Arnav

By Devorah SilvermanThe COVID-19 pandemic was devastating. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, and millions experienced isolation and social recessions from which it will take years to recover. If there is a silver lining for the women of Sharsheret, it is that we are emerging with an even sharper mission, understanding how we can […]

By Michelle Shain“Shabbat Morning Groups for Our Children Are Back … this Shabbat!” read the subject line of an email from my synagogue sent a few months ago, in May 2021. After more than 14 months of spending Shabbat mornings at home with my four children, the prospect of going back to shul filled me

By Meira E. Schneider-AtikWhen COVID-19 broke out, most mikva’ot closed, but many women’s mikva’ot remained open. I remember hearing some who were angry that women’s mikva’ot weren’t closing as well, saying that it was too much of a risk for women to go out and that rabbis should find kulot (leniencies). I didn’t agree then,

By Pam ScheiningerAs I sat down to write this article, I kept coming back to the thought, “What do I have to say about COVID that has not already been said?” The global experience of COVID, and the myriad ways it has affected us individually and communally, have been analyzed and expounded upon by philosophers,

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