Expanded Content and Reach at #1 Website for Jewish Women

Mother’s Day has come and gone, but for Cheri Cutler, it’s still very much on her mind. It was a tough one—much of it spent in quiet contemplation as she thought about her mother, Judith, who passed away last April.

“I’m still processing it all,” she says. “I have been reflecting on both being a mom and losing a mom.”

Still, Cutler, a professor at the Fox School of Business at Temple University in Philadelphia, notes that she has a lot to be thankful for—namely, her husband and their 7-year-old son, Jacob. “He is the light of my life,” she says. “I am so grateful for the beautiful family I have, but it’s also bittersweet right now.”

Jewish women like Cutler have been able to search online for some solace to these emotions. In the past 10 years, hundreds of thousands of them have turned to TheJewishWoman.org for insight, information and plain old comfort. As the world’s most frequently visited website for women in search of Jewish content, many of its articles have been reprinted and cited in magazines, books, websites and blogs devoted to Jewish women.

In recent years, its presence has expanded through social media.

In fact, a May 1 posting on Facebook that touched an emotional chord with readers hit a record high, reaching 2.2 million people with nearly 39,000 shares.

The website’s success, according to its editor, Chana Weisberg, can be attributed to remaining faithful to its mission statement as “an all-inclusive community and online home for every Jewish woman, empowering women to find their unique voices—through learning and education, through inspiration and life experiences, and through practical tips and advice.”

Cheri Cutler and 7-year-old Jacob of Philadelphia

‘Improve and Be Better’

The site, part of the larger Chabad.org, started in 2006 under Sara Esther Crispe, who today directs an educational nonprofit. It is now run by Weisberg, with assistance from Sasha Friedman, Miriam Szokovski and Devorah Levin.

It is a reliable page to turn to, so to speak—the contemporary incarnation of an online encyclopedia of advice, instruction and discovery. With five distinct headings—“Spirituality & the Feminine,” “Relationships & Marriage,” “Birth & Parenting,” Voices & Inspiration” and “Home & Health”—the site offers everything from religion to recipes written by women from all backgrounds in all parts of the world.

A variety of videos, including lectures, classes and “how to’s,” are posted every week as well. Some of the most popular have focused on “What Happens When We Get to the Next World?”; “What Is a Woman’s Role in Judaism?”; and “The Mitzvah to Love: The Kabbalah of Healing Relationships.”

Since taking the reins of the site, Weisberg has doubled the number of items featured each week—from three or four to eight or more—emphasizing articles on Jewish inspiration and learning, particularly educational videos. With the growing number of readers has come increased engagement, including feedback, comments and dialogue related to individual articles.

Audiences have grown due to social media. In fact, a Facebook posting this month touched an emotional chord and has been viewed by a record number of 2.2 million people, with nearly 39,000 shares.

Weisberg is not surprised. She knows that women are eager to connect with others—and themselves. She knows that because she’s one of them.

“Writing about Jewish women and role models was always inside of me,” says Weisberg, who has six children and four grandchildren.

It was the natural outcome, she says, of a childhood steeped in learning. “The youngest in my family, I had the benefit of everyone else. I asked a lot of questions, and my father would very patiently answer them. I especially enjoying listening to profound discussions, soaking up everything I could. I knew that one day, I wanted to teach the world a few things from a women’s perspective.”

She points out a time not so long ago, in the early 1990s, when it was hard to find a book on the strong influences of Jewish women, biblical women. She scoured libraries for so long in search of them that instead she wound up writing a few herself. Now an author and worldwide lecturer who talks about women, faith, relationships and the Jewish soul, she aims for continued growth on the site. That’s what women strive for, she stresses—“personal growth.”

“Women want to improve and be better. We’re always looking to do better,” she says, “sometimes even berating ourselves for not doing enough.”

Along those lines, she wants more from the site, and sees no end to its possibilities and its reach, stressing that “there is something that speaks to every Jewish woman.”

TheJewishWoman editor Chana Weisberg

‘Help Each of Us Learn’

Sara Tzafona, a resident of Canada who writes for the site, became hooked on TheJewishWoman.org from the very beginning.

“I was impressed not just because it was a magazine about and for Jewish women, but that it was written by Jewish women,” she explains.

“And I don’t mean only professional writers that make their way to an office each morning, but also by everyday women—women like myself, women that don’t often have a voice, women that walk the Jewish talk or struggle with their faith, or are searching for a faith that has eluded them for much of their lives. It’s written by women who aren’t afraid to expose their foibles, fears or mistakes in an effort to help each of us learn. It’s an ongoing discussion that I believe superglues us together, enables us to learn and helps us to live the life that G‑d has planned for us.”

Tzafona notes that many articles have resonated with her, including one series in particular. “Years ago, there was a woman who had been diagnosed with brain cancer. She began writing for TheJewishWoman from the moment of her diagnosis until the end of her journey, and as a result, we walked the road with her.

“We learned of her fears and hopes,” remembers Tzafona. “I was amazed by her honesty and her ability to fight the battle that many would say she had lost. But to me, she didn’t lose. She taught us through her writing even as her health continued to deteriorate, and she did it eloquently and with love. Her memory will always be a blessing for me.”

Recipes are a popular feature, especially traditional family ones and those with a Middle Eastern flair, like this dish consisting of Crunchy Homemade Falafel with Hummus, Tahini and Israeli Salad.

At 70, Tzafona says she has a newfound appreciation for the aging process and seeks articles that speak to her stage of life, especially when it comes to Jewish housing and health care.

Essentially, the site works as a tool for each handler. That’s what Elina Hirman believes.

“There are so many useful articles,” says the 41-year-old mother of four from Oak Park, Calif., who is originally from Ukraine. She gives a three-hour, Sunday-night class on Judaism once a month, in Russian, to local Russian women at the nearby Chabad of the Conejo in Agoura Hills in Southern California. The site offers instant access to information about Jewish holidays, prayers, Rosh Chodesh, the Torah portions, making challah and more.

“Let’s face it: The education of Russian Jews was close to zero,” she states. “There is so much to learn. In my class, we have a core of regular attendees and often some guests, so we begin with the basics and build a foundation from there. We schmooze a little; we have a nosh. We’ve made friends. And like in life, some will get more knowledge, some less.”

Sometimes, the search for teaching materials takes her all over the Chabad.org site—to the women’s site, to the kids’ site. And wherever she lands, there will be something to learn.

Elina Hirman of Oak Park, Calif., says “there are so many useful articles.”

Hirman, originally from Ukraine, gives a class on Judaism once a month to local Russian women at Chabad of the Conejo in Agoura Hills in Southern California. Sometimes, the search for teaching materials takes her all over the Chabad.org site.

‘A New Discovery’

Over the years, certain stories on the site got people talking. Some of them are provocative, such as “A Frank Conversation About Boys and Girls Touching” and “What I’d Like to Tell the Woman Who Pitied Me for Having So Many Children.” Others measure yardsticks of human emotion, including “How to Deal With a Difficult Person”; “8 Things Men Say and What They Really Mean”; “How Can I Stop Worrying All the Time”; and, somewhat intuitively, “How to React When Someone Hurts Your Feelings.”

Devorah Martinez of Baltimore consults the website like clockwork for two specific things: the candle-lighting times and the recipes. In between, she likes “to read other people’s inspirational stories” on TheJewishWoman, she says, coupled with the Torah portion of the week.

She dates her first introduction with the site to its very beginnings a decade ago. The now 32-year-old, a hospitality administration major at Florida State University in Tallahassee, thinks back to one of her more intriguing assignments. A group project involved creating a catered meal from soup to nuts—a five-course dinner based on the cuisine of a foreign country. Other students plucked up places like France, Italy and China for their international theme; Martinez picked Israel.

She and four others came up with “a fabulous meal,” complete with blue-and-white decorations, and a menu designed in cream and gold hues (the colors of Jerusalem) with the offerings printed in English and Hebrew. “We used recipes from the site—Israeli recipes. It was a new discovery then, and we wound up turning to it every week.”

Miriam Szokovski edits the recipes on TheJewishWoman, providing many of her own.

Miriam Szokovski, who edits the recipes and provides many of her own, says “food is something that connects people. When people sit around sharing a meal, they open up, listen and connect with others. And that’s what happens online, too.

“People see a recipe for traditional potato latkes and that conjures up memories of a Jewish childhood, perched on a stool in their bubby’s kitchen, watching her frying the latkes and waiting for the crispy bits to eat. But every bubby had her own special touch, and people want to share and compare that with others.”

Working on the site for six years now, Szokovski says recipes are published on a continual basis. They sometimes feature new kosher cookbooks, even giving away copies to readers.

She notes that many of the most popular recipes have been traditional ones, such as those for chicken soup, brisket and challah. She recalls one published a few years ago that went viral: a “Mount Sinai Cake” for Shavuot.

This “Mount Sinai Cake” for Shavuot went viral when it published.

As for Martinez, she has grown in Jewish practice to the Torah-observant woman, wife and mother she is today. She notes that the ever-expanding content helped her along the way, especially when it came to learning blessings, and unearthing Jewish knowledge and history. “I feel like it’s helped me become frum [religious].”

She and her husband, the parents of two young daughters, say it’s an active resource for both of them. In the past—during moves from Florida to Texas to Maryland—Martinez taught at Jewish schools and wrote a corresponding educational newsletter for the children’s parents. She called it “Parshah in a Nutshell,” and in it, offered all she could.

At the very end, she also suggested a bit of advice: “For more information, go to Chabad.org.”

Devorah Martinez of Baltimore with the younger of her two daughters; she has referred to the site regularly since its beginnings a decade ago.