Category: Hard Times

This, I believe, is why the High Holidays are followed immediately by Sukkot, the Festival of Booths. Five days after we acknowledge mortality, Sukkot is a celebration of the temporary.

What do we do when our Jewish practices are painful, when instead of anticipation and joy one is filled with hesitancy and dread?

What could we do on our little campus to foster interfaith solidarity and to bring comfort to two minority religious communities whose members are likely sad and anxious about bomb threats at JCCs and reports of rising Islamophobia?

You are not broken. Neither am I.

Let’s just put it this way: January 17th is National Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day. 

As you may have noticed, this month Ritualwell featured guest blog posts for Mental Health Awareness Month. You might wonder why an organization devoted to ritual would choose to address this topic. Mental illness affects us all, and Jewish communities in particular are failing to support those struggling with their mental health issues. In many communities, particularly in the Jewish community, we do not discuss mental illness often, let alone acknowledge it through ritual. 

How can the Jewish community be more accessible to those affected by mental health issues?

Here’s our message: if you suffer, get help. You’re worth it.

After more than half a century of struggle with mental illness, mired in despair, my father died by suicide.  

We gather in a living room, and over tea each participant has a turn to share