Hevria
Official Hevria logo
Type of site
Essays, blogging, Judaism, arts education
FoundedMarch 2014
Founder(s)Elad Nehorai
Matthue Roth
EditorMatthue Roth
URLhevria.com

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 and Matthue Roth.[1] 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.[2]

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.[1][2][3] Other Hevria projects have included "Hevria Sessions", a series of live studio performances by up-and-coming Jewish musicians such as Levi Robin and Bulletproof Stockings,[2] and Neshamas, a sister site that publishes anonymous stories involving heavier topics such as abuse and mental illness in the religious Jewish community.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5]

Projects

In 2016, Nehorai and filmmaker Matthew Bowman began producing through Hevria a five-episode documentary web series on the Israeli community of Bat Ayin, located in the Gush Etzion area.[6][7][2]

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, comedian Mendy Pellin, actress and filmmaker Amy Guterson, social media personality Adina Sash, and musicians Dalia Shusterman, Isaiah Rothstein, Bram Presser, Jon Madof, Basya Schechter, and Eprhyme, among others.

Notable contributors

References

  1. 1 2 Shira Hanau (Feb 20, 2019). "Welcome To The Alt-Farbrengen". The Jewish Week. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Marsha Shollar (June 21, 2016). "Author's roundabout journey to Orthodoxy includes website for writers". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 Ben Sales (Mar 18, 2019). "An Orthodox millennial unites Jewish artists, protests Trump and talks with AOC". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  4. ↑ Nehorai, Elad (January 2, 2020). "Goodbye, Hevria. I Love You". Hevria. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  5. ↑ Nehorai, Elad (2022-01-04). "Why Running A Jewish Publication Led Me To Leave Orthodoxy". Elad Nehorai’s Newsletter. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  6. ↑ Ari Soffer (July 19, 2016). "Watch: Jewish embodiment and redemption in Bat Ayin". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  7. ↑ Amy Spiro (July 25, 2016). "A spotlight on those living off the land". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
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