A Holiday of Opposites for an Upside-Down World
March 3, 2025
Rabbi Barbara Penzner writes that Purim is ultimately about the power of human beings to do what’s right.
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Rabbi Barbara Penzner graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1987. Barbara is the Rabbi Emerita of Temple Hillel B’nai Torah in Boston, where she served as solo rabbi for 28 years until her retirement in June 2023.
A past president of the RRA, she chaired the RRA Ethics Committee and co-chaired the Joint Placement Commission, as well as serving on various movement commissions and RRA committees over the years. Rabbi Penzner served as president of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis, co-chaired the New England Jewish Labor Committee, and received the 2011 Rabbinic Human Rights award from T’ruah. She was also a founding “mikveh mama” of Mayyim Hayyim: Living Waters Mikveh and Education Center.
Barbara lives in Boston with her husband, Brian Rosman, where they raised their two children, Aviva Rosman and Yonah Rosman.
Rabbi Barbara Penzner writes that Purim is ultimately about the power of human beings to do what’s right.
The Rosh Hashanah seder is a pre-meal ritual, a counterpart to the Passover seder we all know about. With synagogue observance of Rosh Hashanah this year likely to be interrupted in many ways due to the pandemic, it is particularly apt to shift more of the observance to our homes. The Rosh Hashanah seder can mix tradition, modern relevance, and lots of fun.
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Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis
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Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives
