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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 4h

People can be upset, sure - but pretending like this is in any way "betraying" anything he said or did during the election, is just factually wrong.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 4h

I truly don't get how anyone can twist Zohran attending the Oct. 7 vigil into something "new," or a shift in policy, for the Mayor --- He attended the exact same event, organized by the same group, under the same name (Israelis for Peace), with the same people, last year during the election.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The Rabbi - the leader (to some extent) of roughly half a million Jews - has also said that he thinks religious Jews would be better off under an Arab run country, than they are under a Zionist one. bsky.app/profile/then...

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The logical conclusion of Zionism: The 96-year-old leader of Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox non Hasidic) Jews is "anti-Semetic" - because he is anti-Zionist That's according to Naftali Bennet, former Israeli Prime Minister, current leader of the 2nd largest "opposition" party in the polls.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

אַ גוטע וואָך, אַ גוט יאָר, און אַ געזונטן ווינטער! A gitte voch, a gut yor, un a gezinten vinter! A good week, a good year, and a healthy winter! Photo credits from last night's Simchat Torah Across Brooklyn: Gili Getz

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

>>> and committed to making room for all of us, and building a truly just world for all! I couldn't have dreamed that this is what my life would look like, in such a beautiful way. ❤️

Abby smiles and claps during the Simchat Torah celebration, wearing black with white sleeves, with the brightly illuminated Grand Army Plaza arch glowing behind her and a crowd of celebrants filling the background.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Today I feel grateful, empowered, deeply in touch with the joy of our traditions and our Judaism --- and with the joy that comes with constantly renewing them. Building communities that are unapologetically progressive, deeply grounded in our traditions, >>>

Abby stands on the left beside an open Torah scroll during Simchat Torah Across Brooklyn, surrounded closely by other participants.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I could never have dreamed that 35 years later, on the night before this birthday, I'd be standing in Grand Army Plaza, with an open Torah in front of me, surrounded by a vibrant mix of Brooklyn Jewish communities, experiencing the beauty and power of truly egalitarian, progressive, joyous Judaism.

An open Torah scroll is lifted high above a large crowd celebrating Simchat Torah at Grand Army Plaza, with the illuminated Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch rising behind it. Abby is visible among the people gathered below.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

> while redefining so much of myself. I wrote about that day in my book Becoming Eve, as seen above, and here. For a long time after leaving the Hasidic community, I didn't think Judaism had anything else to offer me.

Page 8 of Abby Stein’s memoir Becoming Eve. The page reflects on the child her father believed was his “firstborn son,” Abby later telling him, “I am a woman. I always was and I always will be,” and her later Jewish naming as Avigail Chava Stein, ending simply with the name “Abby.”

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Except, of course, I wasn't that boy. I knew that from a very young age. Birthdays carry a certain added intensity when you disagree with one of the lines on your original (now updated) birth certificate. I've had to rethink and redefine what it means to be born, >

Abby Stein, in black with white sleeves, sings joyfully amid a tightly gathered crowd at Simchat Torah Across Brooklyn. People around her are singing and celebrating together, creating a lively, communal nighttime scene.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

- as she would remind me yearly - dropped my five older sisters at my grandparents in Williamsburg, and rushed to the hospital. I was three weeks early. By that night, after five girls, my father was celebrating - what he thought was - finally having his boy.

Page 4 of Abby Stein’s memoir Becoming Eve. The page recounts October 1, 1991 — 24 Tishrei 5752 — when Abby’s mother went into labor on the final day of Simchas Torah, dropped her five older daughters at their grandparents’ home, and rushed with Abby’s father to Beth Israel Medical Center.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Tonight, as Simchas Torah ends and the 24th of Tishrei begins, I turn 35 --- on the birthday I actually grew up celebrating. I was born on 24 Tishrei 5752. My mom went into labor on Simchas Torah afterthought -

Abby, wearing black with white sleeves, leans in from the left over an open Torah scroll during Simchat Torah Across Brooklyn in Grand Army Plaza. Several people crowd closely around the Torah, following the text together under nighttime lighting.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

גוט יום טוב 💖 One final Kiddush (and special Havdalah) for Simchas Torah - a holiday uniquely created by and in the diaspora. Even more, if not for the special "Second Day" only celebrated in the Diaspora, Simchat Torah likely wouldn't have developed! Off to dance Hakofos - Chag Sameach 💃

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

May we listen to our planet and her cries of change. May we understand that water is life, but also dead and destruction, literally. May we take our judgement seriously: May we take our climate and its devastating changes seriously. א גוט קוויטל • פתקא טבא!

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

"קוֹל מְבַשֵּׂר, מְבַשֵּׂר וְאוֹמֵר. The voice of the herald, they heralds and say ---" In tradition, today is the judgement for water, and all the life it carries with it. In a very natural way, in the Northern Hemisphere, this is the time as seasons change. May we listen to nature's heralds and cries.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

One final hurrah: Hashanah Rabbah 🌴🍋🌿☘️ Seven Hakofos for mother nature + shofar ×7 = breaking the walls. Healing the world! Regardless of beliefs and disbeliefs (I got many) there is just something so rhythmically powerful to it all! May we all get abundance, of water, substance, and beyond 💖

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

אַ פרייליכען סוכות פון אונז אלע 🛖 און א גוט קוויטל!

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Reposted by Abby Chava Stein

פינחס יוסף מונד @pymundgenealogy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

By the way, for a reassuring contrast between online Left posters and the ones that show up irl, my friends in NYC Left circles have told me (and photo evidence is consistent with this) that the infamous Simon of Trent protestor who shows up in support of every NYC Palestine event is always shunned

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Here is to an even more exciting second half-life, and beyond 🎉 א גוטן מועד - צום לעבן, און צו שטרעבן! Photo cred: @kamphoto187.bsky.social

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

--- so grateful to all the amazing people in my life - past, PRESENT, and future - family, friends, colleagues, community, allies, queer siblings, and so many others. For so many people who have been part of this half-life. What a half-life it has been. ❤️

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

In half an hour, I turn 35 😲 If Tehillim (Psalms) 90 is to be believed, that puts me exactly halfway through the 70-year lifespan it gives us. So apparently it’s time for a midlife crisis. 🤣 On a serious note, I am just so grateful to all the amazing people in my life ---

Black-and-white photo of Abby Stein speaking into a microphone while wearing white and a tallis, one hand raised near my chest. Another rabbi stands beside me smiling warmly, with one hand over her heart. A white curtain fills the background, and the top of the podium with the Hebrew words על חטא is visible at the bottom of the frame.

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Rachel @rachelneedsanap.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Hearing a non-Jewish public figure cite Talmud respectfully is SO REFRESHING.

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Hunter Dunn @hunterisntdunn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Also, up to you all how you take this, I checked the site - the loudest account on X criticizing this poster for antisemitism is a video editor for Hasan Piker

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Reposted by Abby Chava Stein

Hunter Dunn @hunterisntdunn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This is antisemitism. This isn’t leftism. This isn’t anti-Zionism. This isn’t progressive activism. This is just blatant antisemitism.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

So much appreciation for @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social, and the whole @mayor.nyc.gov team - especially @phylisawisdom.bsky.social and Josh at the Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism!

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

> as such, we get a different version. Separating different kinds of holy. It always resonated with me in a powerful way: There is more than one way to appreciate what's sacred, what's "holy." It might not all be the same, but it can still be holy in its own way 🥰

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Tonight we also get one of my favorite blessings: המבדיל בין קדש לקדש - Who separates holy/Sacred from holy/sacred. On a standard week at the end of Shabbos, we say "who separates holy from simple." Frankly, that's easy. Tonighy though, Shabbat ends, but the holiday continues. >

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

מיטל-נאכט יום טוב --- "Middle-Night of the Holiday" the second night of Sukkos as Yom Tov. The unique beauty and joy we get in the diaspora 🥰 גוט יום טוב, חג שמח! Git Yom Tov, Chag Sameach!

A white-covered holiday table, with an open Hebrew machzor in the center, three lit candles behind it, and a dark blue goblet filled with red grapes juice in the foreground. Challah and other ritual items sit around the table against an ornate stone fireplace.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Stepping into Yom Tov Sukkos with a Lulav (palm branch), an Esrog (citron, one of the OG citrus fruits), 9 Hadassim (yes, 9 myrtle branches), and 2 Aravos (willow branches). The “Four Species” are one of my favorite holiday rituals.

A hand holds a freshly bound lulav bundle with palm, myrtle, and willow branches wrapped in a woven holder over a table prepared for Sukkot. A large yellow-green etrog rests beside it, surrounded by open Hebrew prayer books, a lulav box, packaging, and scissors.

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FREE THEM ALL @freethemall.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Senate-elect Aber Kawas State Assembly Member Emily Gallagher Activist Linda Sarsour Abby Stein Actors/Actress Caleb Hearon Susan Sarandon Hannah Einbinder Debra Winger

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

אַ פרייליכן יום טוב סוכות! גוט שבת, גוט יום טוב - חג שמח! Git Shabbos, git Yom Tov, chag sameach!

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

אַ פרייליכן יום טוב סוכות! גוט שבת, גוט יום טוב - חג שמח! Git Shabbos, git Yom Tov, chag sameach!

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A tradition I inherited became, for me, a little feminist ritual of its own: binding all our ancestors together, and refusing to leave some of our foremothers outside the bundle.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Bilhah and Zilpah are often pushed to the margins as “concubines,” even though they are the mothers of four of the tribes of our people. Three patriarchs. Six matriarchs. Nine Hadassim.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Over the years, I found another reason to love this. The traditional prayer said while binding the Four Species says the 3 Hadassim represent Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. So I add 6 more: for Sarah, Rivka, Rachel, Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah.

An open Hebrew prayer book displaying “Seder Igud Hadasim,” the traditional prayer and instructions for binding the Four Species before Sukkot. The text connects the three hadassim with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. Below it is a closer view of the prayer text, with the edge of the yellow etrog visible beside the book.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

And yes: 9 Hadassim. Halacha requires 3, but I grew up with the custom, found in many Hasidic, Yemenite, and other communities, of adding more.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The Midrash picks up on this with a powerful teaching: we assign different value to people based on skills, looks, attributes, and more. But the only way to celebrate a true “Zman Simchaseinu” - our season of joy - is by bringing it all together.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

“Just as these are bound together, so are they dependent on one another - to draw one another close, and to atone for one another.”

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Yet we need all of them. In tomorrow's Piyyut (liturgical poetry) we say: "וּכְמוֹ הֵם אֲגוּדִים אֵלֶּה בָאֵלֶּה, כֵּן תְּלוּיִים אֵלֶּה בָאֵלֶּה, לִמְשׁךְ אֵלֶּה אֶת אֵלֶּה, וּלְכַפֵּר אֵלֶּה עַל אֵלֶּה."

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The Esrog is itself food, and smells wonderful. The Lulav comes from a tree with delicious fruit, but the branch has no great fragrance. Hadassim have no great taste, but an amazing scent. And Aravos? The most fragile of the four, with neither taste nor smell.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

They bring together past and present, grounding us in nature and our ancestors’ traditions. More than anything: they bring me joy, something rabbis noted centuries ago. But they are in no way the same.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Species 3 (Aravos/Aravot - willow branches) of 4 ✅️ Arguably the least exciting of the 4, yet the most fragile 🌿

Two fresh aravot (willow branches) for Sukkot, sealed in a clear plastic sleeve printed with leafy illustrations, Hebrew lettering, and “Monsey Arovos - Keep Refrigerated.” They’re resting on a white table with ornate blue floral designs, with part of a brown machzor (holiday prayer book) and the esrog box visible at the left edge.

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Reposted by Abby Chava Stein

Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Species 2 (Esrog/Etrog - Citron, one of the 4 OG citrus fruits) of 4 ✅️ Often considered the most "important" (more on that tomorrow), usually the most expensive one 🍋

A bright yellow etrog (citron), with a green'ish center, resting upright in cream-colored foam inside an open dark brown decorative box with gold Hebrew lettering, sitting on a white table with blue floral designs. on the box it says: "Floor's Esrogim. Morocco. A small brown Machzor (holiday prayer book) is partly visible at the left edge.

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Species 2 (Esrog/Etrog - Citron, one of the 4 OG citrus fruits) of 4 ✅️ Often considered the most "important" (more on that tomorrow), usually the most expensive one 🍋

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Abby Chava Stein @abbystein.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Sukkos prep: Species 1 (Hadassim/myrtle branches) of 4 ✅️

Photo of a person holding packed willow branches, 3 branches packed in separate spaces wrapped in one plastic. It has a sticker that reads in Hebrew/Yiddish:
הדסים משולשים חוץ לארץ מאראקא לויפערס אתרוגים
"Myrtle branches that have 3 on each row, from the diaspora, Morocco"

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