Editors Note: This is part 2 of our 2 essays on Jewish experience in the post-Inauguration Women’s March. Part 1 can be found here.

In the weeks leading up to the Women’s March on Washington this past Saturday, an online community of Jewish women formed and pooled resources for participating in a demonstration over Shabbat, organizing ride shares to D.C., arranging Friday night meals through friends and local synagogues, and posting updates on Jewish groups and institutions offering services and/or swag in support of the March. On the morning of January 21, 2017, they met outside Sixth & I Historic Synagogue and marched toward the National Mall with fellow Israelites of every age, gender, and affiliation, claiming the pavement of the United States capital like the chasm of the Red Sea out of Egypt toward Independence Avenue, where over the course of the next few hours Michael Moore taught America to memorize the number to call the office of any member of Congress, Cecile Richards pledged to keep Planned Parenthood’s doors open, the Mothers of the Movement rallied the audience in the names of their murdered children, Sophie Cruz led hundreds of thousands of voices chanting “¡Sí se puede!” in unison, Van Jones called for a movement based on love—“that mama-bear love”—and the ground shook with Angelique Kidjo singing Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.”

“This makes me proud to be a Jew,” my father—who insisted on wearing his own hot pink pussy hat the whole day—said quietly as we set out from the Chinatown Park rendezvous point, beaming at the signs quoting the Talmud, Deuteronomy, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Emma Goldman, Hillel, and other seminal Jewish texts and voices. As Orthodox Jews, my family had rushed to make our own posters Friday afternoon, before Shabbat began, checking the city’s eruv map to make sure we could carry them without violating our traditional observance, and coordinated with friends in advance to find one another at or after the march without our phones. “I haven’t come to Washington to protest since… Vietnam!” my parents’ friend Miriam, who had come on her own from the Bay Area, declared proudly as we neared the Mall, quickly making friends with the Jewish mothers and bubbes flanking our party who echoed her realization.

The skies were grey but the streets were vibrant: like a foal recognizes its mother by her stripes among a zeal of zebras, members of the assembly tracked their marching companions by the specific hue and texture of one another’s pussy hats amid a sea of pink wool, felt, and fleece. Cheers rippled through the crowd in call-and-response; strangers shared snacks from regulation clear plastic backpacks and introduced themselves by asking each other from where they had come. Volunteers handed out stickers and posters from Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Emily’s List, and flash mobs and faith groups burst into song inspired by the movement and its historical moment.

It was a day that inadvertently celebrated the legacy of Jewish women, among others, who emblemized or at least symbolized femme empowerment and activism. The bespectacled visage of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, shlita, floated among a cluster of the faces of great women painted on large cardboard cutouts and held aloft by a group who happily chirped, “This is what happens when women puts their heads together!” when asked about the project. Another group claimed a street corner with a large banner quoting Emma Lazarus: “Until we are all free, we are none of us free.” Everywhere you looked, there were enough A Woman’s Place Is in the Resistance posters to summon the Second Coming of Carrie Fisher.

Modern Jewish heroes were well represented on the stage, as well. Senator Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was a vision in pink—two different shades of it, in fact—standing by her colleagues Kamala Harris, Tammy Duckworth, and Kirsten Gillibrand as they each took the mic to define what “women’s issues” are. IKAR founder and senior rabbi Sharon Brous wished the crowd a Shabbat Shalom at the end of an impassioned speech delivered with Linda Sarsour’s white hijab in view over her shoulder throughout:

Sometimes it happens—maybe once in a generation—that a spirit of resistance is awakened at the intersection of love, faith, and holy outrage. And in those moments, we are reminded what we’re fighting for, what this country was built for, what our armed forces are willing to die for, what our flag flies for, and that is liberty and justice, for all. This is one of those moments.

And let us not forget Our Lady, Gloria Steinem smiling benevolently from her seat upon the stage, thanking the audience “for understanding that sometimes we must put our bodies where our beliefs are,” and commanding, “Make sure you introduce yourselves to each other, and decide what we’re going to do tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.”

But most of the crowd only witnessed these appearances later, from or on their way home, streaming the footage on laptops and smartphones long after the events had concluded. About five times the number of people expected by the Women’s March organizers crammed into streets and spaces parallel and perpendicular to the stage; visibility to even the jumbotrons was limited, and the sound was inadequately amplified to reach the ears of over half a million listeners. So great was the turnout that the march itself was all but disbanded, the planned route eschewed for the spontaneous directive to “go North,” toward Pennsylvania Avenue, nearly an hour after the scheduled departure—and the final speakers still had yet to take the stage.

Rivulets of the assembly headed for the Mall in hand-holding human chains, gathering force until the current turned with them, leaving islands of die-hards standing their ground to watch Angela Davis’s projection and hear the echoes of her voice bounce off the National Museum of the American Indian. An African American family squeezing past a rooted cluster of Jews stopped to look back, bringing me—an Orthodox Ashkenazi 20-something sporting a sweatshirt reading THE FUTURE IS FEMALE and a vivid pink pussy hat bedecked with a wreath of flowers—face-to-face with a birdlike grandmother held at either elbow by her offspring as they waited to continue passing.

“I like your hat,” the black woman grinned shyly. “I’ve been looking at it. It makes me smile.”

“It’s a day for smiling!” I answered, thanking my tiny stranger for the compliment.

“It sure is,” the grandmother’s face crinkled into a full smile as she looked at the crowd around us. “It sure is.”

Nat Bernstein is the contributing editor at Jewish Book Council, managing the organization’s digital content, media, and special projects. Nat is a 2011 Ingenuity Award recipient and an F’07 graduate of Hampshire College with a Division II in pedagogical content knowledge for English education and a Division III on the representation of modern genocide in American culture and education.  

Photo by Dan Rosen

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Wait, what? Yes! Jennifer Aniston interviewed Gloria Steinem at the Makers Conference! THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

What is the Makers Conference, you ask? Why, only the most star-studded feminist event in the universe. The inaugural convention was held a couple of weeks ago near L.A., and it sounds sort of like a utopian gathering of the Elders of Feminism. (I would very much like to know how to get invited, without having to run a billion-dollar company, be a movie star, or, you know, become a hero.)

Aniston’s Q&A with Steinem isn’t available online in its entirety, but the L.A. Times has a condensed transcript here. Some highlights from the highlights:

What do you think the biggest problem is with feminism today?

… I think what we don’t talk about enough is religion. Spirituality is one thing, but religion is just politics in the sky. If God looks like the ruling class, you know you are in trouble. And that’s what religion is for, to make the ruling class look like God.

How do women build bridges across racial lines so we don’t just become a movement for upper-class women?

If we act like this movement belongs to white women, we have rendered invisible the [women who have been the] leaders of the movement all along. We need to know each other. Nothing works without trust. [The poet] bell hooks has a great rule: If you buy shoes together, you can do politics together.

How do you feel about women using their sex appeal to advance their careers?

If women could sleep their way to the top, there would be a lot more women at the top.

Amen, sister.

If you enjoyed this snippet, I recommend checking out the Makers website, which was founded about a year ago by AOL, PBS, and some very clever feminists. I know I sound like I’m being paid by them to say this (I WISH), but it’s just really good and I want you to know about it in case you don’t already. The site is a repository of dozens of documentaries and videos about the lives and work of “trailblazing women”—so, in other words, an internet vortex worthy of your valuable procrastination time. I just powered through Margaret Cho, Marian Wright Edelman, Nora Ephron, Sara Hurwitz, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and I feel better than ever about neglecting my housework.

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We’ve basically been waiting forever for a comic book featuring Gloria Steinem as its superhero. Well, Female Force: Gloria Steinem is finally here. Female Force is a comic book series that has already starred important women in politics and art, like Hillary Clinton, Tina Fey, and Adele. It seeks to portray Steinem’s undeniable influence in women’s civil rights, the Huffington Post reports.

“Our goal is to show the behind-the scenes machinations — many of them ignored by the mainstream media — that resulted in Gloria Steinem becoming a leading voice in emerging women’s rights movement,” Davis said in a press release. “A visual medium provides perspective that is not only accessible but more relatable to the average person without losing any of the information involved.”

The 32-page comic book was written by Melissa Seymour and drawn by Angel Bernuy and it will be read by all of us.

(Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty)

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Ain mol a saichel, dos tsvaiteh mol chain, dem dritten mol git men in di tsain: The first time it’s smart, the second time it’s cute, the third time you get a sock in the teeth.

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 20): Happy Astrological New Year!

The Aries ram finds its place in Jewish history as an instrument of salvation—instead of sacrificing his son Isaac, Abraham sacrificed a ram in Isaac’s place. The rebirth of the sun is also an important Aries myth, and its symbolism of renewal is inherent to the story of Passover, which is determined by the spring equinox, signaling our release from winter’s bondage.

Aries, a cardinal fire sign, is the first sign of the zodiac, and, as the head of the year, it rules the head and face. Therefore, you are the most forward-looking and self-assertive sign of the zodiac. Ruled by Warrior Mars (the planet named after the Roman god of war), Aries are often impetuous, reckless, and above all, action-oriented. Exceedingly ambitious, headstrong, and impulsive, you’re always full of new schemes and ideas. But Aries can also be a bit combative at times—prone to extremes and to jealousy. Nevertheless, your quiet time is just as crucial to your well-being—you need to recharge your batteries even more than the rest of us!

Aries are all about truth, and are never at a loss for the right word. Your dynamic directness must be softened by humor and charm, though, which you have in spades. You are all about action, starting new things and getting them done. While your mantra may be ‘No guts no glory,’ keep in mind that your opponents have bring their own strengths to the table. Do your best to avoid being perceived as a loose cannon: Mit rugzeh fort men nit veit (with anger you don’t get too far). 

Famous Aries Jews: Harry Houdini, Matthew Broderick, Gloria Steinem, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Sarah Jessica Parker, Paul Rudd, James Caan, Seth Rogan, James Franco, Rhea Perlman, Alan Arkin, Paul Reiser, Stephen Sondheim, Jennifer Grey,, Marc Jacobs, Barry Levinson, Perry Farrell, Dan Clowes, Lew Wasserman, Erica Jong, Serge Gainsbourg, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kate Hudson, Ron Perlman, Ellen Barkin, Amanda Bynes, David Blaine.

TAURUS (APRIL 21-MAY 20): Your mind, body and spirit fuse this month, giving you insight into the deepest reaches of your character. You’ll slow down to your preferred laidik-gaier (idler, loafer) state-of-being when Venus enters its home sign, Taurus, April 15 to May 9. 

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): With your ruling planet Mercury finally direct, and transiting through opportunistic Aries, from April 13 to May 1, you’ll have plenty of chances to increase your popularity—if such a thing is even possible! Zhu met (mir) in kop—the buzzing in your mind—is amplified by Aries, a fire sign, which implores you to move impulsively from one thing to the next. Take a deep breath—and don’t quit your day job.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 20): Long time no see, you lobbus (little monster). While you’re most comfortable nesting at home, you will be confronted by more professional responsibilities in the coming weeks. With the new moon in Aries on April 10, however, you are encouraged to face your sheidim (demons), get out into the world and try something different.

LEO (JULY 21-AUGUST 20): Wild hearts can’t be broken, but your current hartsvaitik (heartache) is the sneaking suspicion that your skills aren’t being used effectively. If you’re just waiting around for someone to take notice, you could be waiting forever. Be true to your bad self and have confidence that your work will speak for itself. In the meantime, perhaps a vacation is in order? Travel in good health (for gesunterhait), you menschy monarchs.  

VIRGO (AUGUST 21-SEPTEMBER 20): While industrious Virgos have the reputation of being kuni leml (a nerd), try to cut loose a bit this month. This doesn’t mean you have to compromise your values or sense of tznius (modesty). A gentleman doesn’t ask and a lady doesn’t tell, but with your ruling planet Mercury direct and in fiery, impulsive Aries, you’ll want to shout your Virgo verve from the rooftops! 

LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 21-OCTOBER 20): When Venus enters her home sign, Taurus, from April 15 to May 9, you’ll want to indulge in the finer things. However, you may feel compelled to clean up the shudden (big mess) you’ve made of your love life. Love is a naidlechech (rare thing), and you don’t want it to slip through your fingers. Perhaps it’s time to take a page from Libra Nanny Fine’s book: “It don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that ring.” 

SCORPIO (OCTOBER 21-NOVEMBER 20): Scorpios live by the credo di beste rede iz di vos men halt nit—the best speech is the one you don’t make. But with your ruling planet Pluto retrograde from April 12 to September 20, your power struggles and their attendant pressures should begin to ease. Your passions and desires—as well as your temper—could reach their breaking point. But don’t worry: what happens in Scorpio stays in Scorpio.

SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 21-DECEMBER 20): As the great Sagittarian nebbish Woody Allen once said, “If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.” This month, stars are aligning to get you up and out there—take some risks already! Sagittarians have, if nothing else, an open mind. Remain true to your inquisitive self and remember: az me fregt, blonzhet men nisht (if one asks, one does not err).

CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 21-JANUARY 20): Stuck in the middle of your ruling planet Saturn’s retrograde period, resolving old issues has forced you to take a long, hard at your truest self. If it seems to you that the more things change the more they stay the same, maybe it’s time to really shake things up once and for all—folg mikh a gayng! (that’s no small task!). Finding a balance between home and work is a Capricorn’s eternal struggle.  

AQUARIUS (JANUARY 21-FEBRUARY 20): Aquarians tend to keep their emotions bottled up, which always leads to trouble. Tsum shtain zol men klogen nor nit bei zich zol men trogen—better pour out your troubles to a stone, but don’t carry them within yourself. Opening up to others allows you to appreciate the variety of perspectives that may come your way. While aleyn iz di neshome reyn—being single has its advantages; lit., alone, one’s soul is pure—it is through your relationships with others than you’ll learn something valuable about yourself. 

PISCES (FEBRUARY 21-MARCH 20): Planets moving out of your sign this month may appear to darken your doorstep, but di tseit brengt vunden un hailt vunden—time brings wounds and heals them. With all of the pressures of the last few years, you feel like you’ve lost the courage of your conviction—and the confidence you need to make the right choices. Get the money, honey; and zei nit kain vyzoso!—don’t be an idiot!—ask for help if you need it. 

What’s Your Sign?
Pisces, the Dual-Natured Water Sign
Aquarius, Sign of Contradictions
Capricorn, the Cardinal Earth Sign
Sagittarius, the Adventurous Archer
Stinging Scorpio
Lovely, Lawful Libra
Virgo, the Anxious Maiden
Leo, King of the Jungle

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• Jon Scheyer still has NBA hopes.

• A hummus history.

• Gloria Steinem still totally rules, and wants you to vote for Obama.

• Meet the Fulbright scholar who is bringing brunch, that most glorious of meals, to Krakow.

• BFF alert: Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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