Ritualwell

Poems of Freedom: A Reading & Writing Experience
2026-03-17 20:00 - 21:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
8-9:30 p.m. EST

Prepare for Passover—the festival of liberation—through poetry, reflection, and creative expression. Join Ritualwell and the Philly Yetzirah Regional Chapter for a special reading, sharing poems inspired by themes of freedom, liberation, and the Passover story.

After the reading, you’ll be invited into a generative writing experience with a guided prompt designed to help you begin crafting your own poems of freedom. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or simply curious, you’ll have space to write, reflect, and explore what liberation means in your own life and in our collective moment. Featured poets are Cathleen Cohen, Henry Israeli, Lynn Levin and Maya Pindyck.

This event is a beautiful way to enter the Passover mindset—through listening, creativity, and shared inspiration. All are welcome; no prior writing experience is necessary.

This session will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Cathleen Cohen was the 2019 Poet Laureate of Montgomery County, PA. She created the We the Poets program for children from diverse cultural and faith communities (www.theartwell.org). Currently she teaches poetry and painting through local venues, including Ritualwell, Or Zarua, Cerulean Arts Gallery and Kol Tzedek. Her poems appear in literary journals and four collections: Camera Obscura (2017, Moonstone Press), Etching the Ghost (2021, Atmosphere Press) and Sparks and Disperses (2021, Cornerstone Press) and Murmurations (2024, Moonstone Press). Three of her poems were nominated for Pushcart Prizes. Her artwork is available through Cerulean Arts Gallery (https://ceruleanarts.com/pages/cathleen-cohen).

Henry Israeli is the author of four poetry collections, most recently Our Age of Anxiety (White Pine Poetry Prize: 2019), and god’s breath hovering across the waters, (Four Way Books: 2016), and as editor, Lords of Misrule: 20 Years of Saturnalia Books (Saturnalia: 2022). His next collection, Between the Trees (or the Lonely Nowhere) will be published by Four Way Books in 2028. He is also the translator of three critically acclaimed books by Albanian poet Luljeta Lleshanaku. His poetry has appeared in numerous journals including American Poetry Review, Boston Review, Plume, and The Harvard Review, as well as several anthologies including Best American Poetry 2025. He is Director of Jewish Studies, Drexel University; Director of Drexel Writing Festival; and Teaching Professor, Drexel University.

Lynn Levin is a poet and writer. She is the author of nine books, most recently the short story collection House Parties (2023) and the poetry collection The Minor Virtues (2020). Her work has appeared in Boulevard, Plume, Smartish Pace, Southwest Review, Kerem, Shofar, Nashim, Jewish Fiction Journal, and several anthologies including The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry, The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, and Keystone Poetry: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania. She teaches at Drexel University and for many years taught creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania. Her website is lynnlevinpoet.com.

Maya Pindyck’s third book of poems, Impossible Belonging (2023), won the Philip Levine Prize for Poetry and was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. Her poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, Plume, GRANTA (Hebrew edition), Beloit Poetry Journal, and Seneca Review. A recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, Maya is an associate professor and director of Writing at Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, and co-author of the educational textbook A Poetry Pedagogy for Teachers (2022). She grew up in Boston and Tel Aviv. Her website is mayapindyck.com.

Holding The Sweet and The Bitter: Four New Questions for Passover 2026
2026-04-01 12:00 - 13:00
How do I hold a sprig of parsley — fresh as the first days of spring — and dip it into salt water, the taste of tears? How do I sing familiar songs with joy while also carrying fear, grief, or anger about the world around me? And how do I leave the Passover seder not only remembering liberation, but claiming joy and resilience for the days ahead?

To spark thoughtful and heartfelt conversation, the Ritualwell team has created a new collection of curated Passover resources, including four new questions to complement the traditional Four Questions. This printable PDF will be delivered electronically and accessible online, ready to bring to your table when you register.

You’ll also receive a recording of our meaningful event with Rabbi Isabel de Koninck reflecting on beloved Passover traditions, rituals, and the questions you are bringing to the holiday.

The Art of the Unexpected: A House Parties Reading
2026-04-27 13:00 - 14:00
April 27, 2026
1-2:00 p.m.

Join us for an intimate book talk and reading with Lynn Levin, acclaimed poet, writer, and author of the celebrated short story collection House Parties. In this special Ritualwell gathering, Lynn will read from her vividly imagined, witty, and deeply humane stories that traverse everyday moments, unexpected predicaments, and unforgettable characters.

With her poet’s eye and storyteller’s heart, she invites us into narratives that are both surprising and resonant, ranging from the comic and absurd to the quietly profound. Whether you write, read, or simply love great storytelling, come be inspired by Lynn’s craft, engage with her work, and explore what makes these stories linger in the mind long after the last page.

This session will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Lynn Levin is a poet and writer. She is the author of nine books, most recently the short story collection House Parties (2023) and the poetry collection The Minor Virtues (2020). Her work has appeared in Boulevard, Plume, Smartish Pace, Southwest Review, Kerem, Shofar, Nashim, Jewish Fiction Journal, and several anthologies including The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry, The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, and Keystone Poetry: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania. She teaches at Drexel University and for many years taught creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania. Her website is lynnlevinpoet.com.

Omer Counting for Purpose
2026-05-20 13:00 - 14:00
Join us for seven weeks of prompts, practices, and a communal gathering with Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg that will ground you in your life’s purpose.

Over the seven weeks of the Counting of the Omer, we are invited to clarify and commit to the purpose that wakes us in the morning, guides us through the day, and brings a sense of meaning when we close our eyes at night. Anchoring ourselves in our why can give us strength, courage, and compassion as we share our gifts with the world and shape it in the ways we are called to.

As Viktor E. Frankl wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning, “Those who have a why to live can bear almost any how.” In challenging times, this wisdom reminds us that purpose can sustain us even when the path forward feels uncertain.

As we enter the Omer, we invite you to support Ritualwell’s annual campaign that helps sustain this work of creativity, connection, and Jewish meaning-making. Your gift is an invitation into a shared journey—one of reflection, learning, and discovering what is yours to offer.

During this challenging time, the Omer offers a space to reconnect with what matters most, be lifted by sacred middot (values), and notice, name, and be guided by your unique purpose. Supporters of the campaign are invited to join a special seven-week journey of reflection and creativity. Each week, participants will receive teachings, short videos, and writing prompts exploring the sacred qualities within us—love, strength, compassion, resilience, humility, connection, and presence—and asking a deeper question: What is mine to offer the world? Those who join the journey will also be invited to gather for a special culminating event.

Culminating Event with Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
1-2:00 p.m. EDT

When we gather for this closing event, we will honor the path we’ve walked and the moment we are living in. In a time when many feel overwhelmed or unsure how to respond to the challenges around us, this gathering lifts up a powerful truth: each of us carries a unique way of serving, creating, and bringing healing to our communities and our world.

We are honored to welcome Rabbi Ruttenberg, an award-winning author, teacher, and activist whose work explores the intersection of Jewish wisdom, accountability, justice, and spiritual purpose. Drawing from the themes of her National Jewish Book Award–winning book On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World, she will offer insight, inspiration, and grounding for the sacred work of living our values in complicated times.

Together, we will reflect on the spiritual growth of the Omer journey and explore how our individual gifts, voices, and actions can help shape a more just and compassionate world.

Come to be nourished by community, guided by wisdom, and reminded that your presence—and your purpose—matter.

This session will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg is an award-winning author of eight books who now makes her primary writing home with the newsletter/magazine LifeIsASacredText.com. She has received the Lives of Commitment Award from Auburn Seminary, and the Rabbinic Human Rights Hero Award from the human rights organization T’ruah, was named by Newsweek as a “rabbi to watch,” and as a “faith leader to watch” by the Center for American Progress, and has been a Sunday Washington Post crossword clue (83 Down). Her most recent book, On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World is a National Jewish Book Award winner and an American Library Association’s Sophie Brody Honor Book. It was hailed by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley as “A must read for anyone navigating the work of justice and healing.”
She has written for a number of publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and been featured on NPR, the Today Show, USA Today, MTV News, and elsewhere. Her activism has taken her from the jail cell to the White House and back again, and has included advising lawmakers; organizing 2,500 rabbis in the fight for reproductive freedom through the fall of Roe; and mobilizing Jewish communities around economic justice and abuse accountability. Her North Star is the belief that we have a moral and religious obligation to care for one another, and to fight for a more just world.

Tree of Life: A Mind‑Body‑Spirit Practice
2026-06-02 12:00 - 13:30
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
12-1:30 p.m. EST
$18

As we move through the luminous days following Shavuot and step toward the fullness of summer, join us for a unique exploration of ritual, awareness, movement, and light.
Rabbi Tsurah August, a teacher rooted in somatic practice, mindfulness, and Jewish mystical tradition, invites us into Embodying the Light — a session to awaken our bodies, our hearts, and our spiritual vision.
In this gathering we will:

Set a mindful tone for the season, grounding our awareness and centering in presence.
Use gentle movement, breath, and guided reflection to awaken our capacity to sense light within and around us.
Explore how revelation continues in the body — how we receive, carry, and radiate the light of insight, wisdom, and connection.
Offer prompts and moments for creative embodiment — through movement, drawing, journaling, or simply listening and witnessing.

Shavuot invites us into revelation; summer invites us into expansion. Together, we’ll explore what it means to embody what we’ve received — to let wisdom take root in muscle and breath, and to carry it forward into our lives.
Whether you’re familiar with mindfulness or new to embodied ritual, this practice is open and inclusive. Come as you are — with openness, curiosity, and your own unique presence. Bring a journal or sketch pad if you wish, wear comfortable clothing, and prepare to move, breathe, reflect, and kindle the light that is already within you.
We look forward to gathering with you — to awaken together, and to carry that light into our lives, our relationships, and our world.

This session will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Before becoming a rabbi and chaplain, Tsurah was a professional dancer, choreographer and movement educator for people with a broad range of movement and cognitive abilities. Dance is still her beloved form of prayer.

Advot End-of-Year Celebration and Poetry Reading
2026-06-25 19:00 - 20:30
Thursday, June 25, 2026
7-8:30 p.m. EDT

Join us to celebrate the contributions of our Advot@Ritualwell members and the unveiling of our fifth anthology showcasing their creations. Advot@Ritualwell serves as an online community for Jewish writers to learn, connect, and collaborate, providing a platform for mutual support in what can often be a solitary journey. Members bring their diverse backgrounds and expertise to share, co-create, and inspire one another. This event is their opportunity to showcase their work to you. Show your support by attending! Registrants will receive a 15% discount on their purchase of the anthology.

The members of our ADVOT community include: Nancy Abraham, Elliott batTzedek, Elizabeth Caplun, Alex Carter, Cathleen Cohen, Muriel Dance, Batya Diamond, Elisa Friedlander, Ona Gritz, Ziva Harmatz, Claire Helman, Chana Jacobs, Ann Kanter, Judith Kerman, Lucinda Kurtz, Rabbi Janet Madden, Beverly Pincus, Rabbi Sonja K. Pilz, SJ Schlossman, Gail Simmons, Susan Spector, Janice Steinberg, Julie Stone, and Cantor Keren Webber.

This session will be recorded and sent to participants following the event. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.
