Heart of the Stranger

Rabbi Joshua Boettiger is the kind of religious leader — and the kind of writer — who sees connections in seemingly disparate things, such as the calling of the rabbinate and the art of writing poetry.  Boettiger, RRC ’16, will share many such connections as part of “Mussar Poetry: Writing Toward the Other”, a six-session Ritualwell Immersion. […]

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer was recently named Ritualwell’s director of virtual content and program, a position she considers her dream job. In this role, she can weave together the multiple strands of her life: her passion for creativity and the arts, her focus on spirituality and writing, her experience in editing and mentoring writers, her commitment to children and families, and making Jewish community and experience accessible to all.

When Shahanna McKinney-Baldon came upon the life and work of early 20th-century entertainer Madame Goldye Steiner, the dramatic soprano who performed Jewish liturgical music along the East Coast and in the upper Midwest as “the only colored woman cantor in the world,” she said she felt an instant connection.