Songs and Videos for Celebrating Simchat Torah
One of most wonderful aspects of Simchat Torah is celebrating the joy of children and families dancing and singing with our Torah scrolls. While we will be unable to dance together in person, we invite you to play the following videos or audio files and dance in your homes.
Addressing Mental Illness in a Time of COVID-19 and Systemic Racism
As the United States grapples with COVID-19 and faces a renewed focus on racial justice, this week provides an important opportunity to take stock of how both issues affect mental health.
Finding My Way Home: How and Why I Returned to My Judaism
Not knowing if I would be shunned or accepted, I decided to give my religion another chance. I was not prepared for the warm and welcoming atmosphere I found at temple, where being gay was as acceptable as having brown hair.
It's Sukkot, Let's Vote: The Letter I Wrote to My Neighbors about Our Sukkah
Known as z’man simchateinu (season of our rejoicing), Sukkot is the only festival associated with an explicit commandment to rejoice.
Sukkot in a Time Of Pandemic: A Poem
This year, even if you do not have a sukkah to visit, you can still experience the kavanah (intention) and the ruach (spirit) of Sukkot.
It's Election Season: 7 Key Actions to Take Between Now and Nov. 3rd
Election Day is fast approaching, but our work is not done yet. There’s still time to make a difference and ensure every voice is heard and every vote is counted this election.
It Shouldn’t Take a Pandemic to Return Us to Ourselves
As 5781 begins, I find that the less I do, the better I feel. The more I am myself. The more at-home I am within my own body, my own mind. There is no glory in constant exhaustion and fatigue.
Yachol Nuchal, Surely We Can Overcome
Do we see ourselves and this moment as grasshoppers, or do we jump on top of our chairs and say “Yachol nuchal, surely we can overcome this”?
An Open Letter to Those Who are Struggling with an Eating Disorder at Yom Kippur...
At Yom Kippur, we wish one another "a safe and easy fast," but for those of us with eating disorders, it will be neither safe nor easy. It will be dangerous, but more so detrimental.
On Running Away, Returning, and Teaching the Story of Jonah
We hear the story of Jonah on Yom Kippur, as an example of the power of repentance and redemption. But my favorite thing about this story is how perfectly messy it is to heed God's call.