I feel this sense of deja vu as we began to cancel plans and hunker down. Yes, the coronavirus-compelled communal self-quarantine descending upon our county, state and country felt vaguely familiar. Here's how we get through then and will now.
Category: Stories of our Lives
Our mentor – Rabbi Allan Smith – died this week
Rabbi Allan Smith, mentor to thousands of Reform Jewish youth, died. He had a profound influence on my life, and on the direction of the Reform Jewish movement.
Seth Front on L’dor Vador: HUC-JIR Interns Positively Influence My Daughter
In a speech at Hebrew Union-College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Or Ami congregant Seth Front kvells about the positive impact that Congregation Or Ami interns and rabbis have had on their daughter Amanda.
Fires, Shootings, Unfenced Roofs, and Uncovered Pits: Lessons from Torah in the Face of Increasing Danger
A year after the Borderline shooting and the SoCal fires, we reflect on the first person experiences, and explore Torah's insistence that we take action in the face of danger, including mass shootings and changes in climate.
Don’t Wait: Lessons from My Father-in-Law Murray November
Don't Wait: Lessons from my father-in-law Murray Novembert. (Yom Kippur sermon)
You Won’t Be There these High Holy Days
A poem about facing the moments over the High Holy Days - small but meaningful - when my dad won't be there.
Lazy Mourning Morning
A poem about those moments when I'm not feeling the sadness in the midst of the mourning.
A Friend’s Shiva Visit
Poem about when a friend visited me during my dad's shiva.
Standing for Kaddish That First Time
Standing for Kaddish that first time is surreal. This poem captures the multitude of feelings as I stood in temple to recite Kaddish for my father Ken Kipnes.
I Guess. I am. Still. a Mourner. (Thirty days since Dad Died)
I am still a mourner. A poem about how my body - tears, trembling shoulders, welling up of emotions - remind me that I am still a mourner. Remembering my father, Ken Kipnes.
Seeking a Minyan in Disneyland (or) Kaddish In a Small World
Where do I find a minyan in Disneyland when I need to say Kaddish for my father? Outside It’s a Small World, after all! There, my students ensured I had a community for Kaddish.
Low Level Sadness, the Mourning Heart’s Guest
Low level sadness, right beneath the surface, is the constant guest in the heart and mind of the mourner. This poem reflects those feelings during shloshim for my father, Ken Kipnes, Papa.
Video: What’s Mourning Like?
A video that explores what it feels like to be a mourner, featuring my poem - The Secret Life of a Mourner.
Video: What to Say to a Mourner
A video that explores what to say to a mourner. Of particular significance for me since my father Ken Kipnes died.
5 Extra Minutes During Shloshim (An Ode to Not Shaving)
A poem about my experience as a mourner following the ritual of not shaving during Shloshim.