Rabbi Jill’s Latest Blog Posts
Hanukkah Night #5: Books & Movies
Tonight we light the 5th Chanukah candle. Here’s tonight’s question: What are 5 books that have been influential or made a difference to you this year? This year, my selections represent the kind of learning and comfort I needed. Here is my list for this year with a quote from each one: Braiding Sweetgrass, Indigenous …
Hanukkah Night #4: Comfort Foods
Tonight we light the 4th candle of Chanukah. Our discussion question tonight should be fun! As we continue to light the lights: What four foods have been comforting to you this past year? They don’t *have* to be Chanukah food, but if that is what comes to mind, all the more perfect. To be honest, …
Hanukkah Night #3: Music & Poetry
Tonight we light the 3rd candle for Hanukkah. Each night we are responding to a different question related to how we bring light into the world. Our question tonight is: What 3 musicians, poets, or artists inspire you? This past year has been challenging, as we have continued to live in the unknown. Seeking inspiration …
Hanukkah Candle #2: Experiences That Formed You
For this 2nd night of Hanukkah, our question is: Which two experiences helped shape who you are? For the 1st night, we lit one candle for something we know for sure. Now we turn to experiences. Here are mine. I hope you will add yours in the comments. 1 — My graduate school degree in …
1st Night Hanukkah: 1 Thing You Know For Sure
Hanukkah begins in the darkest month of the year. We light the menorah (hanukkiah) for eight nights but we begin with just one. Each night, we increase the light by adding one new candle. Hanukkah means “rededication.” Tonight, we dedicate our lighting to deep knowing. It is hard to believe that we are still in …
Why Rosh Hashanah? Why Now? Who Cares?
Why Rosh Hashanah? Why ritual? Why come at all? (PS it begins Monday September 6 – yes, on Labor Day) Because — in the midst of our “tsunami of tsuris” an eloquent phase my colleague Rabbi Leah Herz coined – there is comfort in coming together. Simply being present with each other. Hearing healing music. …
Spiritual Journeying: Counting the Omer
Counting the Omer is a spiritual practice that is profound and transformative, universal and entirely personal. It is the next step in the Passover experience as we move out from our newfound freedom and journey into the wilderness. This year, in 2021, we start with day one the evening of the second seder, March 28. …
What Does Healing Look Like & Refugee Shabbat
I want to talk to you about healing. It was exactly a year ago this week when many of us began to register that the pandemic was going to upend our lives. In March of 2020, I agonized over getting on a plane to officiate a long-planned wedding in Chicago (the daughter of one of …
