Rabbi Reflection: Balancing Our Joy in Renewal with Our Awareness of Loss

Rabbi Seth Wax, the Jewish chaplain at Williams College, shares a reflection on how, at the most joyous moments of our lives, Judaism invites us to temper that joy with awareness of the brokenness in our world - and how, by doing so, we can extend our capacity for joy into a transformation…

“Feeling Free” - Myla J. Blum's Vibrant New Paintings

Myla J. Blum will exhibit her paintings in a show titled “Feeling Free” at the Pleasant and Main Café and General Store in Housatonic starting August 1. The native Pittsfielder (and Federation volunteer!) tells us a little about how she is exploring her growing prowess as a painter.

Sarah Aroeste's New Album Evokes the Lost Jewish World of Monastir

Berkshire-based singer Sarah Aroeste has long been an ambassador of Ladino music and Sephardic culture, but with her new album – and the broader undertaking it is a part of, The Monastir Project – she delves deeper into her family’s roots in the Balkan region of Macedonia.

Why Are Jews from the Former Soviet Union Often Called Russians?

In this Berkshire Jewish Voices essay, Yefim Kogan, a 1989 immigrant to the United States, explores some of the personal and historical consequences of how Soviets defined the idea of “nationality” - and what, in particular, that meant for Jews.

Traveling With Jewish Taste: "You Say Potato, I Say Картофель"

Our Traveling With Jewish Taste correspondent Carol Goodman Kaufman shares an overview of Russia's Jewish history, with a recipe for Eastern European-style potato salad.