Wisdom to ensure you don’t let political disruptions ruin your Thanksgiving dinner
Kol Nidre: A Time Machine
If Kol Nidre is really an Aramaic legal formula, why do we keep singing it?
When the World Seems Hopeless
How to find hope when the world feels hopeless.
My Chiropracter Prepared Me for Rosh Hashana
How my chiropractor prepared me for Rosh Hashana.
A Mantra for When Life is Full of Stress
How to respond when life out there is so full of stress that we often want to pull back, circle the wagons, and just take care of ourselves.
They Spit on the Sefer Torah
In an act so heinous to Jews, an orthodox Jewish young woman spit on the Torah scroll. That's what the ultra-orthodox leadership is fostering in their opposition to Women of the Wall and of progressive Judaism.
Addressing the Lingering Loss of Covid-era Zoom Bar/Bat Mitzvah Students
A service to address the lingering loss for covid-era zoom Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremonies. Far too many became B'Mitzvah away from the synagogue, instead taking the first steps on the path to becoming an adult on Zoom. It is time for staff teams to address the lingering sense of loss.
Condemning Kanye/Ye’s Antisemitism (and all the other Hatred too)
A strong statement condemning Kanye West's (Ye) antisemitism and the hatred that it engenders.
Sermon: That Time My Wife Was Spit on… In Jerusalem… By a Jew
Sermon: That Time My wife was spit on... in Jerusalem... by a Jew. AKA: Rejecting Tribalism, Embracing Discomfort
Open Letter to the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Board of Governors
An open letter supporting the recommendations for a path forward for Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
Leadership in a Time of Crisis: Resources for Rabbis
Reflections When the Rabbi Feels Trauma in CCAR’s Journal of Reform Judaism (Fall 2019) By Rabbi Paul Kipnes So That’s What Rabbis Do: A Rabbinic Student Reflects on a Synagogue’s Fire Response By (then Rabbinic Student, now) Rabbi Elana Nemitoff-Bresler After the Fires: Celebrating Thanksgiving When Homes are Lost or Damaged By Sally Weber MSW …
When the Rabbi Feels Trauma
A mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue.A mass shooting in the local dance bar.A raging fire, forcing the evacuation of the synagogue and 75 percent of our congregation. This is the story of when the rabbi experienced trauma after these events.
Parenting: The Challenging of Letting Go (spoken word poetry)
In this spoken word poem, explore how Abraham's parents might have felt as he went off from Haran to the Promised Land, in search of his future.
God Damn You, God! Taking God to Task in a Messed Up World
What’s with the raging wildfires and destructive flooding, the mass shootings and mindless meanness all around? How many more need to die to motivate Your mercy, to finally get You to act on our behalf? What the heck is going on with You, God?
Rabbi, Do You Have a Faith That Gets You Through?
How I found faith that got me through these tumultuous years.