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Jamming in Jerusalem with My Landlady’s Husband

My name is Sandra Lawson, and I am rabbinical student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. I’m spending this semester in ...

I’m Too Broken to Write This Blog

Rarely have I been so deeply affected, so deeply wounded inside, so utterly shattered.

Overcoming Obstacles to Recite Mourner’s Kaddish with Dignity

My father died on Rosh Hashanah 5764. He died at home, in a clean white bed, surrounded by his wife ...

Rediscovering Prayer with the New Reform Movement Machzor

This is the time of year that rabbis and cantors are busy preparing for the High Holy Days. Time taken ...

It’s Time for a New Calendar

I have a rich undergraduate memory of a professor teaching about communities. She said that one of the key aspects ...

Blessed Are Thou Lord Who Multitasks

Rosh Hashanah is a magical time.  Or at least, we seem to think so. According to the Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah ...

A Powerful Woman

As this summer, and this Jewish year wind down, I’m completing the painting and writing for my fourth illuminated book ...

To Feel More Connected, Get Physically Closer to the Torah

When you see an adorable baby, a stunning gem, or an intricately illustrated medieval Hagaddah, don’t you feel a yearning to ...

Mourning & Action

Our hearts are heavy.This past Thursday evening marked the onset of Tu B’Av, the traditional Jewish holiday celebrating love. Yet ...

Yes, She Wore a Kippah, But Not to the Kotel

She wore a kippah as she opened her gemara. We were a somewhat diverse group–I come from an Orthodox background, ...

Praying For My Children After Charleston

Week after week, I light two small candles. I move behind my children and put one hand on each of ...

The Steampunk Coffee… Synagogue

Editor’s Note: This is the blog we had scheduled to run today: a lovely piece about any gathering place becoming ...