Don’t Cry for Me

Categories: Friendship Circle, Parsha, Vayigash

A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT FROM RABBI MORDY This week’s Parsha contains lots of moving parts. Joseph is reunited with his brothers and then his father and there is lots of drama associated with their reunion. Joseph sends his brothers back and forth to their father in Israel, frames them by planting his goblet in one of their sacks then accusing… Read More

Part 6: History of Fan Fiction Conclusion

Categories: Friendship Circle, History of Fan Fiction, Sarah Lehman

What’s so important about the history of fan fiction, you may ask? Aside from possibly helping you on Jeopardy, it makes the concept seem less trivial. If fan fiction as we know it had first come to be in, say, the late 1990s instead of the 1960s, would you really look at it the same? No, and that’s just in… Read More

Part 5: ‘Creators’ Involvement’

Categories: Friendship Circle, History of Fan Fiction, Sarah Lehman

In my last post, I talked about how fan fiction is something you may hear about without actively searching for it—although frankly speaking, it’s more likely to be discussed on the Internet than in, say, a college cafeteria)—including a mention of creators’ opinions. While some creators are supportive of derivative works based on their stories and/or characters, there are some… Read More

Part 4: Fan Fiction in Popular Culture

Categories: Friendship Circle, Hellos With Fellows, History of Fan Fiction, Sarah Lehman

It’s far from uncommon to see pop culture being referenced in everyday life, and especially common to see it referenced in other works (for instance, Marty McFly refers to Darth Vader at one point in Back to the Future). As such, it shouldn’t be surprising that the concept of fan fiction has been mentioned in ‘official’ fiction. Perhaps the most… Read More

Support Friendship Circle

Financial donations are the most direct way to support Friendship Circle. Please consider making a donation to keep our Circle growing!

Donate

Recent blog posts

We Need More Likes!

A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT FROM RABBI MORDY I’m going to deviate a bit from this week’s Parsha (Vayikra) to talk about Purim. Especially since the Fast of Esther was yesterday and we’re all in the Purim spirit. To give a quick refresher on the story: Achashverosh was the King of Persia who had his wife killed and replaced her with… Read More

Read more

Weekly Roundup: March 22, 2024

Teen Trip Thirty FC teens headed over to Clay Cafe in Sewickley on Sunday to make some ceramics! Members painted turtles, mugs, flower vases, heart-shaped bowls and more. Our artists that finished early squeezed in some board games at the end of the trip. Thanks to everyone who came and made it a good time! Kids Who Care Workshop Our… Read More

Read more

Plenty of Nothing

A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT FROM RABBI MORDY I’ve got nothing. So this week I’m in a bit of a conundrum. There is lots going on from a Jewish perspective (we conclude the Book of Exodus, we are about a week away from Purim) and the Parsha – Pekudei – is pretty repetitious. A few weeks ago, Moses is commanded by… Read More

Read more