Proudly queer anti-fascist. Rabbinical student. Unapologetic badass. Fascinated by health and affiliate marketing. If you have pronouns in your bio, I probably want you on my team. Find me at the link below! 👇
It Starts With Grief
Screenshot from the Sefaria app, Lamentations 1:8 Earlier this week, Jews around the world observed Tish’a b’Av, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av, the saddest day of the year. Tradition tells us that this was the date that both Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed, first by the Babylonians and then by the Romans. Later catastrophes also happened on this date - the expulsion of the Jews from England, then from Spain, and the beginning of the…
Whose Blood is Redder?
Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay The philosopher Judith Butler has written extensively on the concept of grievability - that the world is divided into those who deserve to be grieved when they die, and those who do not. It is an interesting way of considering the hierarchical thinking that considers some people to be of greater intrinsic worth than others, particularly when it comes to people we don't know personally and can't necessarily relate…
Dvar Torah – Balak
Image by Christine Fabian from Pixabay Parashat Balak offers us a bit of comic relief between some intense episodes in the book of Numbers. Last week we had the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, and Moses learned that he would not lead the people into the promised land. At the end of this parasha and the beginning of next week, we will experience passion, idolatry and the lethal consequences of zealotry.
Are You Safe?
Image by Dean Moriarty from Pixabay I recently read something about Anthony Bourdain, the late celebrity chef, in which he mentioned feeling bad because women who worked in his industry did not feel safe coming to him with allegations of harassment. In an interview in January 2018, he said, “I knew a lot of women, it turned out, who had stories about their experiences — about people I knew — who did not feel I was the sort of person they could confide in”.
Dreaming of Freedom
This is the week in which Jews all over the world will be celebrating Passover, the Feast of Freedom. We remember that we were enslaved in Egypt, and that we were rescued from that slavery, with signs and miracles. Because of this memory, and the annual reenactment of that redemption, we are required to love the stranger and preserve freedom for all.
The Importance of Eating Together
This past Sunday, I had the privilege of being interviewed, together with my friend Ramsey Zeid, on CBC Manitoba's Weekend Morning Show, with our friend and host Nadia Kidwai. Here is a clip of our conversation. The iftar in question has been and gone, and it was lovely, but I wanted to share the thoughts.
https://hadasseviatar.com/coaching/the-importance-of-eating-together/
In Praise of Adult Learning
In Western culture, we are accustomed to considering learning as a means to an end, especially as adults. We learn a skill to get a better job, or a language because we plan to travel somewhere. Rarely do we talk about learning for its own sake, for no outside purpose other than the pure joy of it. The Rabbis of the Talmud, on the other hand, while they acknowledged the importance of learning in order to teach, were keenly aware of the…
https://hadasseviatar.com/coaching/in-praise-of-adult-learning/
Come Learn With Me!
Are you wrestling with the Divine? Do you feel like the Jewish tradition isn't answering your questions in a way that works for you? Are you looking for a radically inclusive community of Godd*-wrestlers, where we can search together, with support and love and awesome tools? Then this class may be for you. What is it? It’s a SVARA-style Talmud class exploring how the Rabbis of the Talmud destabilised their own project, and how their wrestling can…
Meeting the Other Where They Are
Image credit: Pixabay As I write this, I am in Toronto airport on my way home from an interfaith meeting of seminary students, titled the Dialogue of Abrahamic Faiths. It was organised by a group called the Washington Theological Consortium (WTC), a group of theological schools and partners based in the DC area. There were 24 of us students - eight Jewish, eight Muslim and eight Christians.
https://hadasseviatar.com/coaching/meeting-the-other-where-they-are/
Some Torah from My Kid
This past Shabbat was the 10th anniversary of my kid’s Bat Mitzvah, and they shared some thoughts on the parasha. As you can see from the beautiful handmade tallit in the picture above, they were always focused on the reconciliation of the brothers that happens in the story. Ten years later, that has not changed. As the ten year anniversary of my Bat Mitzvah approaches, I find myself thinking of Parshat Vayishlach.
In Praise of Praxis
Image by Photography and graphic design from Pixabay Praxis is a fascinating word, and it’s a fascinating process. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the deceptively simple definition of praxis is “the process of using a theory or something that you have learned in a practical way”. As an example, a student might learn something about aeronautics theory in class, and then spend time folding a paper airplane according to the…
Where I’ve Been
Image credit: Emma Fineblit A few weeks ago, the Manitoba Friends of Standing Together held its launch event - we were fortunate that 80 people came out to hear us in person, with another 10 on a quickly improvised livestream. While we had our share of rookie bumps and glitches, on the whole, I think it went quite well and achieved its major goal - showing that it is possible to have meaningful conversations between people who have deep trauma with each…
Our Event Registration is Live!
I am so excited to share that our event registration is live. If you are local, we would love to see you there - if not, there may be a livestream, we are still working on it, can’t promise … but we will do our best. If you are interested in hearing local Jews and Palestinians talking from the heart about their experiences, this is the event for you.
https://hadasseviatar.com/coaching/our-event-registration-is-live/
Let’s Talk About Joy
Image by Susan Cipriano from Pixabay This week we end the (seemingly endless!) cycle of Jewish fall holidays - starting with Rosh HaShanah, the head of the year, on the first of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, and going through Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the seven days of Sukkot, the Feast of Booths, and coming up tonight, Shmini Atzeret, the mysterious Eighth Day of Assembly.
Hard Conversations
Image by Jessica Kwok from Pixabay The world is full of people who don’t want to have the hard conversations - either because they shy away from any possibility of conflict, or because they are so rigid in their convictions that they don’t want any chance they might have to change their minds. Last May I took a course with an organisation called…
One Year Later – Dreaming of Better Times
Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay On this anniversary of the horrific events of October 7th, followed by the equally horrific destruction of Gaza, I just want to share with you an interview I did with our local CBC station, in conjunction with my friend, who is the president of the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba. Take a listen. Wishing us all better times, and if you observe Yom Kippur, wishing you an easy and…
https://hadasseviatar.com/coaching/one-year-later-dreaming-of-better-times/
A Year and Its Curses, A Year and Its Blessings
Image by Ri Butov from Pixabay Tonight we will welcome in the new year 5785 in the Jewish calendar, and bid farewell to the year 5784 - a year that was remarkable in many, many ways, most of them not very welcome. You probably don’t need me to remind you what happened when 5784 was less than a month old - let’s just say that in terms of 2023, it was October 7th.
https://hadasseviatar.com/coaching/a-year-and-its-curses-a-year-and-its-blessings/
Feel the Burn(out)
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay It’s been a long 11 months, and the emotional exhaustion and burnout is real. I’m sure I’m not the only one having trouble sleeping, and of course that tends to make things worse. Whatever the source of stress in your life, just trying to pretend it isn’t there is a sure recipe for trouble, sooner or later.
I am My Beloved’s and My Beloved Is Mine
Image by Ri Butov from Pixabay Today we begin the Hebrew month of Elul - the final month in the year that began with Rosh HaShanah, the head of the year, last September. It’s a little amusing that the Hebrew months actually all have Babylonian names - in the Bible, they are mostly referred to by their numbers (for example, the seventh month) or the time of year (the harvest month).
https://hadasseviatar.com/coaching/i-am-my-beloveds-and-my-beloved-is-mine/
Let’s Help Send Food to Gaza
Click the picture to watch the reel! The following information comes from Standing Together in Israel/Palestine: Over the past few weeks, thousands of Palestinians and Jews in Israel have been donating food and aid to people in Gaza, and working tirelessly to get it ready to be transported via an international NGO. We collected food and relief supplies (diapers, baby milk substitutes, feminine hygiene products, soap and shampoo) in various…
https://hadasseviatar.com/coaching/lets-help-send-food-to-gaza/