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Virtual Shabbat Box
Your Virtual Shabbat Box holds many ways to celebrate the day. Choose what nurtures you: listen, watch or read. Looking for Shabbat services? Check out Recon Connect for virtual Shabbat services and other live, online programs throughout the week.
November 27-28
Read: Prayer for Change
These days everything feels in flux, and change can be very difficult. Cathy Cohen’s poem expresses the prayer that we may “meet transition without fear.” Sourced from Ritualwell
Read: This Land Belongs to No One: Thanksgiving Prayer Honoring Our Ancestors and Native Peoples’ Land
Thanksgiving can be a complicated holiday. We may feel drawn to the nostalgia of family meals and traditions, and at the same time, conflicted about celebrating a day that for many Native peoples is a day of mourning. Hila Ratzabi offers a prayer that honors both sides and celebrates this as a time to connect with family and express gratitude for the good things in our lives. Sourced from Ritualwell
Read: A Seasonal Hint: Jacob Didn’t Ask for That Much Stuff!
Rabbah Arlene Berger finds a Thanksgiving message in her d’var Torah on parashat Vayetzey (Genesis 28:10-32:3). Sourced from ReconstructingJudaism.org
Watch: The Dual Meaning of ‘Practice’: Explaining Judaism to Athletes
Sports and fitness are a native language to many of us. Rabbi Jason Bonder discusses how we can translate Judaism into that native language. Sourced from Recon Connect Beit Midrash
Listen: Fixing Broken Policing: What Does Judaism Say?
Does the Talmud offer a perspective on police reform and whether it makes sense to, as the slogan says, “defund the police”? Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, a Talmudic scholar and an advocate for redirecting police funding, explains what ancient Judaism does and doesn’t say about policing. Sourced from Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations
November 20-21
Read: Turn the Tables: A Neighborhood Is…
Shabbat is a perfect time to reflect about the larger issues in our lives and the lives of our neighbors. The campaign, Turn the Tables, Repair the World works to build upon Shabbat’s ritual base by adding that dimension to our Friday evening meals. Sourced from Ritualwell
Listen: ‘A Sliver in the Sky: A Song for Rosh Hodesh’
Beth Hamon sings of Rosh Hodesh when “we notice the moon’s just a sliver in the sky.” Sourced from Ritualwell
Watch: Finding Your Center with Mitsui Movement
Join Yoshi Silverstein in a progression of movements to locate and root yourself in your center. Sourced from Reset, providing Jewish activists with accessible spiritual practice and teachings. Learn more here.
Read: Isaac, Digger of Wells
In her d’var Torah on parashat Toledot, Ellen Dannin discusses how the story of Isaac is relevant to the time of year in which we traditionally read it. Sourced from Reconstructing Judaism
Listen: Spirit in Practice: Seeking Help for the Long Haul
Three teachers from different faith traditions reflect on how we can keep on struggling for justice and sustain ourselves in our communities over the long haul. Sourced from Reset, providing Jewish activists with accessible spiritual practice and teachings. Learn more here.
November 13-14
Read: Veterans Day Prayer
On this Veterans Day (Nov. 11), we turn our thoughts to all those who served in our country’s military forces and pray for them with the words of Alden Solovy. Sourced from Ritualwell
Read: Making Space for All Our Emotions in Response to the Pandemic
In her blog post, Rabbi Vivie Mayer reminds of the need to acknowledge without judgment all of the many feelings the pandemic stirs up within us. Sourced from Ritualwell
Watch: Centering Inward: Inspired by Etty Hillesum
Hila Ratzabi leads us in this meditation to connect inward to our deepest selves and meet ourselves right where we are at this moment.” Sourced from Reset, providing Jewish activists with accessible spiritual practice and teachings. Learn more here.
Read: Antisemitism in Europe and America in the Modern Period: Historical Perspectives
For the 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht (Nov. 9-10, 1937), Dr. Reena Friedman reviews the evidence and arguments on both sides of the debate: Is the United States exceptional in the lack of intensity and violence of American antisemitism? Sourced from Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations
Watch: Caring for All: Biodiversity, Mussar and Our Essential Interdependence
How far do our compassion and concern stretch? Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb teaches that even as modernity wreaks havoc, Judaism anchors us in connection with all of Creation, and renews hope and joy when we extend hesed to all. Sourced from Recon Connect Beit Midrash
Listen: Covid-19 and Jewish Ethics
Rabbi Mira Wasserman explains how ethical considerations have shaped her own decisions — such as whether to drive her child to school or send him on the school bus — and how they should operate on a communal level. Sourced from Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations
November 6-7
Read: ‘Hazak: For Our World in Transition’
In her poem, Suzanne Sabransky speaks to “this time of unexpected endings and difficult new beginnings.” Sourced from Ritualwell
Read: A Prayer for Reparation and Restoration
Rabbi Brant Rosen prays that our thoughts, words and deeds guide us to a future of justice for all. Sourced from Ritualwell
Listen: ‘Shema’ Sound Mapping
This practice by Yoshi Silverstein uses breath to explore and resonate with the Shema. Sourced from Ritualwell
Listen: ‘Lekhi Lakh’
Debbie Friedman’s classic song of journey and change is based on God’s words to Abraham to seek his destiny (Genesis 12:1–2). Sourced from Ritualwell
Watch: Community, Polity and Civility: Insights From Jewish Speech Ethics
Current political rhetoric in the United States has become increasingly heated and disparaging. Rabbi David Teutsch explores how Jewish ethics regards issues of speech and what we can learn from them about how to recapture civility in our communities. Sourced from Recon Connect Beit Midrash
These resources were drawn from:
- Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations
- Hashivenu: Jewish Teachings on Resilience
- Recon Connect Beit Midrash
- Reset: Providing Jewish activists with accessible spiritual practice and teachings
- Ritualwell
- The Center for Jewish Ethics
Previous Virtual Shabbat Boxes by month:
