June 2022

By Yehudit Robinson I didn’t expect to say Kaddish with any regularity. When my father, Morris Robinson, died in late January 2020, I intended to recite only the three Kaddishes at the end of the Shabbat davening each week and, instead, focus on helping raise my three young children. At the shivah minyanim at my […]

By Danielle Resh The absence of community left space for imagining. The eastern corner of my bedroom became the Almighty’s throne. Whispered words materialized—God picking up the homeless from the streets, the Egyptian oppressors drowning in the sea, the pungent scent of offerings, forefathers passing like sheep. Layers of history peeled open. In my own

By Daphne Lazar Price “I’m ready to get back to normal.” I hear those words out loud and in my head daily. And even as I write them here, I wonder if we want to go back to “normal.” We have endured a lot throughout this pandemic: illness and death, quarantine and distancing, and various

By Candace Plotsker-Herman It’s trite to say that Purim confusion morphed into Pesaḥ disappointment; my world fell apart and then I became resilient. It would be truer to add: and then anxious, and then resilient, and then anxious once more.Of course, my family and friends provided care, support, empathy, and love. We endured challenges, including

By Ellen Levitt We know that we can pray on our own nearly anywhere, anytime, but Judaism does emphasize communal prayer. And many of us appreciate the group atmosphere: We listen to one another sing, we feel camaraderie, we learn from each other. We can cheer each other on as well as offer solace as

By Chaye Kohl Teachers are urged to be lifelong learners. My career, infused with professional development, a few degree programs, and some independent study, has modeled that practice for my students. Studying made me a better teacher and helped me understand the process my students live every day. New lessons were thrust upon educators in

By Chaye KohlOn the last day of Passover, the Yizkor prayer helps us memorialize our dead. On Pesaḥ 2020 I recited the prayer in the solitude of my living room, slowly mouthing the words.Ostensibly I was reciting the Yizkor prayers for my father, a Holocaust survivor who died twenty years ago, and for all his

By Nomi KaltmannAustralia, for most people, conjures images of cuddly koalas, beautiful beaches, and picturesque landscapes with laid-back people. I was born in Melbourne, Australia, and can confirm that for those in coastal cities, this image is pretty accurate. Most people live relaxed lives and take their time to get things done.But on Sunday, May

Devorah ScholarsIn the spring of 2020, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance awarded Devorah Scholar grants to seven Orthodox synagogues. This innovative program, designed to seed the American landscape with women spiritual leaders, was made possible thanks to the generosity of Micah Philanthropies. Women who retain the position of a Devorah Scholar deliver congregational sermons, play

By Susan Hornstein The Women’s Tefillah Group of Raritan Valley, based in Highland Park and Edison, New Jersey, has been meeting regularly for more than thirty years. Most of our current membership has been a part of the group for at least a decade, and we are a close-knit and supportive bunch. We love to