Ritualwell

Creating Jewish Liturgy for Juneteenth
2023-05-11 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
May 11 & 18, 2023, 12:00–1:30 p.m. EST
Join us for a two-part workshop inviting people of all backgrounds, but specifically Black (and Jewish) individuals and allies, to give voice to the significance of Juneteenth through writing. In the first session, we will spend time working in havruta (in pairs) or alone to create prayers, poems, liturgy, or songs that engage meaningfully with the day. In the second session, we will come together to share our final pieces and reflect on the process of writing for Juneteenth.
This workshop is an opportunity to honor and celebrate the liberation of enslaved African Americans in the United States, and to give voice to the experiences and perspectives of Black individuals. All levels of writing experience are welcome. We hope you will join us in this meaningful and creative exploration of Juneteenth.

Rabbi Sandra Lawson (she/her) is the Inaugural Director of Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Reconstructing Judaism and one of the first African American, queer, female rabbis. In 2020, the Forward named Lawson to its “Forward 50,” proclaiming her a “truth teller.” Prior to joining Reconstructing Judaism, Lawson served as the Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life and the Senior Jewish Educator at Hillel at Elon University in North Carolina. She is also the founder of Kol Hapanim – All Faces – an inclusive Jewish community that is relevant, accessible, and rooted in tradition, where all who come are welcomed, and diversity is embraced. She has also served as the investigative researcher for the Anti-Defamation League’s Southeast Region, becoming the go-to person when law enforcement in the South needed information on hate groups. Lawson lives in North Carolina with her wife Susan and three “fur babies”: Izzy, Bridget and Simon.
The sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.
We are happy to offer these two sessions for free. A suggested $36 donation has been added to the ticket. If you are unable to donate, you may remove that suggested amount from the ticket. Please consider donating if you’re able, to help us continue to offer free programs like this one.

Gathering Waters: Mikveh Ritual Creation Workshop
2023-05-12 12:00 - 13:00
Water is an ancient source of healing and transformation in Jewish tradition. In the past few decades, the ritual of mikveh immersion has been reimagined to include more and more voices and experiences, particularly that of women and LGBTQ individuals. A collaboration between Mayyim Hayyim’s Rising Tide Open Waters Mikveh Network and Ritualwell, join us for a special workshop on creating mikveh rituals. We’ll dive into Jewish sources on mikveh and look at examples of innovative contemporary rituals. We will then be invited to create our own mikveh rituals, to workshop them in a small group, and to share. This workshop is ideal for those who serve as mikveh guides or anyone looking to create their own, personal mikveh ritual or to help others in that process.

Hila Ratzabi is director of virtual content and programs at Ritualwell.org. She has been with Ritualwell since 2015, shepherding the publication of hundreds of poems, prayers and rituals and creating innovative online programming. Born in Rehovot, Israel, and raised in Queens, Ny., Ratzabi is a poet, writer, editor and writing coach. She is the author of a book of poetry, There Are Still Woods (June Road Press, 2022). She holds a BA in English/Creative Writing from Barnard College, a BA in Jewish Philosophy from the Jewish Theological Seminary (Double Degree Program, 2003), and an MFA in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College (2007). Her poetry is published in a variety of literary journals and in The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry. She lives in Oak Park, Il., outside Chicago, with her husband and two children. Learn more at http://www.hilaratzabi.com/.
This session will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.
We are happy to offer this session for free. A suggested $18 donation has been added to the ticket. If you are unable to donate, you may remove that suggested amount from the ticket. Please consider donating if you’re able, to help us continue to offer free programs like this one.
Mayyim Hayyim is a 21st century creation, a mikveh rooted in ancient tradition, reinvented to serve the Jewish community of today. Mayyim Hayyim is a resource for learning, spiritual discovery, and creativity where women, men, and people of all genders and ages can celebrate milestones like weddings and b’nai mitzvah; where conversion to Judaism is accorded the honor and dignity it deserves; where survivors of trauma, illness or loss find solace; and where those who immerse monthly can explore the ritual on their own terms. Mayyim Hayyim is a fountain of creativity that, since its opening in 2004, inspired new liturgies and curricula, publications, music, artwork, and plays.
The mission of the Rising Tide Open Waters Mikveh Network is to inspire, strengthen and support communities that embrace an open, inclusive and welcoming approach to ritual immersion as a way to mark life transitions.
Ritualwell is the most extensive online resource that curates original Jewish rituals for Jews and fellow seekers. We publish rituals, ceremonies, prayers and poems to mark sacred moments in Jewish life. Through creating and sharing rituals, hosting Ritualwell Immersions (online learning experiences) and curating an online Judaica shop, Ritualwell fosters a supportive environment for Jewish creativity, spiritual growth and discovery.

Borrowed Language: The Cento and the Piyyut
2023-05-15 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
As Jewish writers, we inherit an ocean of text with which to be in relationship. How can we make creative use of our lineage as People of the Book and play with the language we’ve been given? In this generative workshop, we will explore two poetic forms of ancient origins: the Cento (Latin for patchwork) and the Piyyut (Hebrew for storytelling, a liturgical poem), which both borrow heavily, sometimes entirely, from pre-existing textual materials in order to create something new. We’ll read classical and contemporary examples of these forms and explore what they share. Participants will be guided through writing exercises, leaving with at least one new poem draft of their own.
Mónica Gomery is a rabbi and poet. Her work explores queerness, diaspora, ancestry, theology, and cultivating courageous hearts. Her second poetry collection, Might Kindred, won the 2021 Prairie Schooner Raz-Shumaker Book Prize and is forthcoming from the University of Nebraska Press, fall 2022. She is the author of the poetry collection Here is the Night and the Night on the Road and the chapbook Of Darkness and Tumbling. Mónica serves as a rabbi at Kol Tzedek Synagogue and on the faculty of SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva and is also a co-founder of Let My People Sing!
The session will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.
We are happy to offer this session for free. A suggested $18 donation has been added to the ticket. If you are unable to donate, you may remove that suggested amount from the ticket. Please consider donating if you’re able, to help us continue to offer free programs like this one.

What My Hands Tell: Exploring Ekphrasis
2023-05-16 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
“My heart cannot bear to say what my hands tell.” —Maxine Silverman
A certain alchemy happens when different art forms speak to each other, which is known as ekphrasis. Poems that respond to visual art offer new avenues into expressing what the heart wants to say. In this session we will examine artwork and poems in relationship as they challenge and illuminate each other. We will explore ekphrastic poems and visual art from a variety of Jewish creatives (e.g., Maxine Silverman, Celia Dropkin) to inspire our own writing.
Cathleen Cohen was the 2019 Poet Laureate of Montgomery County, PA. A painter and teacher, she founded the We the Poets program at ArtWell, an arts education non-profit in Philadelphia. Her poems appear in journals such as Apiary, Baltimore Review, Cagibi, East Coast Ink, 6ix, North of Oxford, One Art, Passager, Philadelphia Stories, Rockvale Review and Rogue Agent. Camera Obscura (chapbook, Moonstone Press), appeared in 2017 and Etching the Ghost (Atmosphere Press) in 2021. She received the Interfaith Relations Award from the Montgomery County PA Human Rights Commission and the Public Service Award from National Association of Poetry Therapy. Her paintings are on view at Cerulean Arts Gallery (ceruleanarts.com).
The session will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.
We are happy to offer this session for free. A suggested $18 donation has been added to the ticket. If you are unable to donate, you may remove that suggested amount from the ticket. Please consider donating if you’re able, to help us continue to offer free programs like this one.

Liturgy Writing for Prayer Leaders
2023-05-24 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
May 24, 31, June 7, 14, 21, 28, 2023
12:00–1:30 p.m. EDT
Liturgy may be poetry, but is a poem necessarily liturgy? What turns a piece of writing into liturgy, something you can use during a prayer service? In this immersion, you will learn criteria and techniques to transform your poems and prayers into liturgy. In each session, we will discuss a topic you might need to address during a prayer service or event; then you will be prompted to write your personal take on it, as a first step toward creating your own liturgy. This immersion is for prayer leaders who have some experience writing prayers and want to receive feedback and hone their skills as liturgists in a supportive environment.
Trisha Arlin is a liturgist, writer, performer, and student of prayer in Brooklyn, NY. She has served as a liturgist, scholar, and artist in residence and taught for venues including the National Havurah Committee’s Summer Institute, Ritualwell.org, Haggadot.com, and for synagogues around the country. She is a builder of Bayit’s Liturgical Arts project. Trisha received a BA in Theater from Antioch College in 1975 and an MFA in Film (Screenwriting) in 1997 from Columbia University. In 2009/2010, Trisha was an Arts Fellow at the Drisha Institute. In 2011, she graduated from the sixth cohort of the Davennen Leadership Training Institute (DLTI). Trisha’s liturgy has been used in services, for ritual occasions, and at venues of many denominations nationwide. She is the author of Place Yourself: Words of Poetry and Intention (a collection of liturgy and kavannot). Her work has appeared in a variety of journals, siddurim, and collections of liturgy and can be found online at TrishaArlin.com, Ritualwell.org, and opensiddur.org.
All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Tongues Shaped Like Harps: Experimenting with Poetry and Visual Art
2023-06-06 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
June 6, 13, 20, 27, 2023
12:00–1:30 p.m. EDT
“Pray in the tongues / that are shaped like harps”
—From “Versöhnung” (Reconciliation), by Else Lasker-Schüler
Poetry and visual art have a long history of inspiring each other. The German-Jewish poet Else Lasker-Schüler, quoted above, was influenced by Franz Marc and other Expressionist painters, and her work, in turn, influenced other artists. In this immersion, we’ll look at connections between a variety of Jewish poets and artists, like Marc Chagall and Alexander Mazin, and John O’Hara and Mike Goldberg. We’ll also look at creatives who work across different media, like Jean Arp, Tristan Tzara, Marcia Falk, and Maya Pindyck. These works will inspire our own experiments in writing ekphrastic poetry (poetry that responds to other art forms). We will also deepen our writing through simple exercises in drawing, watercolor painting, and collage. By playing with different media, we will see how writing and art can open up new avenues of creativity in conversation with each other. All are welcome, regardless of experience in writing poetry or artmaking.
Cathleen Cohen was the 2019 Poet Laureate of Montgomery County, PA. A painter and teacher, she founded the We the Poets program at ArtWell, an arts education non-profit in Philadelphia. Her poems appear in journals such as Apiary, Baltimore Review, Cagibi, East Coast Ink, 6ix, North of Oxford, One Art, Passager, Philadelphia Stories, Rockvale Review and Rogue Agent. Camera Obscura (chapbook, Moonstone Press), appeared in 2017 and Etching the Ghost (Atmosphere Press) in 2021. She received the Interfaith Relations Award from the Montgomery County PA Human Rights Commission and the Public Service Award from National Association of Poetry Therapy. Her paintings are on view at Cerulean Arts Gallery (ceruleanarts.com).
All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Learning to Say “We”: Writing Identity
2023-06-15 14:00 - 15:30 | Zoom
June 15, 22, 29, July 6, 2023
2:00–3:30 p.m. EST
We often talk about identity as though it were something we have always been and absolutely are. But identity is not fixed: it is a way of understanding ourselves that relates us to others. Identities can be temporary as name-tags and enduring as monuments; singular as snowflakes and (think of Whitman’s “Song of Myself”) encompassing as oceans. We can think of our identities as a collage, or pointillist painting, or an ongoing story, or as the intersection of the histories that led to us and the social systems that surround us. American Jews, in particular, have no choice but to navigate multiple ways of identifying ourselves—as Jews, as Americans, as members of a racially stratified society, as targets and beneficiaries of oppression, as inheritors of and rebels against millennia of Jewish cultures and traditions. In this immersion, we will reflect and expand on our personal experiences of identity, using writing exercises and in-depth discussions to think about, challenge, discover, explore, and experiment with different ways to identify ourselves, to consider how those ways connect us to and separate us from others, and how they represent and misrepresent aspects of who we are.
Joy Ladin is the author of twelve books, including the National Jewish Book Award–winning revised second edition of The Book of Anna (EOAGH, 2021); The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective (Brandeis UP), a finalist for both a Lambda Literary Award and Triangle Award; Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey between Genders, a finalist for a National Jewish Book Award and winner of a Forward Fives Award; and ten books of poetry, including Shekhinah Speaks; Fireworks in the Graveyard (Headmistress Press); Psalms; Forward Fives–award winner Coming to Life; and two Lambda Literary Award finalists, Transmigration and Impersonation. She has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts writing fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, an American Council of Learned Societies Research Fellowship, and two Hadassah Brandeis Institute Research fellowships, among other honors. She holds a Ph.D. in American Literature from Princeton University, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), and a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College.
All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

ADVOT End-of-year Celebration
2023-06-29 19:00 - 20:00
Celebrate the end of our second year of ADVOT@Ritualwell, our cohort of ritual innovators, poets and liturgists. Members of our community will read work created this year and we’ll celebrate the publication of our second annual anthology Like a Tree By Water.
Purchase the ADVOT anthology, Like a Tree By Water.
ADVOT@Ritualwell is an online creative community of ritual innovators, poets, and liturgists who meet regularly to share work and support and empower each other to create and innovate Jewish ritual, poetry, and liturgy. Launched in 2021, ADVOT means “ripples” in Hebrew. RIPL (pronounced “ripple”) is the acronym of “Ritual Innovators, Poets, Liturgists.”
Thank you to Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah for supporting ADVOT.
This event will be recorded and sent to registrants.
We are happy to offer this event for free. A suggested $18 donation has been added to the ticket. If you are unable to donate, you may remove that suggested amount from the ticket. Please consider donating if you’re able, to help us continue to offer free programs like this one.
By registering for a Ritualwell program you will be automatically added to our e-newsletter. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Weaving Water: Recreating Jewish Water-based Rituals
2023-08-23 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
August 23, 30, September 6, 13, 20, 27, 2023
12-1:30 p.m. EDT
How can ritual-weaving support us in bridging the gap between our own lives and our spiritual ancestors’ relationships with water? Explore how the Jewish calendar and our holiday cycle are built on the flow of water. Together, we will track the role of water throughout the Torah and how ancient Israelites’ relationship with rain evolved to influence modern Jewish rituals. We will cover cycles of rain in the Middle East, mikveh and other forms of purification through water, lesser known Jewish water rituals, water in liturgy, embodied practices related to water, and more. In each session, we will study primary texts, reflect on how these texts speak to our lives and needs today, and be invited to design our own rituals in response. All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.
Sarah Chandler aka Kohenet Shamirah is a Brooklyn-based Jewish educator, artist, activist, healer, and poet. She has been teaching Jewish eco-ritual weaving for over 15 years. She holds a M.A. in Jewish Education and a M.A. in Hebrew Bible from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and a certificate in Non-Profit Management and Jewish Communal Leadership from Columbia University. She teaches, writes and consults on a national level on issues related to Judaism, earth-based spiritual practice, mindfulness, dreamwork, and farming. Sarah’s chapter in “The Sacred Earth” (CCAR Press, June 2023) focused on Jewish water spirituality. She is also the Liturgist in Residence at National Havurah Committee’s 2023 Summer Institute. An advanced student of Kabbalistic dream work at The School of Images, Sarah is the founder and lead trainer for “Soft as a Rock: Public Speaking for Sensitive Souls.”
All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Change Through Acceptance: the Hasidic Notion of Teshuvah
2023-09-05 12:00 - 13:15 | Zoom
Tuesdays, September 5, 12, 19, 2023
12-1:15 p.m. EDT
Each High Holidays we are asked to engage in the challenging process of Teshuvah/change or repentance. The classic rabbinic notion of Teshuvah could be summed up as “Just say no!,” suggesting that, faced with the temptation to do something wrong, you should stop yourself. Hasidism suggests a different path, suggesting you acknowledge and accept that you have made mistakes and then seek to transform yourself to align with your vision of who you deeply want to be. In this three session program, we will explore the Hasidic notion of change through the study of texts and discussion.
No previous background required. All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.
Rabbi Michael Strassfeld was one of the editors of the Jewish Catalog (1973), a guide to do-it-yourself Judaism that sold over 300,000 copies. He authored The Jewish Holidays (1985), co-authored A Night of Questions: A Passover Haggadah (1999) with his wife Rabbi Joy Levitt, and authored A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice (2002). His newest book, Judaism Disrupted: A Spiritual Manifesto for the 21st century published by Ben Yehuda Press, has been published on the 50th anniversary of the Jewish Catalog. He is the rabbi emeritus of the SAJ (Society for the Advancement of Judaism).

Let's Get to Know Advot@Ritualwell
2023-10-03 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
You are invited to an informational session to learn more about Advot@Ritualwell.

Advot is an online creative community of Jewish ritual innovators, poets and liturgists who meet regularly to share work, support, and empower each other and learn together. Whether a beginner or seasoned writer, Advot@Ritualwell welcomes you wherever you are in your writing journey.

Now in its third year, Advot can support you in creating and innovating Jewish ritual, poetry and liturgy; as well as exploring fiction, prose, song and memoir writing.

Meet the Advot facilitators: Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer and Adva Chattler. Gabrielle, an award-winning author, will lead a writing exercise to give you a tiny taste of Advot. Adva, a founder of Advot, will answer all the questions you might have.

This event is free to all who are interested in joining Advot @Ritualwell. Advot begins on Oct. 20. The early-bird price is being extended until Oct. 4.

Gabrielle Ariella Kaplan-Mayer is an author and educator 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. Gabrielle is currently working on a memoir about the power of intuition and ongoing conversations with her ancestors. 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. For the last 12 years, she has held various positions at Jewish Learning Venture —an organization based in the Philadelphia suburbs — and has also been part of the education staff at Congregation Mishkan Shalom, in Philly proper, where she’s been a member for 25 years. She is the proud recipient of the 2022 Covenant Award and currently edits the Jewish Disability Inclusion News. Gabrielle’s family includes husband Fred, kids George (20) and Jeremy (18) and fur baby Odin (a Saluki rescued from Qatar). She lives in Elkins Park, PA.

Adva Chattler is an Israeli-Mizrahi Jew, born and raised in Be’er-Sheva, Israel. She loves to create meaningful experiences through her cooking and baking that prompt sharing stories, teachings and rituals about Judaism, Israel and Mizrahi Jewish cultures and heritage. Her rituals, prayers and poems were published on Ritualwell. Adva is passionate about bringing people together in ways that spark relationship building and connecting to others on a deeper level, both in the challenging and ever-changing world of online gatherings, and in person. She holds a MA in conflict Resolution and Management from Ben Gurion University of the Negev and BA in Public Administration and Management from Sapir College in Sderot, Israel. With her experience in teaching and curriculum building, she support facilitators and presenters for Ritualwell and Reconstructing Judaism and encourage them to bring not only their best self, but best practices and tools for successful teaching online. Adva is also a mother and a foodie who lives in Del Rio, Tx., with her husband, two daughters and two dogs.

Holding Each Other: Israel on Our Hearts
2023-10-11 12:00 - 12:45 | Zoom
Gather with the Ritualwell community for reading, prayer and meditation. Hear the voices of Alden Solovy, Rabbi Haviva Ner-David, Sivan Rotholz and Rabbi Daniel Raphael Silverstein. Together we will say Mi Sheberach for healing and Kaddish for the fallen, and pray for the captives.
Registration through Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rd-6vqzMsGtcB1HbAjZ3lo286SW7gQw62

Spiritual Revolutionaries: The Ba'al Shem Tov
2023-10-16 13:00 - 14:30 | Zoom
Mondays, October 16, 23, 30, November 6, 20, 27, 2023
1-2:30 p.m. Eastern
R’ Yisroel ben Eliezer (c. 1700 – 1760), known as the Ba’al Shem Tov (Master of the Good Name) or Besht, was a mystic, healer and teacher who lived in the Ukraine and founded the Hasidic movement, a spiritual revival movement that has changed the face of Judaism and the world. Hasidism was fiercely rejected by the rabbinic institutions where it emerged but has long since become an indispensable part of the mainstream. Together, we will explore who the Besht was and some of his radical innovations, teachings and practices. These include the sacredness of the body; cultivating resilience, self-awareness and joy; and seeing and appreciating the Divine spark in everything we encounter and experience. In each session, we will move from text study, to sharing our reflections on the texts, to practical exercises arising from the texts. These exercises will include a creative practice in response to prompts, reflecting with another participant on specific questions, guided meditations and explorations of our inner landscape.
All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.
Daniel Raphael Silverstein is a rabbi, educator, meditation teacher and MC/poet. He lives in Israel with his family, where he directs Applied Jewish Spirituality, an online portal which makes the transformative spiritual wisdom of our tradition accessible to all who seek it. Daniel is an accredited teacher of Jewish Mindfulness Meditation and regularly teaches classes and retreats. He was born and raised in London and received a BA from the University of Cambridge and an MA from Warwick University. After receiving semikha from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, he served as Director of Jewish Life and Learning for Hillel of Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. Daniel has performed and facilitated all over the world as a spoken word artist, MC, and creative educator, and the Jewish Week selected him as one of their “36 Under 36” young innovators reshaping the Jewish community. Daniel is a cofounder of Lines of Faith, a Muslim-Jewish hip hop and poetry collective that uses performances and workshops to challenge prejudice and build meaningful bonds between communities.

Honoring Heirloom through Words: Writing to Discover & Declutter
2023-10-18 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Wednesdays, October 18, 25 and November 1, 8, 2023
12-1:30 p.m. Eastern
What stories do the objects in your home tell? Are they all heirlooms, or do some hold sentimental value for small – maybe even silly – reasons? In this Ritualwell Immersion, you will be invited to explore the stories these objects might tell and to use them to help discern what you want to hold onto and what things could be better used by others. Join decluttering coach Gari Julius Weilbacher and writer Ellen Blum Barish as they help shine a new light on the objects in your home. Gari will provide decluttering strategies using the wisdom of the Jewish calendar and the energy of the new year. Ellen will show us how we can deepen our understanding of our ‘object relationships’ through the power of writing memoir. Join us for this four-week Immersion to bring clarity and cohesion to your home and heart.
All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Ellen Blum Barish is the author of the spiritual memoir Seven Springs (Shanti Arts, 2021), the essay collection Views from the Home Office Window (Adams Street Publishing, 2007), and a contributor to Chicago Storytellers From Stage to Page (Chicago Story Press, 2020). You can find her personal essays in Tablet, Lilith, Brevity’s Blog, Full Grown People, Literary Mama, and The Chicago Tribune and hear them on Chicago Public Radio. She founded the literary publication Thread, which earned four notables in Best American Essays. Ellen has taught writing at Northwestern University, Chicago-area synagogues, and writer’s studios, including Story Studio Chicago and Lighthouse Lit Fest. She works privately with writers on essay collections and memoir.

As an Empowerment Coach, Gari Julius Weilbacher knows that we all benefit when we are freed from the “stuff” holding us back. Her clients have launched nonprofit organizations, opened businesses, published books, established faith communities, tamed time, solidified work/life equilibrium and increased professional satisfaction. You can learn more and schedule a complimentary coaching conversation at WildBrookCoaching.com.

Ritualwell Community Event: Holding Each Other: Israel on our Hearts
2023-10-19 12:00 - 12:30 | Zoom
Take time to pause and pen with the Ritualwell community this Thursday, October 19 at 12-12:30 p.m.
We’re all holding many emotions and concerns that change day by day, hour by hour. Poetry, prayer and creative expression can bring comfort and provide us with support.
Together we will say the Mi Sheberach for healing and Kaddish for the fallen, and pray for the captives.
Bring pen and paper–poet Cathleen Cohen will lead us in an expressive prompt.
Pour out your feelings in words, images, doodles or whatever works best for you.
We look forward to seeing you. Invite a friend or loved one who might appreciate this comforting space.
Registration through Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMsdeGtrjwrGNQMObJ6Y8-MJfI3Sakj_2qW

Verses of Resilience: Poetry & Ritual From the Path of Cancer
2023-10-23 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Ritualwell, along with our partner Sharsheret, a Jewish breast and ovarian cancer community, invites you to join us for an hour of poetry, prose, and ritual relating to any aspect of the cancer (or other illness) experience.

Come with a piece that you have already written or come to hear others share their stories. We will create the opportunity for everyone to begin writing something personally meaningful and healing through our writing prompts. No previous writing experience necessary–our focus is on the power of expressing personal stories. This session is open to all; please feel free to invite friends, loved ones and those who have provided support.

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

Melissa K. Rosen, Sharsheret’s Director of Training and Education, holds a master’s degree in Jewish Communal Service from Brandeis University and has been working in the non-profit sector for over 30 years. Her professional experience includes informal education and programming, advocacy, and community outreach. Melissa has facilitated unique and lasting connections among organizations in the diverse American Jewish community. Melissa oversees community education throughout the country, training health care professionals, Jewish professionals, and Sharsheret’s volunteers. She also manages Sharsheret’s Community Partnerships. Herself a two-time cancer survivor, Melissa has used writing as a healing technique. She is passionate about the Jewish community and cancer support and advocacy.

Ritualwell Community Event: Holding Each Other with Rabbi Annie Lewis
2023-10-26 12:00 - 12:30 | Zoom
Take time to pause and pen with the Ritualwell community on Thursday, October 26 at 12-12:30 p.m.
We’re all holding many emotions and concerns that change day by day, hour by hour. Poetry, prayer and creative expression can bring comfort and provide us with support.
Together we will say the Mi Sheberach for healing and Kaddish for the fallen, and pray for the captives.
Bring pen and paper–Rabbi Annie Lewis will lead us in an expressive prompt.
Pour out your feelings in words, images, doodles or whatever works best for you.
We look forward to seeing you. Invite a friend or loved one who might appreciate this comforting space.
Registration through Zoom.
Rabbi Annie Lewis was ordained from The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2012, received a master’s degree in Jewish women’s and gender studies and was awarded a Wexner Graduate Fellowship. She served as Assistant Rabbi of Germantown Jewish Centre from 2012-2016. Rabbi Lewis has served as a visiting rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel in Gulfport, Mississippi and has led community organizing trainings with JOIN for Justice. Annie studied linguistic anthropology at Brown University and at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She fell in love with Judaism at Camp Ramah in the Poconos, delved into Torah at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem and spent a year as a madricha (counselor) for the Conservative Movement’s Nativ College Leadership program in Israel. Rabbi Lewis has been in training as a couples and family therapist and brings this relationship toolkit to supporting people through life transitions and to officiating at life cycle events. She is a singer, poet and performance artist with roots in the Storahtelling ritual theater company. Her writing has been published by Ritualwell, Lilith and Kveller. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Rabbi Yosef Goldman, and their children, Zohar Lieba and Shir Emet.

Brit Beyond Milah: Exploring Baby-Welcoming Rituals
2023-10-26 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Thursday, October 26, 2023
12-1:30 p.m. EDT
Join us for a fascinating discussion of baby-welcoming rituals. How might we sanctify and honor the traditional brit (covenant) in ways that offer alternatives to traditional milah (circumcision)? What would it look like to welcome baby boys into the covenant without circumcision? Together we will explore issues involved in deciding to circumcise or not to circumcise, including personal experiences around this decision and alternative rituals to circumcision. Ritualwell welcomes the variety of opinions shared by the speakers and supports an open discussion. We seek not to endorse any particular view on this topic but to provide support and a welcoming space for the evolving traditions of the Jewish communities around us. We invite the audience to take part in a facilitated Q&A and to be inspired to create personal rituals that support their own Jewish life and expression. Rabbi Elyse Wechterman will share her views and journey as a mother and Rabbi; Max DuBoff and Lisa Braver Moss will describe the founding and activities of the organization Bruchim: Opting Out of Circumcision; and Rabbi Haviva Ner-David will discuss her experience navigating and helping spiritual companion clients make a decision, as well as her latest novel, To Die in Secret, which explores this decision as well. All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.
Rabbi Elyse Wechterman is the CEO of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. She has taught at the college and adult level in many settings and worked broadly with children and families with special needs to create inclusive communities for Jews of all abilities and backgrounds. She also previously worked for the national Reconstructionist movement as Director of Congregational Services and consulted with congregations throughout the movement on governance, growth, decision making and other congregational issues. Her article, “A Plea for Inclusion,” arguing for the welcoming and inclusion of families questioning or opting-out of brit milah in Jewish communities, was published in The Covenant of Circumcision: New Perspective on an Ancient Jewish Rite (edited by Elizabeth Wymer Mark) in 2004. Her Brit Atifayh (Covenant of Wrapping) on Ritualwell has been widely used since its creation in 1995.

Max DuBoff is a PhD candidate in Philosophy and Classics at Yale University researching various topics in philosophical bioethics. As Director of Education for Bruchim, Max helps create resources in a variety of media to facilitate engagement with Jewish perspectives on circumcision. Max is the lead author of the recent paper “B’rit Shalom: A Jewish Ritual Alternative to Newborn Male Circumcision,” published in a special issue of the International Journal of Impotence Research on child genital cutting. Max is passionate about the intersection between Jewish law and practice and bioethics.

Rabbi Dr. Haviva Ner-David is a rabbi and writer. She is the rabbinic founder of Shmaya: A Mikveh for Mind, Body, and Soul, the only mikveh in Israel open to all to immerse as they choose. Ordained as both a rabbi and an interfaith minister, certified as a spiritual companion (with a specialty in dreamwork), and holding a doctorate on mikveh from Bar Ilan University, she offers mikveh guidance and spiritual companioning for individuals and couples and mikveh workshops and talks for groups. She is the author of three spiritual journey memoirs, two novels, and the first and only children’s book on mikveh. She lives in Israel on Kibbutz Hannaton, is the mother of seven children, a teacher and lives with FSHD, a genetic muscular disease, which has been her biggest life challenge.

Lisa Braver Moss is President and co-founder of Bruchim, a nonprofit that helps find welcoming Jewish communities for families opting out of circumcision. She is the author of several books including The Measure of His Grief (Notim Press, 2010), the first novel to tackle the Jewish circumcision conundrum. Her first essay on this topic appeared in a 1990 issue of Tikkun; since that time, she has published dozens of articles about Jewish circumcision. Additionally, Lisa is co-author of Celebrating Brit Shalom (Notim Press, 2015), the first-ever book of ceremonies and music for Jewish families seeking alternatives to the traditional bris. Born in Berkeley, California, Lisa still lives in the area with her husband, with whom she has two grown sons and two young grandsons.

Writing Our Aging Selves
2023-11-02 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Thursday, November 2, 2023
12-1:30 p.m. EDT
There are so many new things to pray about as we age! Our memory, skin, mobility, and hair color have all changed, developed, and evolved slowly and noticeably. We accumulate wisdom and peel away shame, caring less about what the world thinks of us and more about what we think about ourselves and the changing world around us. Join instructor Trish Arlin to design your own prayers and rituals of gratitude, worry, anger and hope for the life that is unfolding before you. Write, reflect and share your creative self with the Ritualwell community in this free, open for all session. No prior writing experience is required.
All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.
Trisha Arlin is a liturgist, writer, performer, and student of prayer in Brooklyn, NY. She has served as a liturgist, scholar, and artist in residence and taught for venues including the National Havurah Committee’s Summer Institute, Ritualwell.org, Haggadot.com, and for synagogues around the country. She is a builder of Bayit’s Liturgical Arts project. Trisha received a BA in Theater from Antioch College in 1975 and an MFA in Film (Screenwriting) in 1997 from Columbia University. In 2009/2010, Trisha was an Arts Fellow at the Drisha Institute. In 2011, she graduated from the sixth cohort of the Davennen Leadership Training Institute (DLTI). Trisha’s liturgy has been used in services, for ritual occasions, and at venues of many denominations nationwide. She is the author of Place Yourself: Words of Poetry and Intention (a collection of liturgy and kavannot). Her work has appeared in a variety of journals, siddurim, and collections of liturgy and can be found online at TrishaArlin.com, Ritualwell.org, and opensiddur.org.

Mussar Poetry: Writing Toward the Other
2023-11-13 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Mondays, Nov. 13, 20, 27 and Dec. 4, 11, 18
12- 1:30 p.m. EDT
$250 for six sessions

Muriel Ruckeyser wrote that the task of poetry is to help us see ourselves “as a person moving toward other persons, or a person moving away from other persons, or a person moving against other persons….in great poetry you feel a source speaking to another source.” In this spirit, one might say that all poetry, at least all great poetry, is Mussar poetry. Mussar is a historical tradition within Judaism which asks us how we might become more awake to the needs of the other. Mussar poetry, then, might be poetry that interrupts its own habitual self-absorption, that takes risks, that listens.
In this six-session Immersion, we will look at poems that not just describe but embody encounter itself, such as poetry written by people we might think of as ‘other’ and poetry in which the poem itself directly speaks to the reader. Poets covered will include Paul Celan, Marina Tsvetaeva, Osip Mandelstam, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ilya Kaminsky, Ariana Reines, and more. The course will prioritize a workshop component. We will be writing poetry – including poems in dialogue with the above poets and in response to particular prompts – all designed to take us out of our familiar styles and stances. We will be writing inside and outside of class time and sharing work during each session.
All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Rabbi Joshua Boettiger is the Rosh Yeshiva at the Center for Contemporary Mussar and has taught Mussar for the past decade. He is the Jewish Chaplain at Bard College, where he also teaches, including the recent course, “The History of Jewish Poetry” (Spring 2023). Joshua has an MFA in Poetry from Pacific University and his work has appeared in The Southern Review, december, Willow Springs, Image, and elsewhere. Joshua was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2006. He is a Rabbis Without Borders fellow, and regularly teaches Jewish Meditation in different contexts, including retreat settings.

Soulwork: Exploring Our Depths
2023-11-28 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Tuesdays, November 28, December 5, 12, 19, 2023
12-1:30 p.m. EST

“From the depths I call to you!” — Psalm 130

In the busyness of our lives, how often do we set aside time to explore our own depths? To listen to our souls? With a taste of four soulwork modalities based on a Gestalt approach – dreamwork, inner child work, nature soulwork, and Soul Collage© – we will take the time for that introspection. Each week, we will explore one modality. You will delve into your own inner world and share your insights in soulwork chevruta dyads and in the group meetings. Our inquiry will be framed in a Jewish-spiritual context, with a short text study at the start of each meeting.

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

Rabbi Dr. Haviva Ner-David is a rabbi and writer. She is the rabbinic founder of Shmaya: A Mikveh for Mind, Body, and Soul, the only mikveh in Israel open to all to immerse as they choose. Ordained as both a rabbi and an interfaith minister, certified as a spiritual companion (with a specialty in dreamwork), and holding a doctorate on mikveh from Bar Ilan University, she offers mikveh guidance and spiritual companioning for individuals and couples and mikveh workshops and talks for groups. She is the author of three spiritual journey memoirs — Dreaming Against the Current; A Rabbi’s Soul Journey; and Chanah’s Voice: A Rabbi Wrestles with Gender, Commandment; and the Women’s Rituals of Baking, Bathing, and Brightening; and Life on the Fringes: A Feminist Journey Towards Traditional Rabbinic Ordination, which was a runner up for the National Jewish Book Council Awards; as well as two novels: Hope Valley and To Die in Secret; and the first and only children’s book on mikveh: Yonah and the Mikveh Fish. She lives in Israel on Kibbutz Hannaton, is the mother of seven children, a teacher and lives with FSHD, a genetic muscular disease, which has been her biggest life challenge.

Light the World: Dancing in Community for Hanukkah
2023-12-07 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Thursday, December 7, 2023
12 – 1:30 p.m. EST

Every person must know and understand
That a candle burns deep within them,
And their candle is unlike their friend’s
And no person without a candle exists.
And every person must know and understand
That they must strive to uncover
The light of the candle publicly
And light it into a great torch
And light the whole world
–Rav Abraham Isaac Kook
In this FREE session, we’ll welcome Hanukkah through the Nia movement practice. We’ll bring the light of community into the world to music by Matisyahu, Erran Baron Cohen, Divahn, Noa, and Balkan Beat Box, followed by prompts for reflection and writing.
Nia is based on the philosophy that everyone can enhance their potential for a healthy, meaningful life by engaging their senses and listening compassionately to their bodies. It is adaptable to individual needs and abilities. Its core principle is finding your body’s joy of movement, whether that’s swaying gently in a chair or stomping up a sweat.
What you’ll need

Clear a space so you have room to move. However, Nia can also be done seated.
Nia is low-impact and designed to be done barefoot. But it’s fine to wear tennis or jazz-dance shoes if that’s best for you.
Have writing materials at hand. You may want art materials, as well.

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

Janice Steinberg (she/her) holds a Black Belt in the Nia dance-fitness practice and has been teaching for 15 years. Last spring, she offered an Omer Nia program through Ritualwell. She is the author of the novel The Tin Horse (Random House) and a five-book mystery series published by Berkley.

Reclaiming the Hebrew Goddess and Writing Her Anew
2023-12-14 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Thursdays, December 14, 21, 28, 2023 and January 4, 11, 18, 2024
12-1:30 p.m. EST
If the Hebrew goddess could whisper to you, she might say, “They tried to bury us. They didn’t know that we were seeds.” For thousands of years before patriarchal monotheism took hold, our ancestors worshipped the divine feminine. In this six-part Ritualwell Immersion, we will take a deep dive into the legacy of the Hebrew goddess, from her ancient biblical and Near Eastern roots, to her demise at the hands of our prophets and scribes and to her manifestations in Judaism today. Through thoughtful reflection and inspired creative writing with guided writing prompts, discover where her secrets are hidden and reclaim her for your own, for the earth, and for the generations to come. Join gynocentric Torah scholar, creative writing professor, and student rabbi Sivan Rotholz as we harvest the bounty of the divine feminine in Jewish tradition. This is the second installment of a previous Ritualwell Immersion. This second Immersion will introduce all-new materials. New explorers and returning students alike are most welcome. No previous creative writing experience or knowledge of the goddess required.
All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Sivan Rotholz is a professor of gynocentric Torah and creative writing. She has taught at Brooklyn College, Tel Aviv University, Columbia/Barnard Hillel, Moishe House and elsewhere, and has shared her Torah in synagogues and living rooms across the globe. Her writing has appeared in the Jewish Journal, 929, and Ritualwell, among other publications. She is the Education Director for Achayot – Jewish Women Writers and is pursuing rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion.

Creative Midrash: Beyond Talmudic Texts
2024-01-02 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Tuesdays, January 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 and February 6, 2024
12-1:30 p.m. EST
$250
Talmudic narratives are filled with distinctive characters, strange plots, and enigmatic silences. These stories provide a treasure trove for creative writers. For example, when Moses sits in the back of Rabbi Akiva’s classroom and doesn’t recognize his own teachings, how might we imagine Moses’s sense of dissonance? If we transpose the emotional core of this scene to another setting, what story would we conjure? In each class, we’ll explore a specific Talmudic text with a lens on character, images, narrative twists, and unspoken qualities that pique our curiosity. We’ll then pivot to a generative session in which we write from prompts related to our text study. Be prepared to surprise yourself on the page as you uncover fresh possibilities in your writing practice. This generative workshop is suitable for creative writers of all levels as well as readers seeking to engage imaginatively with Jewish texts.
All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Amy Gottlieb‘s debut novel The Beautiful Possible was a finalist for the 2017 Harold U. Ribalow Prize, a 2016 National Jewish Book Award and the Edward Lewis Wallant Award. Her fiction and poetry have been published in Other Voices, Lilith, Puerto del Sol, Ilanot Review, On Being, Zeek, Storyscape, The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry, and elsewhere. She has received a Literary Fellowship and Residency from the Bronx Council on the Arts and an Arts Fellowship from the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. Amy is a graduate of Clark University and the University of Chicago. She lives with her family on the edge of the Hudson River in New York City.

Writing Poetry in the Shadow of War
2024-01-08 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
At all times but especially in a time of war and grief, we need literature to remind us of what it means to be human, what justice demands, where our struggles and conflicts, our strengths and hopes reside.In this Ritualwell event, we will see how other poets have responded to disasters and conflicts Jews have faced and are facing. We will see how poets including Marcela Sulak and Bob Hicok are responding to the Israel-Hamas War and the resurgence in antisemitism and also look at poetry from the Holocaust. In between these readings and discussions of the poems, you will write your own poems based on prompts that will help you shape your thoughts. This experience is all about finding a way through poetry to express ourselves in this critical time.
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, her debut collection of short stories House Parties (2023). Widely published as a poet, Levin’s five poetry collections include The Minor Virtues (2020); Miss Plastique (2013), a Next Generation Indie Book Awards finalist in poetry; Fair Creatures of an Hour (2009), a Next Generation Indie Book Awards finalist in poetry; Imaginarium (2005), a finalist for Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award; and A Few Questions about Paradise (2000). She is co-author, with Valerie Fox, of Poems for the Writing: Prompts for Poets (2019, 2013), a Next Generation Indie Book Awards finalist in writing/publishing. She is the translator, from the Spanish, of Birds on the Kiswar Tree (2014), poems by the Peruvian Andean poet Odi Gonzales. Levin is also the producer/director of the 2017 video documentary Life on the Napo River: A Glimpse of the Ecuadoran Amazon, Its People, and Their Traditions.
She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and teaches English and creative writing at Drexel University, where she received the Adjunct Award for Teaching Excellence. For many years, she taught creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania.

Holding Each Other
2024-01-11 12:00 - 2024-03-28 12:30 | Zoom
Two is better than one…for should they fall one can lift the other.
–Ecclesiastes 9-10
We are here. We’re in this challenging time together.
Ritualwell invites you for a weekly meeting time where we will lift each other up with prayer, song and creative prompts. Join us every Thursday from 12-12:30pm EST
Bring pen and paper– each week a different poet/liturgist will lead us in an expressive prompt. Pour out your feelings in words, images, doodles or whatever works best for you. We look forward to seeing you. Invite a friend or loved one who might appreciate this comforting space.
Upcoming Date: March 28th
Guest speaker: Tiferet Welch

Tiferet Welch is a poet whose work is inspired by kabbalah. She writes: “My poetry is, I hope, steeped in modern Jewish mysticism and draws on the arc of Torah and deeply felt personal experience to create a sensuous and sensual swirl of living in and through the four worlds, especially in the time of the pandemic, the death of my mother, and sadly, post October 7th. Exploring the parshiot by way of the sages, drawing out the kaballistic essence, mining the subterranean allusions of the Hebrew letters and binding them all within the personal, the poems form a chronicle of this liminal time.”

God Cafe: The Immersion
2024-01-22 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Mondays, January 22, 29 and February 5, 12, 19, 26, 2024
12-1:30 p.m. EST
$250 for six sessions
Who is God? What do we talk about when we talk about God? For six weeks, we will discuss God/divinity as a concept, exploring what God means to each of us and learn about the variety of approaches to God in Jewish tradition. This will be an opportunity to explore a topic often not discussed and to build community around our questions and insights. Learning will include reflection on our own experiences, listening to the stories of others and diving into a variety of texts. Rabbi Sarah began this project while she was in rabbinical school through the support of the Auerbach Grants for Rabbinic Innovation. The project began with 1:1 phone conversations and evolved into an entire cohort series, in Jewish and multi-faith settings. All are welcome to join, whether this is something you rarely think about or it’s your favorite thing to explore.
All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

Rabbi Sarah Brammer-Shlay graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in May 2022. She serves as the Interim Dean of Religious Life/Chaplain and Rabbi at Grinnell College in Iowa. She loves the diversity of her work with students, supporting them to figure out who they are, who they want to be and how Judaism plays a role in that pursuit. While in rabbinical school, she created The God Cafe Project with the goal of creating space for people to explore moments of Divine connection and grappling. At the core of her identity as a Jewish leader and community organizer is the desire for people to get out of isolation and into connection. She has more than 15 years of community organizing experience in a variety of fields including, but not limited to, Israel/Palestine, labor, feminism, workers’ rights and health care. Sarah was a co-founder of IfNotNow and has served in various leadership roles with the Center for Jewish Nonviolence as well.

Choosing Joy: The Teachings of Rebbe Nachman
2024-01-25 13:00 - 14:30 | Zoom
Thursdays, January 25 and February 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 2024
1-2:30 p.m. EST
$250 for six sessions

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772 – 1810) founded a specific stream of Chasidism that was once tiny, and has somehow become an influential force throughout the Jewish world. The psychological insight, poetic beauty and spiritual power of his teachings have touched many seekers. Together, we will explore who he was, how his ideas spread, and some of his key themes, in theory and practice. These include: the transformative power of music and song; our power and responsibility to shape ourselves and our world; how our thoughts affect our reality; the struggle to be joyful; the practice of praying in our own words (Hitbodedut); and maintaining resilience and equanimity throughout the challenges of life.

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

Daniel Raphael Silverstein is a rabbi, educator, meditation teacher and MC/poet. He lives in Israel with his family, where he directs Applied Jewish Spirituality, an online portal which makes the transformative spiritual wisdom of our tradition accessible to all who seek it. Daniel is an accredited teacher of Jewish Mindfulness Meditation and regularly teaches classes and retreats. He was born and raised in London and received a BA from the University of Cambridge and an MA from Warwick University. After receiving semikha from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, he served as Director of Jewish Life and Learning for Hillel of Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. Daniel has performed and facilitated all over the world as a spoken word artist, MC, and creative educator, and the Jewish Week selected him as one of their “36 Under 36” young innovators reshaping the Jewish community. Daniel is a cofounder of Lines of Faith, a Muslim-Jewish hip hop and poetry collective that uses performances and workshops to challenge prejudice and build meaningful bonds between communities.

Hidden Moments of Holiness: Finding Sacred Potential in the Everyday
2024-01-31 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
12-1:30 p.m. EST
Free
Secular ritual is a precious part of our social and communal fabric. Starting or ending work meetings, welcoming a new neighbor, that perfect cup of coffee in the quiet of morning before anyone else is awake: all are moments waiting for rituals of their own. Join Rabbi Cantor Hillary Chorny for an exploration of ritual that lifts up the otherwise-overlooked moments in our lives. Drawing on the work of the ritual lab at the Stanford Design School, we’ll explore the core elements that define these rituals and identify other “missed moments” that beg for attention.

In this generative session you will have the opportunity to build and launch new personal or communal rituals and to share them with the Ritualwell community. Participants with any background or level of Jewish literacy and ritual crafting are welcome.

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

Rabbi Cantor Hillary Chorny is the Cantor at Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles, California. She completed her cantorial investiture, rabbinical ordination, and a Masterʼs degree in Sacred Music at the Jewish Theological Seminary before joining the staff of Temple Beth Am in August, 2014. For several years, Hillary has co-produced the Sacred Sounds Unbound concert series with burgeoning Jewish music artists and the Kol Tefilla conference on prayer experiences with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Hillary is an instructor for first year students at the Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies. She is an avid writer and is currently enrolled in UCLA’s extension program for a certificate in creative nonfiction writing. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School’s Professional & Lifelong Learning Program, Hillary is committed to the ongoing study and proliferation of ritual in Jewish community and beyond. She currently serves as one of the vice-presidents of the Cantors Assembly, the largest professional body of cantors in the world. She and her husband, Rabbi Daniel Chorny, met in Israel and continue to enjoy learning together with their two children, Ella and Yossi.

The Golden Shovel: Digging in Text for New Meaning
2024-02-01 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Thursday February 1, 2024
12-1:30 p.m. EST

To receive the spiritual impact of our traditional texts, sometimes we need to turn the words upside down and inside out. In this workshop, we will use poetic forms and techniques to bypass the logical brain and discover new levels of meaning and insight in verses from the Torah. Join Tzivia Gover in this generative workshop and learn to create a Golden Shovel poem—with a twist. The poems that results, like a shirt that’s been turned inside out, will reveal new patterns beneath the familiar ones.
No previous experience writing poetry is necessary! You will receive step-by-step guidance and support as you learn inventive ways to approach and adapt this poetic form. You can bring 1-3 verses to work with, or use the ones that will be provided. Everyone is welcome, whether you consider yourself a poet or not, and no matter your familiarity with traditional texts.

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

Tzivia Gover is the author of ‘Dreaming on the Page: Tap into Your Midnight Mind to Supercharge Your Writing’, and other books about dreams, writing, and everyday joy. She is the creator of ‘The Life of H: Sarah, Reimagined’ an online poetry project. The founder of 350 Dreamers, an online international community dreaming for global healing in this time of climate crisis, Tzivia is a board member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams and a past Director at the Institute for Dream Studies. Tzivia is a Certified Dreamwork Professional and a Certified Proprioceptive Writing Instructor. She has her MFA in writing from Columbia University, and has taught in college and community settings domestically and abroad. Learn more at www.thirdhousemoon.com and https://tziviagover.substack.com.
