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This weekend I was schmoozing at an event when some guy asked me what kind of history I study. I said “I’m currently researching the role of gender in Jewish emigration out of the Third Reich,” and he replied “oh you just threw gender in there for fun, huh?” and shot me what he clearly thought to be a charming smile.

The reality is that most of our understandings of history revolve around what men were doing. But by paying attention to the other half of humanity our understanding of history can be radically altered.

For example, with Jewish emigration out of the Third Reich it is just kind of assumed that it was a decision made by a man, and the rest of his family just followed him out of danger. But that is completely inaccurate. Women, constrained to the private social sphere to varying extents, were the first to notice the rise in social anti-Semitism in the beginning of Hitler’s rule. They were the ones to notice their friends pulling away and their social networks coming apart. They were the first to sense the danger.

German Jewish men tended to work in industries which were historically heavily Jewish, thus keeping them from directly experiencing this “social death.” These women would warn their husbands and urge them to begin the emigration process, and often their husbands would overlook or undervalue their concerns (“you’re just being hysterical” etc). After the Nuremberg Laws were passed, and after even more so after Kristallnacht, it fell to women to free their husbands from concentration camps, to run businesses, and to wade through the emigration process.

The fact that the Nazis initially focused their efforts on Jewish men meant that it fell to Jewish women to take charge of the family and plan their escape. In one case, a woman had her husband freed from a camp (to do so, she had to present emigration papers which were not easy to procure), and casually informed him that she had arranged their transport to Shanghai. Her husband—so traumatized from the camp—made no argument. Just by looking at what women were doing, our understanding of this era of Jewish history is changed.

I have read an article arguing that the Renaissance only existed for men, and that women did not undergo this cultural change. The writings of female loyalists in the American Revolutionary period add much needed nuance to our understanding of this period. The character of Jewish liberalism in the first half of the twentieth century is a direct result of the education and socialization of Jewish women. I can give you more examples, but I think you get the point.

So, you wanna understand history? Then you gotta remember the ladies (and not just the privileged ones).

ask historicity-was-already-taken a question

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Bat Mitzvah Girl Lighting Sabbath Candles, Ceuta, Morocco, 1979

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WTF IS THAT HOW YOU DO IT! MUM COME LOOK AT THIS

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Morris Huberland     Yeshiva Students, Houston St., Lower East side, New York City     c.1940

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A Jewish man prays while it is snowing at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel; 2013. x

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Micha Bar Am: Yom Kippur Eve, Mea Shearim, 1972

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Ephraim Moses Lilien Shabbat Queen c. 1900

לכה דודי לקראת כלה פני שבת נקבלה

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I visited Esnoga in June 2016. It is a truly magnificent place, so full of Jewish history and plight.

The interior of the Portuguese Synagogue during services in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; 2012. x

The Portuguese Synagogue was built in 1675 to serve Amsterdam’s large Sephardi community who fled to Amsterdam following the Spanish Expulsion of 1492.

The building is free-standing and rests on wooden poles; the foundation vaults can be viewed by boat from the canal next to the synagogue. The entrance to the main synagogue is off a small courtyard enclosed by low buildings housing the rabbinate, a mortuary, and the Ets Haim library. The interior of the synagogue is a single, very high rectangular space retaining its original wooden benches. The floor is covered with sand; one of only five surviving synagogues in the world with this feature, which is a tradition traced back to Sephardi Jewish people praying in secret during the Inquisition.

During the 1955–1959 renovation, the Etz Hayim seminary auditorium was redesigned as a winter synagogue with central heating and electric lighting added.  The Portuguese Synagogue has one of the oldest Jewish libraries in the world, the Ets Haim library which was founded in 1639, and it is filled with original and rare texts.  The synagogue is still used for services today.

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A Jewish cobbler ready for Sabbath Eve in a coal cellar in New York, where he is living with his family, 1887. 

This photograph is one of a series taken of New York’s slums, using the newly invented technique of flashlight photography. (Photo by Jacob A Riis/Getty Images)

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Passover 1934, Kibbutz Chaim, Panevezys, Lithuania

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Are You Interested In Writing, Psychology, Introversion, and Story Telling?

We’re looking for intern writers to be part of our growing writing team.

As part of the team, you will work with our editors on assigned topics and come up with pitches/angles to best present your writing.

If you’re interested, here’s what’s in it for you:

1. Paid if you’re consistent and reliable, and quality is not too bad.

2. Reference letters.

3. Something to add to your resume.

4. Volunteer hours if that’s required as part of your school. You can say you’re contributing to social impact on mental health and psychology education.

5. Working with a fast-paced team of editors and managers.

—-

When you email us, email us with the following:

*NOTE*: Use this template and copy and paste the questions when responding. This makes it easier for us.

1. A little bit about yourself, what you’re studying, and your writing experience.

2. A link to 1-2 of your best written articles, preferably around psychology or mental health.

3. Do you have at least 3-5 hours a week to work on an article?

4. What’s your schedule like for the next 4 months?

5. What do you hope to gain from this position? What is your motivation for joining us?

6. Will this be more of a collaboration for you or a long term thing?

Deadline: May 30th.

Email: Viveca@psych2go.net

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Spinach Pastry and Curly Old Lady, wow

The last thing you ate + the first thing you see when you look to your left is the title of your pretentious lifestyle blog.

Right now, mind would be called Pizza and Prints.

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♫ - Sunday morning by maroon 5

Sunday is a rest day for a lot of people, but for others it’s the busiest day of the week. It might be hard to control yourself and not procrastinate, right? Here are some things you can do (as a student) on Sundays to help boost your productivity but staying relaxed at the same time!

morning

go for a run/ walk/ do some yoga

have a brunch

make some freshly squeezed orange juice

take a long shower/ bath

read a book

make your to-do list for the day

make a Sunday rewards list

clean and tidy your room

complete the smaller tasks on your list

afternoon

look for a good playlist

sort out all your work

get all your study materials

get a head start on next week’s homework/ assignments

start working on the bigger tasks

take breaks regularly (exercise, get some snacks, hang out with friends)

motivate yourself with those rewards

find the balance between work and relaxation

evening

pack your bag for the next day

make your lunch for the next day (tips)

pick out your outfit for Monday - socks and undies too!

take a shower if you haven’t already

read over your notes again

read a book/ listen to an audiobook/ watch some videos

change your sheets

go to bed earlier than usual: you’ve got a whole week ahead of you!

It isn’t easy to find that balance between work and relaxation, but it’s oh so important! Sunday should be the day that, at the end of it, you feel like you’ve done enough work but that you’ve also rested enough. Good luck!

+ more posts

upgrade your notes!

how to start studying infographic

handy apps for economics students

five easy steps to becoming a better you

feed yo’ brain

dealing with lazy groupmembers

studying and gaming: playlists and soundtracks

how to be less prickly when stressedpractice tests

xoxo Lou

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A Street in Jerusalem by John Collier (English, 1850–1934)

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Pictured here is a Rosh Hashanah card sent by Aharon and Sheindl Blumen in 1926 from Luboml, Poland. The card reads : “May you be inscribed for a good year. Next year in Jerusalem.” Aharon and Sheindl Blumen perished during the Holocaust.

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Collection item of the day:  Simhat Torah flag designed by Siegmund Forst (1904-2006) for Ktav, ca.1940-1950