Keren Or (Ray of Light), a program of Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council, is a creative arts contest for Jewish youth. Minnesota Jewish students in grades 7-12 are invited to submit original poetry, creative prose, and photographs. 

Keren Or was founded in 2004 by Jerry and Eileen Siegel (z’’l) to honor the memory of their daughter, Karen Siegel-Jacobs. Siegel-Jacobs grew up in Minneapolis and attended the Minneapolis Talmud Torah. She was an active member of Adath Jeshurun Congregation and USY and as a teenager wrote poems and short stories.

“Keren Or is a unique contest for teens, creating opportunities to explore creativity and sharing with the community a window into their personal lives,” said Robyn Awend, executive director of Rimon. “The work is powerful and thoughtful, steeped in narrative, complexity, and beauty. Each year we engage jurors from the local arts community to award prizes in each age category.”

Prizes in each category are awarded to two separate groups: students in grades 7-9 and grades 10-12. The prizes are $100 for first place, $50 for second and third places, and $36 for Honorable Mention. Over 150 teens have won prizes since the contest began nineteen years ago. Look out for more Keren Or publicity in the days to come!

“I applaud every one of the Keren Or contributors; it wasn’t easy choosing the winners,” said one of this year’s Keren Or judges. “It was a real privilege to experience their work and get to see the world through their eyes.”

7-9 Grade Winners

Photography:

1st Place: Isa Melendez, “Feathers”

2nd Place: Dahlia Cohen, “Roman Glow”

3rd Place: Jesse Posada, “Deep Sky”

Honorable Mention: Daphne Slager, “Concrete Jungle”

Honorable Mention: Shaindy Spiro, “Sunset”

Honorable Mention: Lena Spirn, “Self Portrait 2”

Poetry:

1st Place: Revaya Davis, “Flying Free”

2nd Place: Eliora Estrin, “Butterflies in the Sun”

3rd Place: Leah Smith, “Some Moments”

Honorable Mention: Daphne Slager, “LIGHT”

Honorable Mention: Eliora Estrin, “Waiting”

Honorable Mention: Revaya Davis, “Two Lonely Geese”

Prose:

1st Place: Daphne Slager, “Earth That Twinkles”

2nd Place: Isaac Broderius, “The Family Craft”

3rd Place (tied): Lena Spirn, “That Horrible Feeling”

3rd Place (tied): Shaindy Spiro, “Flying Free”

10-12 Grade Winners

Photography:

1st Place: Malachai Gross, “Scale”

2nd Place: Eliah Fink, “Blurple”

3rd Place: Batsheva Fried, “Running”

Honorable Mention: Miriam Kvasnik, “Unclear”

Honorable Mention: Olivia Zucker, “Raccoon Island”

Honorable Mention: Isaac Hoffman, “Night and Day”

Poetry:

1st Place: Amelia Wise, “An Ode to Abandonment”

2nd Place: Aida Weiss, “Fingerprints”

3rd Place: Etty Last, “They, My Home”

Honorable Mention: Etty Last, “Mirror”

Honorable Mention: Aida Weiss, “Where Do You Go”

Honorable Mention: Amelia Wise, “On Poetry and Lying”

Prose:

1st Place: Jonathan Cohen, “The Lies I Tell”

2nd Place: Etty Last, “A Darker Side”

3rd Place: Malachai Gross, “Against All Odds”

Honorable Mention: Dahlia Herman, “With A Spin of Globe”

Honorable Mention: Jonathan Cohen, “The Warning”

Honorable Mention: Etty Last, “The Puzzle”