It has been a year since we have been on lockdown and our lives disrupted. My husband and I received our second covid vaccine late last week, and in addition to the huge hope it instilled in me, it also allowed me to feel the weight of the last year. It is funny how that works. Sometimes, when there is a light at the end of the tunnel, you can unclench your Continue Reading
#AskTheRabbi COVID-19
I've been asked a lot of questions about how to navigate this time we are in of such great uncertainty. Some people are experiencing extreme or mild anxiety. Others feel bored, and others have suddenly so many online opportunities to learn and connect that they are having a hard time choosing. Other people feel beset by "shoulds" - "I should be motivated Continue Reading
A Prayer For One Who Enters A Synagogue
I wrote this prayer after the massacre of Jews at prayer at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. A gunman, stoked by the anti-immigrant rhetoric and desiring to do harm to the synagogue which was connected to Jewish efforts to support immigrants and asylum seekers, stormed into the synagogue on Shabbat, spraying bullets everywhere. Unfortunately, Continue Reading
healing prayer #MeToo
Strengthen those who finally speak up, Create safety for stories to emerge, Embolden our community to examine itself, Shine the light on abusive power, Commit to holiness in every relationship, No matter how small the interaction, Holy holy holy, may we be. Rabbi Jill Berkson Zimmerman Continue Reading
Remembering What is Important
If there is anything the events of the past few months have taught us, it is that every day is a precious gift. We never know what is around the corner - pain or joy or both. How do we remember what is important? Many of us are bone-tired, whether from the endless political battles, personal traumas, profound natural disasters, and the resulting Continue Reading