Sacred Words for a Fragile Democracy: A Jewish Creative Writing Lab
An event every week that begins at 12:00 pm on Tuesday, repeating until July 7, 2026
- A supportive, creative cohort space to explore writing Jewish ritual, poetry, and prayer
- Guided prompts and inspiration from Jewish American poets, alongside Jewish texts and themes of democracy and justice
- Time to write, reflect, and (optionally) share your work with others
- Opportunities to connect personal and family stories to broader questions of civic belonging and responsibility
- An optional public reading to share your work in community
- The possibility of publication in a digital collection on Ritualwell, reaching a wide audience
This is a space for writers of all levels—whether you’re new to creative practice or have been writing for years. Bring your curiosity and a willingness to explore.
This initiative was made possible thanks to an ignition grant from A More Perfect Union as part of our participation in the Jewish Partnership for Democracy.
Dr. Joellyn Zollman holds a Ph.D in Jewish history from Brandeis University. She has taught classes on Jewish history, American religion, and religious art and architecture at San Diego State University, UCSD and the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture. Dr. Zollman also works as a writer, curator and travel scholar. She is the author of the Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning’s forthcoming new curriculum in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States: We the People: The American Jewish Experience. 
Gabrielle Ariella Kaplan-Mayer is Ritualwell’s Director of Virtual Content and Programs. She is an author, educator and spiritual director whose work focuses on spirituality, creativity and disability. Her personal essays have been featured in Tablet, Shondaland, NBCThink, Wisdom Daily, WHYY and many other publications and she has published several nonfiction books as well as plays for children. She writes a Substack newsletter called “Journey With The Seasons,” a weekly practice of meditative reading with creative self-expression prompts. Gabrielle holds a BFA in theater and creative writing from Emerson College and an MA in Jewish Studies from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Find her work at gabriellekaplanmayer.com.
