Letters From the Editors

By Jessica Youseffi and Bracha Ebriani

When our eyes are not shut, when our nose is not stuck in our textbooks and when our education is not solely in the hands of others--that's when we gather the resources to change the world.  


Here we are! USC's first student-run Jewish newsletter.  Artistic innovation, profess yourself!  News reports with an honest voice, speak up. Beyond ostentation, we are here to proclaim who we are.


At USC, we spend much of our time walking past a blur of hundreds of faces. Passing through classrooms, dining halls, and biking past Trousdale each day, do you often exchange more than a "Hello, how are you?"  Our deepest felt convictions are far from being voiced unless we find a medium—any means to inspire, educate and amuse each other. Let your genius speak. We can be part of a generation of art, innovation and upheaval if we recognize that we are part of a greater whole.


The Jewish community is radically re-defining itself.  Do USC students know this? Is it not depressing, we thought, if all being Jewish ever was, was a boring Yom Kippur sermon and grandma's chicken soup?


Truth is, our traditions might seem backwards at a momentary glance; but if one looks intently, s/he can truly appreciate the outlandish culture that is ours.  Judaism is not meant to be retained in the history books or in the minds of scholarly sages. Quite the contrary, we have come to realize that our small challenges in maintaining our traditions and growing as individuals are large stepping stones to building our endurance as a nation.


It is the individual who fuels life and laughter into our cultural traditions  If you ever see a Jew flip over onto his head on Purim, watch him live the moment.  Taste the senseless joy brimming in his eyes. We want that jolting feeling of our connectivity expressed in words.  As our appreciation and admiration of each other's individuality increases, we can turn the world upside down.


Our name "The Seventy Faces" expresses our goal. It comes from Talmudic phrase, Shivim Panim L'Torah: there are Seventy Faces to the Torah.  We are a multifaceted people with a multifaceted Torah.  If we look down into the world from satellite, we want each face magnified!  When we see Jews from the outside, we want each and every face to be there!  Check out each Jew on paper view.  

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