WORDS THAT BREATHE

A pre-Yom Kippur prayer by Rabbi Paul Kipnes for the volunteers, staff, clergy, and teams who carry a congregation through the High Holy Days.

When someone we love dies, Judaism offers the gift of shiva. But what happens when family, work, travel, health concerns, or distance make traditional shiva impossible? Rabbi Paul Kipnes explores meaningful Jewish practices that can help mourners honor a loved one, embrace grief, and find comfort when sitting shiva is not possible.

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.

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 and Rabbi Paul Kipnes How To's Rabbi’s Disaster To Do List: 10 Community-Restoring Actions from the SoCal Fires By Rabbi Paul K

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.

A guided meditation on the notion that we are not alone, created to respond to the pervasive isolation people have been feeling in the Covid-19 pandemic.

Transform the High Holy Day Appeal now and your synagogue just might nurture a greater culture of giving. Then, defying the prognosticators of the decline of the synagogue, yours might find itself with the funding to forge ahead, fashioning a future filled with hope and excitement. Here's how Congregation Or Ami did it.

Addressing synagogue leaders, this letter wonders aloud about how we can go back better to in-person synagogue life, especially for our staff and clergy.

Synagogue Dues are Dead, so what’s the price point at which quitting the temple becomes unnecessary or nearly impossible? How Congregation Or Ami transformed our funding model.

An open letter to Jewish leaders about how to lead through Covid-19 present and future.

A Jewish prayer finding strength in the responses of our ancestors to the trials in their lives. Specially written for during the Covid-19 outbreak

A video that explores what it feels like to be a mourner, featuring my poem - The Secret Life of a Mourner.

A video that explores what to say to a mourner. Of particular significance for me since my father Ken Kipnes died.

Spoken word poetry about a rabbi who now has to be the one who sits shiva and let's other take care of him.

A spoken word poem about a rabbi who realizes that after all the pastoral support for people whose loved ones have died, he never really knew what it felt like. Until his own father died.

Rabbinic Student Elana Nemintoff reflects on the role of the rabbi during the immediate responses by Congregation Or Ami, Calabasas, to the Woolsey fire.

How does a Rabbi deal with the trauma of a fire and some shootings? Here's another peek into the journey.

When the fires hit in southern california, we took 10 Community-Restoring Actions that helped our congregants, community and ourselves.

Facing the trauma after the fires. If it can happen to the rabbi, it can happen to you too...

When Cutting One’s Hair for Chemo: A Prayer/Blessing/Drash/Spoken Word Rap