Women’s Roundtable: Thoroughly Modern ‘Balebustes’; Welcoming a More Inclusive Prayerbook
In the latest episode of the Women’s Roundtable Podcast, host Gabrielle Birkner speaks with Forward Editor Jane Eisner, Lilith magazine Editor Susan Weidman Schneider, and Lilith Associate Editor Sonia Isard about whether modern Jewish women should be embracing or eschewing the moniker “balebuste,” Yiddish for homemaker, and the domestic work that it implies. The panel also discusses why Haiti’s tent cities are such dangerous places to be female, and weighs in on the new, more inclusive Conservative movement prayerbook. Then, each woman shares her mother’s favorite saying — be it wacky, witty or wise (or some combination therein).
See also these Sisterhood blog posts:
• Repudiating My Inner Balebuste
• Balebuste Means Homemaker — Not Cleaning Lady
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
