Rabbi Jill’s Latest Blog Posts
Are You Ready To Take A Breath?
Stop right now. Put your hand on your heart and take a breath. What a time we are in. There is so much free-floating anxiety and fear. Trust in institutions is shattered. It is not only the political climate. There is the fear of out-of-control climate change and the coronavirus. Truth itself is questioned. We …
To Those Who Are Brave–We Remember You
This is a time of great extremes – there are people who cower in the corner instead of speaking up, while others shine a great light with their bravery in standing up for justice. When despair grips us, it’s helpful to remember people who spoke (and speak) the truth and took courageous action, regardless of …
What to Do When Life Is Not Fair
You come to a point in life when you realize that life is not always fair. Bad things happen to good people, and unfortunately, bad people can get away with awful behavior. You hope that there will be accountability and justice, and sometimes there is, and other times, not. (Or maybe, not yet…) Upon realizing …
Your Freedom To Choose
At each moment, as people in an open society, we have the freedom to choose our actions. Every action we take builds on the previous. For example, if on a regular basis, you act with integrity and honesty, after a while, this becomes part of your character. It becomes difficult to act otherwise. Similarly, when …
You Are Already Worthy
Most of us spend our lives thinking that if we accomplish X or know Y, we will finally feel worthy and valuable. In other words, we will matter – at some time in the future. What would it be like to believe that our worthiness is already a given by virtue of our simply being …
Doing is Overrated: Steep Yourself In Silence
Doing is over-rated. Sometimes the most urgent thing to do is to do nothing and steep yourself in silence. This is especially true when you realize that you are truly not in control of anything or anybody except your own self. When the chaos of the world gets too much, it is ok to pull …
Increase the Light
Tonight we light the 3rd candle of Hanukkah. The story of Hanukkah is that even in the darkest of times, we make light. The tradition is that we light a new candle for each of the 8 nights of the holiday, thereby increasing the light each night. The rabbis understood that light was not just …
Gratitude Is A Practice
What if Thanksgiving was not just one day a year, but a day that reminds you to practice gratitude and giving thanks each and every day? Establishing a regular gratitude practice is the best way to build resilience and happiness. For some people, gratitude comes easily. But for many others, noticing the good is elusive …
