About

Kerem was an independent, inter-denominational publication, published between 1992 and 2014 on an occasional basis to explore Jewish spiritual issues. Contents include text study, divrei Torah, midrash, liturgy, essays, poetry, short stories, interviews, photography, and more. Kerem was built on an egalitarian and pluralistic philosophy, aiming to combine the best of modern thinking and a serious engagement with Jewish tradition.

What Does “Kerem” Mean?

Kerem means “vineyard” in Hebrew. The fruit of the vine doesn’t get thrown out as it ages; it ferments, it changes, its flavor deepens. In rabbinic literature, the word Kerem has yet another association — the planting of kerem b’Yavneh (a vineyard in Yavneh), a metaphor for the renewal of Torah study and creativity that took place in the first century of this millennium.

Kerem was designed as a vineyard through which readers wander, picking the fruit of the vine, relaxing, savoring the atmosphere, and perhaps planting in turn. Sort of like a Web site, so please make yourself at home!

Meet the Editors

Sara R. Horowitz is the co-editor of Kerem, the author of Voicing the Void: Muteness and Memory in Holocaust Fiction, and co-editor of Encounters with Appelfeld. She is Director of the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York University in Toronto, where she teaches literature.

Gilah Langner is  a rabbi and educator in Washington, DC, and co-editor of  Kerem.

Kathryn Hellerstein, Kerem’s Poetry Editor, is Associate Professor of Yiddish at the University of Pennsylvania. Her books include a translation and study of Moyshe-Leyb Halpern’s poems;  Paper Bridges: Selected Poems of Kadya
Molodowsky;
and Jewish American Literature: A Norton Anthology, of which she is co-editor.

How to Reach Us

Write to us with comments, thoughts, and requests for back copies to:
langner@erols.com (Gilah Langner)
or
kerem@sympatico.ca (Sara R. Horowitz)

Prices 

Single copies:  $10 per issue, $15 for institutions. Send a check made out to “Kerem” to: 3035 Porter Street NW, Washington, DC 20008.

Co-Editors: Gilah Langner, Sara R. Horowitz

Poetry Editor: Kathryn Hellerstein