Beth Kissileff

Beth Kissileff is an author at Religion News Service.

All Stories by Beth Kissileff

Death, justice, love: Three rabbis open up Judaism for beleaguered readers

By Beth Kissileff — April 3, 2024
(RNS) — A trio of new spring books written by rabbis demonstrate the strength of the adage that no two are alike.

From past to present, Jews speak out in one voice

By Beth Kissileff — November 24, 2023
(RNS) — What does it mean for Jews to speak out at this moment?

My story illustrates the harm in North Carolina’s new abortion limits

By Beth Kissileff — June 28, 2023
(RNS) — Choice about abortion is a choice about women’s health, and a choice about faith.

How has the Tree of Life shooting changed my life? One victim’s impact statement.

By Beth Kissileff — April 24, 2023
(RNS) — No matter what I do, I am constantly 'back into the shiva chair.'

Many people lie about their resume. Why George Santos’ case is different.

By Beth Kissileff — January 9, 2023
(RNS) — Does the rationale for a lie hold up when it comes to politicians, in particular, George Santos, the congressman-elect from New York who is facing scrutiny for fabricating much of his resume?

Josh Shapiro and me

By Beth Kissileff — November 11, 2022
(RNS) — Pennsylvania's governor-elect bravely ran on inclusiveness against a candidate who leveraged Christian nationalism.

Watching the Parkland jury verdict was wrenching. Survivors need more agency.

By Beth Kissileff — October 19, 2022
(RNS) — I mostly felt profound grief and sadness at the haunted, broken, anguished faces of the families. I don’t think anyone else needs to experience this stress.

Orthodox Jewish women scholars’ growing authority is recognized in push to publish

By Beth Kissileff — March 29, 2022
(RNS) — A raft of new research fellowships and writing workshops represent a coming of age for the idea that learned women can claim authority in interpreting Jewish law.

Where is justice in a collapsed system?

By Beth Kissileff — February 25, 2022
(RNS) — Last month, a bridge in my Pittsburgh neighborhood collapsed into the ravine below it. I'm missing a sense of justice.

Dilemma for houses of worship: Openness or safety?

By Beth Kissileff and Rosalind C. Hughes — January 25, 2022
(RNS) — Our hope as those who attend and lead religious institutions is to maintain our humaneness and treat others with compassion, while keeping ourselves and others safe.

On a second COVID-19 Thanksgiving, how to find room for thanks

By Beth Kissileff — November 24, 2021
(RNS) — We can’t always immediately see the possibilities for growth that come out of a negative situation.

On Tisha B’av, the meaning of Tree of Life revealed

By Beth Kissileff — July 23, 2021
(RNS) — Some ideas for the architect who will rebuild the site of the Pittsburgh massacre.

Change is slow — but it’s coming, and it’s why they rioted at the Capitol

By Beth Kissileff — January 11, 2021
(RNS) — The chaos at the Capitol was the work of a desperate group, clinging to false beliefs at all costs, unwilling to shift their paradigm. But it is their last gasp. 

New Light congregant: Last year’s shooting demands we turn prayers to action

By Beth Kissileff — October 25, 2019
(RNS) — I can’t bring back the 12 American Jews killed by anti-Semitic violence this year, but I can live my life with the urgency our tradition asks of us and encourage others as well to build the world, kindness first. 

In the wake of the Pittsburgh shooting, finding a new Jewish voice at Shavuot

By Beth Kissileff — June 7, 2019
(RNS) — Many of the things that those killed did helped others find their own Jewish voices. And that, in some ways, is what Shavuot is about.
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