Rabbi Sara Y. Sapadin (she/her) is a rabbi and mother of four. Ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), Sara currently serves Temple Emanu-El in New York City as an associate rabbi. Sara has written for a number of Jewish publications and is also a proud contributor to The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate (CCAR Press). She, her husband Danny, and their children reside in New York City, where they are raising their dog to be Jewish.
We have so much to learn from our mothers, past and present. Soon, we'll return to the story of Passover and to the narratives of three remarkable mothers whose determination, fearlessness, and love changed the course of biblical history.
Life can strip our ability to stand in awe. When the rent is due, the refrigerator is bare, relationships run us ragged, we struggle to find space for the extraordinary.
As we witness public figures dismantled by the revelation of ugly episodes from their pasts, we parents must distill these events and their aftermath for our children.
In Parashat Sh’mot, we learn the Israelites have been enslaved in Egypt by a pharaoh who did not know Joseph. To gain some small degree of control, the Israelites examine their behavior for flaws that may have caused the situation.
Jewish tradition reinforces the importance of saying, “I’m sorry” with the sacred observance of Yom Kippur. It is widely considered to be the holiest, most solemn day of the Jewish year.