LGBTQ Panel: What is the Legacy of Queer Rabbis? Rabbis Judith Levitt, Daniel Lichman, indigo Raphael, Judith Rosen-Berry, Elli Tikvah Sarah, Anna Wolfson Finchley Reform Synagogue, 8 November 2023 Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah’s contribution to the Panel Personal introduction It’s good to be here with you all for this special event. I was ordained on […]
Sh’mini Atzeretthe ‘Eighth (day of)Closure’concludingthe sacred seasonthe days set apartfor repairing ourselvesour relationshipsour communitiesour worldand thenrejoicingin nature’s bounty.But this yearin IsraelSh’mini AtzeretAcheret‘another’kind of closureon that holy-daywhich was also Shabbatmonstrous desecrationas Hamas terroristshearts-sealed-shuthands wielding gunsknivesstopped heartsin their hundredsyoung peopledancingin the desertinto dawnmowed downbabieschildrenfamiliesas they woketo a new daytorturedmurdered mutilatedtheir homes set aflame.Meanwhilegirls and women rapeddozens of […]
Simchat Torah[1]the joy of Torah joyousrespitefor agile mindsforeverdivinginto the flowof wordsdecipheringand multiplyingtheir meanings the annual rejoicingstirring the heartand the feetto rapture.Eitz Chayyim hila-machazikim bah ‘She is a Tree of Life to those who grasp Her’the Torah claspedin loving embrace its ancient lettersdancingfrom pastto presentfrom endingto beginning whirlinginto new lifewith every step.Elli Tikvah Sarah Post-Biblical festival […]
Sh’mini Atzeretthe eighth day after Sukkot[1]that closesthe sacred seasonof the seventh month.[2]In ancient times the annual cycle ofpilgrimage to Jerusalem also concluded on that day. And sothe returning pilgrimsshut down for the bare months of winter shadowed by concern that the late harvest’sbountymight not lastuntil the spring Aviv the month of beginnings[3] when the full […]
Sukkot, chag ha-asif, ‘the feast of ingathering’, is the concluding autumn festival of the ‘three feet’ festivals (shalosh r'galim), when our ancestors would go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem with their offerings (Exodus 23:14-17, Deuteronomy 16:16). The first is Pesach, chag ha-matzot, ‘the feast of unleavened bread’, in the spring. The second is Shavuot/Weeks, yom ha-bikkurim, […]
To plunge like a stone into the depths of The Day Yoma[1] weighted with griefs burdened by regrets lost disorientated hopeless. But then to discover in the enveloping darkness our old home waiting to be claimed nourishing waters nurturing us into new life opening our hearts to remembrance healing hope inviting us to take courage […]
Yom Kippur/YomaYom KippurYoma[1] The Day the exceptional day out of our lives out of Life stripped bare of Life’s essentials etched in bone-white lodged in the realm of Eternity suspended between past and future. Yom KippurYoma The Day with a single goal after long hours spent in confession remorseexhausted our misdeeds forgiven but not disappeared […]
Fifty yearssince the Yom Kippur Warbut no Jubileeto be soundedwith T’ki’ah G’dolahthe ‘Great Blast’at the end of the fast. After triumphin 1967 Israel caught unawaresin 1973on Yoma‘The Day’ when everything ceaseswhen even soldierslay down their armsmake confessionand seek forgivenessof the Onein whose imageevery human beinghas been created (even thosewe may consider to beour enemies). And […]
Rosh Ha-Shanah‘The head of the year’a ‘day of blasting’on the first dayof the seventh monthas we are taughtin the Torah. [1] Halfway throughthe cycle of monthsthe yearturnsa milestone momentfor us to pauseand turnour headsto our heartsbeatingto every shofar blastthe roar of ‘T’ki’ah’broken ‘Sh’varim’the rapid-fire of ‘T’ru’ah’ [2]wordless missivesfrombeyondcalling usto accountfor all we have doneand failed […]