2008 Woodie Awards
We all know of someone who has suffered from an eating disorder on some level-whether they be friend, relative, or celebrity. However, this does not need to nor should be our reality. While a quick perusal of history shows that eating disorders have always existed on some level (in Victorian times the fasting girls starved themselves to death in order to demonstrate their religious piety and holiness), the cases of eating disorders have increased in number in past years.
Elisheva Diamond is a woman with a mission. A member of the Orthodox Union's Young Leadership Cabinet's Youth Committee, she has dedicated her life to helping, counseling and otherwise empowering members of the Orthodox Jewish community who might otherwise fall through the cracks.
The Observer: Hello, Aliza. Thank you so much for speaking with us. Although we at The Observer know who you are, could you give us some information about you, to introduce you to the rest of the student community? Aliza: My name is Aliza Stareshefsky.
Suppose that you are a friend or parent concerned about the welfare of your friend, whom you suspect of having an eating disorder. What comes next? How does one proceed? Whom should I contact, and how do I go about doing so? Students at Stern College for Women or Yeshiva College are lucky enough to have the Yeshiva University Counseling Center as a resource.
The world of theater can be a tough place to find work for a religiously observant Jew; on Friday nights and Saturdays the show cannot go on, and women do not sing, dance or, in some cases, even act in front of men. However, pockets of individuals in North America's Orthodox Jewish community have chosen to pave their own paths in the performing arts, meshing their talents with the principles of their faith.
Leslie Russell's day begins and ends with film. At 5 AM she wakes up, says the morning prayers and works on writing her screenplay, a romantic comedy about destiny versus free will. At night she watches movies to maintain the sharpness of her screenwriting skills.
As hordes of people bustle in and out of the shuttle to Times Square in Grand Central Station, Sean Grissom glides his bow effortlessly along the strings of a Cajun cello. Occasionally, a passerby stops to drop a compliment or a dollar bill into the cello case, and blond, frizzy-haired Grissom smiles and continues playing.
As I prepare to head back home to Moscow for vacation after spending a fulfilling semester at college, I cannot help but wonder as to how much has changed at home in my absence. I look at pictures from my graduation, from my prom night. "Can it be my third year out of my home?" -I wonder aloud.