Hevria is an American Jewish arts and culture website and collective.

History

Hevria was founded as a group blog in April 2014 by writers

Elad Nehorai Elad Nehorai (born September 23, 1984) is an American writer, activist, and social and political commentator. A Left-wing politics, left-wing, formerly Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jew, his writing and activism typically revolves around social justi ...

and

Matthue Roth Matthew "Matthue" Roth (born June 30, 1978) is an American columnist, author, poet, spoken word performer, video game designer, and screenwriter. Beginning his career as a slam poet in San Francisco, Roth gained attention for his unusual blend o ...

. The site's name is a portmanteau of the Hebrew words "''chevra''" (group or society) and "''briah''" (creation). Roth and Nehorai conceived of the project during an email conversation in 2012 with writer Chaya Kurtz, who had gotten attention for an '' xoJane'' article entitled
What Women's Media Needs to Know About Chassidic Women
; the three theorized that a full website could give even more insight into Hasidic Jews, and Nehorai subsequently recruited other blogging contacts to participate. Beginning as a collaborative group blog for personal essays, poetry, and fiction writing, the website evolved into a creative collective hosting communal gatherings, arts workshops, weekend retreats, "creative farbrengens", and other events. Other ''Hevria'' projects have included "Hevria Sessions", a series of live studio performances by up-and-coming Jewish musicians such as

Levi Robin Yaakov Levi Robin (born 1992) is an American Hasidic folk singer based in Huntington Beach, California. He first gained attention as an opening act for Matisyahu, and released his self-titled debut EP in 2014. Biography Early life Robin grew up ...

and Bulletproof Stockings, and ''Neshamas'', a sister site that publishes anonymous stories involving heavier topics such as

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

and

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

in the religious Jewish community. On January 2, 2020, Nehorai announced that he would be stepping down as editor of ''Hevria'', citing concerns that the attention he was receiving as an activist was distracting from the site's mission. He clarified that Roth would be taking over the site's leadership and that he would remain involved in a less visible capacity. In January 2022, Nehorai posted an article to his Substack newsletter giving more details about his decision to leave ''Hevria'', in particular citing the backlash to an article he had written defending LGBT rights in the Orthodox community as a culminating moment.

Projects

In 2016, Nehorai and filmmaker Matthew Bowman began producing through ''Hevria'' a five-episode documentary web series on the

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

community of

Bat Ayin Bat Ayin ( he, בַּת עַיִן, lit., "daughter of the eye" or "apple of the eye", i. e., pupil, ar, بات عاين) is an Israeli settlement in Gush Etzion in the West Bank, between Jerusalem and Hebron. It was founded in 1989 by Rabbi Yi ...

, located in the Gush Etzion area.

''HevriaCast''

From 2017 to 2019, Nehorai hosted ''HevriaCast'', the website's official podcast, wherein he interviewed artists, writers, and other creatives in the Jewish world. The podcast was recorded at CLAL Studios in New York City, and the standard intro and outro music was the song "Voice Lessons" by Darshan. Many ''Hevria'' contributors were guests on the show, as were Hasidic artist

Yitzchok Moully Yitzchok Moully (born 1979) is an Australian- American Orthodox rabbi and artist associated with the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, and is known for his "Chasidic Pop Art" painting style. Moully served as a Chabad emissary (''shaliach'') i ...

, comedian

Mendy Pellin Mendy Pellin is an American Chabad Hasidic comic with a web-based satirical news show calleThe Mendy Report Pellin was born to a Hasidic family in Denver, Colorado. He spent most of his childhood in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, home of the ...

, actress and filmmaker Amy Guterson, social media personality

Adina Sash Adina Miles Sash (born Esther Adina Miles) is an American Jewish activist and social media influencer. Sash gained notability within Orthodox Judaism for her stage character, FlatbushGirl, on Instagram. Her comedic brand of activism focuses on ...

, and musicians Dalia Shusterman, Isaiah Rothstein, Bram Presser, Jon Madof,

Basya Schechter Basya Schechter is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, cantor, and music teacher. She is the lead singer and founder of the world/folk rock band Pharaoh's Daughter and has released two solo albums. She has ...

, and

Eprhyme Eden Daniel Pearlstein (born February 19, 1980), better known by his stage name Eprhyme (pronounced "E-Prime"), is an American Jewish rapper and hip hop production, producer based in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. While attending The Ever ...

, among others.

Notable contributors

, blogger and commentator; co-founder and former editor *

, author and poet; co-founder and current editor * Lela Casey, columnist and assistant editor of ''The Wisdom Daily''; guest post editor * Shais Rishon, also known as MaNishtana, African-American Orthodox blogger and author * Chaya Kurtz, essayist whose '' XoJane'' article inspired ''Hevria'' * Andrea Grinberg,

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

and creator o
Wrapunzel
* Merri Ukraincik, columnist at '' New Jersey Jewish News'' and author of ''I Live. Send Help.'', a history of the Joint Distribution Committee * Peter Himmelman, musician and author * Rachel Kann, poet and spiritual leader * Saul Sudin, filmmaker, producer of ''

Punk Jews ''Punk Jews'' is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Jesse Zook Mann and produced by Saul Sudin (husband of Elke Reva Sudin, who appears in the film), Evan Kleinman, and Alexander Emanuele. The film profiles several non-traditional Orthod ...

'', husband of artist Elke Reva Sudin * Yocheved Sidof, founder of

Lamplighters Yeshivah Lamplighters Yeshivah was a Jewish Montessori-style school for Jewish children located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn that was founded in 2009. ttp://www.vosizneias.com/122462/2013/01/24/brooklyn-ny-new-chabad-yeshiva-emphasizes-secular-religious-stud ...

Salvador Litvak Salvador Litvak is a Chilean-American filmmaker and social media influencer. He has written and directed two theatrically-released feature films, '' When Do We Eat?'' (2006) and ''Saving Lincoln'' (2013). As the Accidental Talmudist, Litvak sha ...

, filmmaker and social media influencer known as Accidental Talmudist * Shlomo Gaisin, Hasidic musician and lead singer of Zusha * Sarah Tuttle-Singer, Israeli-American blogger and columnist * Eric Kaplan, television writer for ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...

'', ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctional ...

'', and '' The Big Bang Theory''

References

{{Reflist Blogs about Jews and Judaism Internet properties established in 2014 2014 establishments in the United States American blogs