The Jewish Writing Project was created to give Jews from assorted backgrounds the chance to share their experiences and explore, through their writing, what it means to be Jewish today.
It’s our hope that through the process of writing and revising, a writer’s words can lead the writer (and reader) to a deeper understanding of his or her connection to our Jewish heritage.
Here at The Jewish Writing Project, we invite you to tell others about a particular Jewish experience that may have shaped your understanding of what it means to be a Jew.
Perhaps you might explore a memory about being Jewish that holds a special place in your heart or you might want to express thoughts about how being Jewish has enriched your life or made your life more difficult.
Whatever you decide to write and share with the project–a poem, a story, an essay–please remember to keep the focus on your experience of being Jewish.
It’s our hope that the project can offer both writers and readers new ways of understanding what it means to be Jewish today.
Thank you for thinking of The Jewish Writing Project as a home for your work.
B’shalom,
Bruce Black, Editorial Director
For more information about The Jewish Writing Project, write to Bruce Black at:bruceblack@ymail.com
Recent Honors
The Jewish Writing Project is ranked as one of the “Top 100 Jewish Blogs” on the web. Many thanks to the writers who have shared their work with us and have helped create a supportive online community for Jewish writers. Here’s a link to the site if you’d like to check it out:
Top 100 Jewish Blogs
Hi Bruce–Our head of school passed on your e-mail to me (I’m the head of our English Department at Solomon Schechter in West Orange, NJ). What a wonderful idea you’ve had! I am going to find a way to encourage our students–and who knows, maybe an adult or two– to contribute to your project. Best wishes!
My name is Jack and I am the admin for Haveil Havalim, the Jewish/Israeli Blogosphere blogging carnival.
Every week we run a carnival that highlights some of the best posts of the Jblogosphere. You might want to consider submitting a post about the project. We’d be happy to help you promote it.
Hi Bruce,
Nice and valuable project. I looked at your Sources and nowhere did I find a link to our journal -Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal. It enjoys over 21K hits a day!
I’d be very happy to see a link to it in your sources section. We also feature fiction works.
Many thanks,
Dina http://www.womeninjudaism.org
What a great project.
In previous years the anti-semitic society forced Jews to stay within their community and maintain their Jewishness whether they wanted to or not. In a way the American’s society’s willingness to accept diversity actually makes staying Jewish more challenging.
My friend and I recently launched a blog about Jewish living: family, culture, holidays, and Israel and we will be happy to share some of our stories with this project.
Talila http://www.JAMShome.com
I’m not Jewish but am fascinated by religion, and I’m so inspired by this blog. What a cool idea, I’m excited to follow along! I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far
So many wonderful words are buried along with our families. But, thankfully, some of them live on in our memories. I would love to jot down a few (before I forget them) because the stories I have are of how members of my family faced their needs while living in poverty in “America”. The streets were not filled with gold, but at least they were not filled with Nazis.
They managed to take care of their needs, each other and we even had a “family bank”. We had our own “Molly Goldberg”, funny, loving, caring and one word from her and the entire family listened.
Where can I read some of the stories submitted and where do I send what I am writing?
Joan, thanks for writing. You can submit your stories or poems to bruceblack @ ymail.com. And to read the stories on the project, you can scroll down to see more stories, click on the subject list (on the right hand side of the page), or search past months. It’s different if you read the site on a phone or computer. Hope this helps.
Hello Bruce –
Glad to have found this project. I am working on an artist book my year of saying the mourner’s kaddish. While my work will not be a writing project in the typical sense the writings of your followers are nourishing me.
Thank you.
Judith Serling-Sturm
Cincinnati, OH
The Jewish Writing Project 
Hi Bruce–Our head of school passed on your e-mail to me (I’m the head of our English Department at Solomon Schechter in West Orange, NJ). What a wonderful idea you’ve had! I am going to find a way to encourage our students–and who knows, maybe an adult or two– to contribute to your project. Best wishes!
Jane Freeman
Jane,
Thanks so much for your note… and for introducing your students to the site. I’ll look forward to reading their work soon.
Hi Bruce,
My name is Jack and I am the admin for Haveil Havalim, the Jewish/Israeli Blogosphere blogging carnival.
Every week we run a carnival that highlights some of the best posts of the Jblogosphere. You might want to consider submitting a post about the project. We’d be happy to help you promote it.
Wonderful idea. Thanks for creating this blog.
Many thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll share some of your own explorations of Judaism here soon.
Hi Bruce,
Nice and valuable project. I looked at your Sources and nowhere did I find a link to our journal -Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal. It enjoys over 21K hits a day!
I’d be very happy to see a link to it in your sources section. We also feature fiction works.
Many thanks,
Dina
http://www.womeninjudaism.org
Dr. Eylon,
Thanks for bringing your journal to my attention. I’m eager to take a look and will add it to the resource section soon.
Bruce
Thanks for adding my blog to your blogroll.
What a great project.
In previous years the anti-semitic society forced Jews to stay within their community and maintain their Jewishness whether they wanted to or not. In a way the American’s society’s willingness to accept diversity actually makes staying Jewish more challenging.
My friend and I recently launched a blog about Jewish living: family, culture, holidays, and Israel and we will be happy to share some of our stories with this project.
Talila
http://www.JAMShome.com
do you have meetngs or is this only an omline roup? i would like to join a group that meets.
Sorry, Myra, but this is an online project. Hope you’ll find a group that meets your needs. Perhaps you’ll write a story about it!
I’m not Jewish but am fascinated by religion, and I’m so inspired by this blog. What a cool idea, I’m excited to follow along! I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far
Glad to hear you’re enjoying the posts. Thanks for following.
So many wonderful words are buried along with our families. But, thankfully, some of them live on in our memories. I would love to jot down a few (before I forget them) because the stories I have are of how members of my family faced their needs while living in poverty in “America”. The streets were not filled with gold, but at least they were not filled with Nazis.
They managed to take care of their needs, each other and we even had a “family bank”. We had our own “Molly Goldberg”, funny, loving, caring and one word from her and the entire family listened.
Where can I read some of the stories submitted and where do I send what I am writing?
Joan, thanks for writing. You can submit your stories or poems to bruceblack @ ymail.com. And to read the stories on the project, you can scroll down to see more stories, click on the subject list (on the right hand side of the page), or search past months. It’s different if you read the site on a phone or computer. Hope this helps.
Hello Bruce –
Glad to have found this project. I am working on an artist book my year of saying the mourner’s kaddish. While my work will not be a writing project in the typical sense the writings of your followers are nourishing me.
Thank you.
Judith Serling-Sturm
Cincinnati, OH
Thanks, Judith, for your kind words. I’m glad to hear you’re finding nourishment in the poems and stories for your project.
Hello Bruce,
Is there a specific format for poems that we send and is there a fee?
Marilyn, there’s no fee, and you’re welcome to send a poem as part of an email.