On the Rabbis Without Borders blog, a reflection on being paralyzed by fear and finding a way forward, with the help of friends, including one who encouraged me to compose and share this prayer: “God Desires My Freedom,” recited at the Lights for Liberty Vigil to End Human Detention Camps, Plaza Fiesta, Chamblee, GA – July 12, 2019 En medio de mi angustia llamé al Señor; El Señor me respondió y me … Read more
On the Rabbis Without Borders blog, my personal story of accompanying an asylum seeker in immigration court: The email request arrives on Friday around 2:30 pm. The subject: “Accompaniment Urgently Needed for Asylum Court Case.” Volunteers are needed on June 6th. It’s been more than five months since I returned from Nogales, where I was immersed for three days in the work of the KINO Border Initiative. There I learned what the … Read more
On the Rabbis Without Borders blog, a tribute to 3 rabbis who influenced me as a student and newly ordained rabbi and who continue to impact my teaching and my students today. Thanks to Micah B. and Micah R., rising juniors at The Weber School, who created the image and gave me permission to post it: “Spring is graduation season. My Facebook feed is crowded with photos of my friends’ children in … Read more
Many of my friends practice yoga. I never did. It’s just not my thing. Years ago, I used to run, and play volleyball and basketball. I was younger then. Now I prefer fast-walking, or taking an aerobics or spin class at the gym. My default mode when I exercise, like when I teach, is high energy. In the last year and a half, however, I’ve grown to appreciate the value of holding … Read more
“What did you do during spring break?” I can hardly wait to get back to school Monday morning to ask, and answer, this question. Yesterday, I offered an invocation during the awards luncheon at the WICERS 2019 conference. It was the second-most meaningful meal, after our family Seder, of my Passover celebration. WICERS, an acronym for Women In Construction, Engineering and Related Services, is described on its website as “an exciting opportunity for … Read more
On the Rabbis Without Borders blog, a reflection on praying at the Roswell Community Masjid (RCM) after the terrorist attack at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand: “I arrive nearly an hour early for Jumuah (Friday afternoon communal prayers). I want to visit briefly with the Imam and other friends before the service, because I know I’ll be rushing home after the prayers to finish preparing … Read more
On the Rabbis Without Borders blog, I continue my series of posts about my morning routine. This past week’s reflection is about prayer, specifically my singing of Psalms every morning: “I didn’t plan to return to the subject of poetry, or even that of prayer, in this blog post. But since waking up to the news of the horrific shooting in New Zealand on Friday, I’ve been doing quite a bit of … Read more
It’s always dark when the dogs wake me in the morning, and switching to Daylight Savings Time hasn’t changed anything. I’m not ready to rise, but dogs are creatures of habit and need to get moving in the morning. I have a few minutes between when they shake themselves awake and make their way to the front door. I use the time to turn on my phone flashlight, pull on my slip-on … Read more
“If poets ruled the planet, we’d still be living in caves, and we wouldn’t care about anything except writing.” —Janet R. Kirchheimer This was just one quotable line from Janet’s response to an email I sent to her, in which I confessed that I’d been writing poetry to procrastinate grading papers and answering emails. Janet, the CLAL teaching fellow who manages the LEAP program, is a poet, so I knew she’d understand … Read more
In my recent post on the Rabbis Without Borders blog, I reflect on what I learned during the 2019 Point-in-Time Homelessness Count. Although I volunteered for the first time in 2017, and I blogged about that experience, this time was different for me. Then, I was assigned to a team that covered a few square miles of Alpharetta, where I’d never been. This year, I stayed within a few miles of my home … Read more