Episode 25: Finding Your Sacred Space. Thinking Outside Of The Hillel w/Rabbi Avram Mlotek

“Yet I know that there is a small but growing number of Orthodox rabbis from across the Modern Orthodox spectrum who believe that this is where we have to be moving. I hope that in doing so as a community, queer Jews will see themselves as valued in the community and see that their rabbis are ready to celebrate their life choices of sacred covenantal marriage as well. It is not only about upholding the dignity of the human being, but upholding the dignity of the Torah itself, which emphasizes the need for loving partnership.”

–Rabbi Avram Mlotek, excerpt from a recent published article of his Continue reading “Episode 25: Finding Your Sacred Space. Thinking Outside Of The Hillel w/Rabbi Avram Mlotek”

May 17, 2019October 18, 2019

Episode 23: Is Instagram The New Go-To Jewish Space? With @Modern_Ritual cofounders Rabbi Samantha Frank and Rena Singer

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THE NOTORIOUS G-O-D 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 … … … We want to talk about God a little more here at Modern Ritual because “God” is such a loaded word/concept/idea!!! … … … When we say that we “believe in God” we do so because we see God as a hugely expansive concept that could encompass all meaning/change/the universe. But also sometimes God feels very personal! Something we experience in the day to day in a hug or in the sunshine or after drinks with a friend. … … … Did you know that in Judaism there are around 100 names for God? That God is described in so many ways? … … … This is important because we want to make it clear that we do not believe that God is a man in the sky!!! 👨 + ⛅️ = 🤷‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏿‍♀️ … … … We do want to take ourselves theologically seriously though. This means that we are truly seeking wisdom in our lives, looking for greater meaning. We are open to evolving ideas of God and questions about God and feeling differently on different days. … … … We try to stay away from the binary of belief versus not belief. … … … So we want to know- how are you feeling about God? What are some of your questions? Does the word make you feel uncomfortable? Let’s talk! … #god #theology #feminism #judaism #ideas #questions #love #exploring #jewish #modernritual

A post shared by Modern_Ritual (@modern_ritual) on Nov 28, 2018 at 3:14pm PST

Rabbi Samantha is the co-founder of Modern Ritual, an Instagram account claiming a space for feminist Jewish engagement in our modern world. Outside of social media, she received her ordination the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Samantha decided to become a rabbi because she saw the ways in which Judaism guided people through the most difficult and most joyous moments in life. Sam has worked as a student rabbi in Monessen, PA, Yale University and currently the rabbinic intern at Temple Micah in DC, working on the Haftarah Project. Continue reading “Episode 23: Is Instagram The New Go-To Jewish Space? With @Modern_Ritual cofounders Rabbi Samantha Frank and Rena Singer”

March 8, 2019October 18, 2019

Episode 13: Breaking The Mold, Creating New Ways To Be and Do Jewish w/Roey Kruvi

“Any good innovative organization will tell you that you have to be okay with failure – that they look to ‘not’ have consensus. That those are the ideas that forge new spaces and opportunities.”

— Roey Kruvi

Roey Kruvi is the Senior Director of Immersive Experiences at Moishe House. He was born in Haifa and lived in different parts of Israel before moving to California at the age of 10, where he has been ever since. Since relocating to Encinitas, he has taken on several new hobbies, using his free time to surf, horseback ride, learn the piano, practice yoga, and spend time with his family. He graduated from UC Berkeley with bachelor’s degrees in geography and interdisciplinary studies. Roey appreciates opportunities to live communally, skill share, laugh at himself, laugh with others, go to potlucks, breathe (thanks, lungs!), read books, negotiate bus fares, and eat lunch by gorging on farmers market samples.

Roey’s passion and dedication are in informal education of youth, especially in wilderness and/or outdoor settings, and he has several years’ experience designing and implementing experiential education curriculums, both in and outside of the Jewish world. Also, he’s a big fan of being alive and not taking himself too seriously. Roey is a cancer survivor and doesn’t sweat the small stuff. Roey is also the founder of Beacons Tech Consulting, a business that provides affordable tech solutions to small and medium-sized nonprofits. Continue reading “Episode 13: Breaking The Mold, Creating New Ways To Be and Do Jewish w/Roey Kruvi”