Listening to our song
I was speaking to a friend yesterday about my forthcoming book. We were discussing what quote I would like to use on the back cover. My initial thought was a quote from Mary Oliver, “What is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
A Vision of Peace and Safety
Last night, on the fourth night of Chanukah, I sat with family, looking at the flames, eating some latkes. We talked about the holiday and how difficult it was to celebrate this year.
The Trapeze
The world feels overwhelming. I am so grateful to have friends and colleagues who are speaking in nuance and subtlety. Yet, the general noise and voices I have encountered are speaking in absolutes – right and wrong, good and bad, oppressor and victim. It all feels like too much.
Gratitude and Grief - A Thanksgiving Reflection
Many years ago, I was going through a particularly hard time in my life. Nine years after leaving my ex-husband, he took me to court and I was once again fighting for custody of my children. I was on the phone with a colleague, and she could tell that my voice was breaking.
A Messy Conversation, Right in Time
This past week, I had the privilege of leading a training at The Center for Safety and Change, a domestic violence shelter in Rockland County, New York. I walked in, thinking I was going to to facilitate a training on cultural competency and working with people who leave insular communities.
Forgiving Oneself - Ourself!
As I sit here re-reading this Yom Kippur reflection, I notice that this may be overwhelming for some, it discusses requirements of arranged marriage and the practice of hair-shaving for religious purposes. Please read with care and put it aside if it stirs up too much.
The New Year's Calling
I am not one of those people who look at the New Year as a time to write up goals or resolutions. To me the Jewish New Year has always been about reflecting, noticing where I am, what is working, and what I would like to change. It is a time to observe what is, and figure out where to go from there.
Timing: A Purim Reflection
In the Book of Esther, which is read on the Jewish holiday of Purim, we find that after Esther finds out about the plot to kill the Jews she invites her husband, the king, as well as his advisor Haman to a banquet.
Remembering: A Yom Kippur Reflection
On Sunday afternoon, the Eve of Rosh Hashanah, I found myself driving down to the southern New Jersey cemetery where my maternal grandparents are buried. It is customary to go to the graves of loved ones before the High Holidays, but I rarely actually do this ritual. I have been known to visit loved one’s burial sites on their Yahrtzeit (the anniversary of their death).
"(Don’t) Be Who You Are"
Seeing Possibility - A Passover Reflection
The Sanctuary Within - A Tefillin Reflection
“Tell me more about your journey with Tefillin? I want to understand it.” Yael Kanarek asks me in a conversation a few weeks ago as she prepares the Toratah (her Torah) Tefillin for Jericho Vincent.
Permission to Feel - Desire!
"What if it were ok to feel your desire? To allow yourself to experience the intensity of sexual craving and pleasure?" The fear that came across my client’s eyes (her face was covered with a mask) was palpable.
The Blessing of Change
People are looking at their lives and asking themselves, does this work for me?Does what I have always done feed me? Nourish me? Allow me to be who I want to be in the world?
Leaving the Monarchy - Leaving the Fold
I am not someone who watches the news, or much TV, and so I know very little about celebrities and their lives. When I heard about Prince Harry giving up his title as senior royal, the story began to tug at my heart. I did not know why at first, but something felt familiar.
Acceptance: A Purim Reflection
As I sit down to write this reflection, I am struck by the dichotomies that have become an everyday occurrence in this past year. What does it mean to put on a mask on Purim when we have spent the entire year masked? What does it mean to be showing more of ourselves when most of us have seen into each other’s homes virtually? We’ve been into the homes of our bosses, our colleagues, our therapists, and even our clergy, where we probably would never have been invited physically.
Looking Back At A Year Like No Other
It’s been quite a year…. some of us have lost jobs or our livelihoods, some of us have been sick, far too many of us have we have lost loved ones and had to grapple with how to mourn without community, and we have struggled with how to be there from afar for those who mourn.
Small and Consistent Steps
Throughout the U.S. and in some parts of the world, the month of June is celebrated as Pride month. This is because 51 years ago the LGBTQ+ community grew tired of being harassed, threatened, and marginalized simply for trying to live their lives in a way that society felt threatened by. As is often the case in uprisings, accounts vary, but most go something like this…On June 28th, 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn in NYC.