…
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Life Let Girls Enjoy Their ‘Midrash Manicures’
The New York Times recently wrote about a Jewish day school program for pre-teen girls which combines Torah study and nail painting. In a response to the piece, Sisterhood contributor Renee Zhert-Gand wrote that she feels torn about the club, which is called “Midrash Manicures.” She explains that while she is always open to new…
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News 1,000 Mitzvot Down, She’s Still Doing Good
About a month after her father passed away in 2006, Linda Cohen awoke in the middle of the night with an idea. Cohen had been looking for a better way to grieve for her father, one that would both honor his generosity and improve the world around her — something that went beyond saying Kaddish…
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Life Ranking Women’s Status and Why Lists Don’t Work
Newsweek recently put out an issue dedicated to the status of women in the world. In it was a ranking of the 20 best and worst countries for women with the usual suspects at the top, including Scandinavian countries, and the usual suspects at the bottom, including Saudi Arabia and countries in Western Africa. The…
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Life Prime Ribs: Madonna Back at Kabbalah Center
The recent controversy surrounding Madonna and the Kabbalah Center’s charity work in Malawi seems to not have had any lasting effect on her relationship with the organization. The singer was spotted taking her kids to the Kabbalah Center in New York to observe the days of repentance according to Ynet. Zehavit Cohen, who is one…
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Life Sexy Wins Over Tragedy For Marilyn Monroe
The New York Times recently confirmed what I had been starting to suspect. Marilyn is back. In “A Marilyn Obsession,” Austin Considine writes about Marilyn Monroe’s new ubiquity, and points to a new movie, book, television shows and clothing lines that all revolve around the actress in time for the 50th anniversary of her death….
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Life Prime Ribs: More Jewish Docs Perform Abortions
Only a small fraction of obstetrician-gynecologists provide abortions, reports Reuters, but among those Jews are more likely to perform the service than doctors from other religious groups. Anna Solomon writes about Jewish women pioneers and mail-order brides in the Old West at Tablet. Rachel Held Evans, an evangelical blogger, is spending a year following all…
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