June 2022
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(Wo)man Plans and God Laughs
Marna Becker, the “Under Five-Foot Tall Giant” talks about creating connections, facing challenges and keeping it real.
By Penina Taylor
Today, it’s not uncommon to hear about an Observant Jewish woman breaking the mold and challenging the long-held beliefs that the only jobs available for her was a teacher or a day-care provider. Within these pages we’ve met a boudoir photographer, an activist for women’s rights within the greater Orthodox community, a leader in environmental issues, a leader in the world kindness movement, accomplished musicians, a Jewish Woman of Color, a clothing designer of modest activewear, and a contestant on American Ninja Warrior. This month we are featuring Marna Becker, a powerhouse sales development team manager, mentor, part-time career counselor and incredible mom to her four-year-old son.
Although Marna has been in Israel for 15 years and traveled a bit before arriving in the country, she grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. She talks about being one of those people who made Aliyah with nothing but two duffel bags and two college degrees. But she’s managed to do pretty well for herself anyway.
A Message From Our Editor
Recently I, and by extension UNORTHOBOXED, have been taken to task in a public forum for publishing a wide variety of articles. Being described as “ranging from sounding like Mishpacha Magazine to Jezebel”, as though that’s a bad thing, when in fact that is part of our mission – to express the entire spectrum of Orthodox Jewish thought and experiences. In this age of “branding is everything” and unfriending anyone who has a different opinion than you do, people have become offended by anything that doesn’t 100% fit the narrative of “truth” that they already have in their head. Gone are the days of visiting websites that offer the opposite viewpoint to your own in order to learn something new. Now it’s too triggering to read an opinion you don’t agree with.
Penina Taylor
Editor in Chief
