When I returned from my sixth Jewish humanitarian mission to the island of Cuba at the beginning of February, little did I know that the entire world would be in quarantine only a month later. It now feels like a miracle that we were all able to be together.

My career path wasn't always clear, and certainly not straight, but I recently discovered that I can draw a direct line from my current role (and my entire worldview around gender conditioning and Judaism) to the guiding Jewish values of my upbringing. 

This is the third year in row that I’ve interviewed my mother, Adela, a Holocaust survivor, for Mother’s Day. In our 2018 and 2019 interviews, she revealed memories that she’d previously kept to herself, like the last time she saw her own mother. 

Is this happening because the future is now so uncertain? Am I more aware that every day might be my last? Such questions give us pause and make us take serious stock of our lives.

I pray that this pandemic may be lifted speedily from this planet – and when it is, may we be able to look back without shame at the way we behaved and how we treated one another.

In recent weeks, we have found ourselves on a journey for which we have felt totally unprepared. Like our ancestors, we lack maps and familiar signposts (though we do have Zoom!) to help us get oriented in our new reality.

I’ve highlighted some poets and poems that speak to me for the moment we are in, but I encourage you, too, to poke around on your own from among Israeli writers and find what resonates with you.

From Torah to telling stories, intersectionality to Israel, here are five podcasts to help you engage with your Judaism from home.

Do you know about all the great Jewish educational videos available from our partners at BimBam? Here are a few ideas for “homeshuling” your kids during this time.