I got into schmooze the way I got into Hillel-a friend dragged me. In the case of schmooze, that friend was former Editor-in-Chief Jake Laub. I went from never having set foot inside Hillel to helming a magazine out of its offices in the span of nine months. And my family has no idea how that happened.

See, we never went to services or had Shabbat dinners. We never celebrated holidays (unless you count the two nights of Hanukkah each year when I forced my parents to dig the menorah out of the closet). I never had a bat mitzvah-although Alex Finkel’s feature on late Bat Mitzvahs gives me hope on that front-and I don’t really know my chutzpah from my mitzvah.

But here’s what I love about schmooze: while each issue is brimming with Judaism, it doesn’t alienate someone like me. Even if I do need to look up the occasional Yiddish-ism as I edit the articles, I can connect to this magazine just as easily as someone who keeps kosher and went to Hebrew High.

But enough kvelling. We’ve got a great issue for you.

As always, we’ve got something for every type of Jew in these pages: the musical Jew (check out our schmoo-sic section); the delinquent Jew; the tree-hugging Jew; and even the wannabe Jew. And to welcome you to the new Jewish year, we have a break-fast recipe, as well as a humorous photographical take on what job your degree will get you in the recession.

Enjoy the last vestiges of summer weather, the fresh start a new school year offers and your quarterly dose of Jewish culture. I look forward to schmoozing with you.

Sabrina Lazarus
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
sabrinalazarus2007@u.northwestern.edu