“Rest will simply make us more human.” –Tricia Hersey, American poet and performerEvery week, I meet with twelve and thirteen year old students as they prepare for their b’nai mitzvah, and I am continually shocked at how overscheduled they are. Even if they enjoy every single activity, ranging from sports to robotics to creative thinking projects to dance and performing arts, it is hard to imagine being a young person with every hour of the day filled to the brim with class, homework, and extracurricular activities. Our kids, and frankly, all of us could use a breather!This week’s Torah portion, Vayakhel, begins with a reminder from Moses about the importance of creating time for rest. The word וַיַּקְהֵל vayakhel means “to gather,” and Moses does just that; he gathers the People of Israel together so that no man, woman, or child will miss his reiteration of God’s commandment to observe Shabbat, to create a practice [...]

Since the atrocities of October 7th, Jews around the globe exist together in a dual state of grief and resilience. And there is likely no one in our American Jewish community facing more daily confrontations with antisemitism than students on college campuses. At my own alma mater, UC Davis, a professor of American studies was condemned by the university chancellor in late October for her antisemitic and anti-Israel comments, in which she accused “Zionist journalists” of spreading “propaganda and misinformation.” During my own years in college, my friends and I frequently encountered anti-Israel protests and antisemitic banners and graffiti from various student groups, but I never imagined the challenges our Jewish students are facing today. Last week, I had the amazing privilege of visiting the UC Davis and Sacramento State Hillel House and singing at their annual gala (you can see me pictured below with Wise School alum and UC Davis [...]

It is such a gift to be able to share a book with a friend. Recently, I reconnected with an old friend and we began speaking every day about the hostage situation and war in Israel. Our conversations were heavy and often ended in tears. While we have continued our discussions around the current troubling situation in our homeland, we decided that our renewed connection also needed some levity, and we started a book club of two. We’ve been sharing author names and book titles and texting or calling a few times a week to check in. Sharing books has lifted our spirits and reignited our beautiful friendship. It has been a much needed gift during this painful time. My husband and I are lucky to have a vast library of books from our days at seminary together, and if you ever visit my office, you’ll notice a large, [...]

Every year during the month of March, we celebrate Women’s History Month, a designated time to honor the specific contributions of women to American history and society. This is the 45th year of Women’s History Month observance, which began as a weeklong celebration of women teachers in Sonoma County in 1978 and became an official Presidential proclamation (first as a week and then as a month) in 1980. I feel so incredibly lucky to have a number of female role models and mentors to look up to, including my incredible mom and mother-in-law who worked for many decades as school teachers. Growing up, my amazing cantor, Stephen Richards, was the person who taught me Jewish music and planted the first seeds for my own curiosity about the cantorial arts, but it wasn’t until we hired a young woman, Rabbi Cantor Jennie Chabon, to work at my home synagogue that I [...]