WORDS THAT BREATHE

Mi Shebeirach for someone living with dementia: a prayer for comfort and dignity for the one who forgets, and strength for the one who remembers.

On Yom Kippur morning, Matt, Alli, and Charlie Seigel took the bimah at Congregation Or Ami to tell their family's story — a childhood taunt on a ballfield, a mother's grief that led her home, and a Jewish star a daughter once took off and chose to put back on.

Rabbi Paul Kipnes remembers URJ camp and NFTY leader Paul “PJR” Reichenbach, exploring the quiet, disenfranchised grief of losing a mentor.

I wrote this the day she buried her mother, trying to hold prayer and grief together as she recited the first Kaddish for her.

A prayer for when you are caring for someone with dementia: patience in loss, love that outlasts memory, and grace to cherish what remains.

Rabbi Paul Kipnes remembers his teacher Sara Lee, Professor Sara S. Lee, longtime director of the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR, and the High Holy Day lesson that changed how he leads: it comes around every year, so plan ahead.