I Changed My Name to Honor My People

Why I’m choosing to be known by my Hebrew name

Yardena Schwersky
Nov 1 · 4 min read

When I was a baby, a couple weeks after I was born, my family and their friends gathered at my grandparents’ house. They came to celebrate my naming. The rabbi was there, too, to confer my Jewish name and officially welcome me into the tribe. During the kiddish (the blessing over the wine that kicks off the celebration), I…

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Yardena Schwersky

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lover of stories // purveyor of words // just a Jewish girl from the swamps of Florida, telling my story one essay and poem at a time. yardenaschwersky.com

Broads Non Grata

Disrupt — discover new voices and new aspects of known voices. Pour in your raw emotions of feeling like an outsider to flourish in hope to work towards a more diverse/inclusive world.

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