Change. As the past few months have taught us, there is no avoiding it. Outside, the snow on the ground is a constant reminder that the seasons have changed and winter is here. In November, the community mourned the passing of Luba Klivansky, a Lindenbaum Kosher Kitchen employee loved by all who knew her.

Barely a week later, we celebrated with the Anisfeld family when Rabbi Sharon gave birth to a healthy baby girl. At the end of first semester, Joseph Slifka Center Executive Director Marci Sternheim will leave us as she and her family move out of New Haven. Her time and energy helped create this building and she has continued to be essential in ensuring that it run smoothly for the past three years.

One thing is for certain: no one claim that life here is boring.

Looking over the pieces in this issue of Urim v'Tumim, I am reminded yet again that life is never static, no matter who we are or where we live, whether in the world of Adam and Eve or our own modern world.

Rebecca Davis' short story features a 13 year old boy saying Kaddish just weeks after the sudden and unexpected death of his father. Rabbi Sharon's piece, finished just days before the birth of her daughter, anticipates the family change inherent in the arrival of a new sibling.

In her piece on Jewish feminism, Margot Meitner studies different methods of expanding and changing prayer to make women feel more comfortable. Four essays come together in our cover story, each describing the way their lives have been changed by being religious at Yale.

Biblical imagery appears in poems by Reuben Silberman and Margie Klein, reminding us that in some ways, the essential human experience has changed little since the Garden of Eden. In an interview with Jesse Grauman, artist David Newman explains the connections between his paintings and ancient Jewish texts.

The issue includes two other poems, one by Margie Klein describing a woman whose grandson reminds her of a painful memory, and another by Tzvi Novick depicting a moment in nature. Finally, a lighthearted piece by Aaron Zamost pokes fun at the different dining options at Yale.

Writing about change is, I'm afraid, my way of coming to terms with the fact that this issue marks the end of my term as Editor-in-Chief of Uv'T. Producing the past four issues has been a fun and incredibly rewarding experience. Though I am looking forward to reading the work produced by the next set of editors, for now I invite you to join me in enjoying what we have, before it changes.

L'hitraot chaverai,

Claire Sufrin

Editor-in-Chief