Words of Torah (my blog!) — Rabbi Amy Josefa Ariel (she/her)

Posts in Jewish Holidays

Lonely, sits the city once great with people. She that was great among nations has become a widow. The princess among states has fallen under their power. She weeps bitterly. Her friends offer no comfort. Her allies have betrayed her. Empty of festival pilgrims, her gates are deserted. My eyes flow with tears.

Every year we chant these words on Tisha B’Av and are reminded that lament deserves our time. Pain will not be forgotten, but can be held. There is no just future without having an honest reckoning with our past.

Jewish Holidays, TORAHAmy ArielJuly 16, 2020Tisha B'Av, Convergence on Campus, Lament, EichaComment

I Want to Remember Them: Yom HaShoah 2020

This reflection written for the University of Saint Thomas Campus Ministry Newsletter

Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, begins Monday April 20 and continues through sundown Tuesday April 21, 2020. At a time when traditionally we would come together as a community to honor our local survivors and remember those who perished, we will gather virtually to commemorate Yom HaShoah and mark the 75th anniversary of liberation and the end of the Holocaust.

Jewish HolidaysAmy ArielApril 16, 2020Holocaust, Yom HaShoah, Yom HaShoah 2020, Holocaust Remembrance Day Comment

HARVESTS OF THE HEART:  LOVING OUR NEIGHBORS AND WELCOMING THE STRANGERS

Imagine! While Miguel and I shared this d’var Torah on the bima at Mount Zion Temple in Saint Paul, back in Honduras Sindy was delivering her baby - the little pumpkin in this picture. As soon as we’d finished speaking, Miguel rushed to the lobby where he got on the phone with Viktor who shouted with joy, “It’s done!” And mama and baby were both doing great. Welcome to the world, little one! When we learn his name in the days or weeks ahead (in Honduras, many people wait to name their babies to see if they will survive.) I’ll be sure to share it here.

Jewish Holidays, TORAHAmy ArielOctober 21, 2019Love is boss, Honduras, Torah, Sukkot, Loving our neighbors, love your neighbor Comments

The Heart of Heaven

V’etchanan
Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11

When we form a covenantal relationship, some kind of mystery happens and even as we retain our own identities, we also form something new that only exists within that relationship. In that relationship, perhaps we reside in the leiv hashamayim– in the interior, the center, of the expanse. The heart of the heavens.

TORAH, Jewish HolidaysAmy ArielJuly 23, 2018Lev, v'etchanan, torah, tu b'av, hashamayim, wedding, wed, love, chuppah, DeuteronomyComment

It's Tisha B'Av

Saying, "It's Tisha B'Av" is a little like saying, "It's 9/11." Tisha = 9th. Av is the month we are in. It's a date. This date is the major day of communal mourning in the Jewish calendar. The. If you haven't heard of it, I get it, and it might be the biggest day you've never heard of.

Jewish HolidaysAmy ArielJuly 22, 2018Tisha B'Av, Purim, Lamentations, Eicha, Temple, IsraelComment

Talking About This Revolution

PASSOVER

As we gather for our seders, we have an opportunity to bless our children - those born to us and taught by us. May we bless them for who they are, in all that they are. May we bless them in their infancy, their childhood, their adolescence, and their adulthood

Jewish Holidays, TORAHAmy ArielMarch 26, 2018March for Our Lives, Torah, Passover, chametz, Moses, Jewish Community, gun violenceComment

Purim Presents

PURIM

This year, informed by Nowruz and in observance of Purim, let’s think about how we might reach out diplomatically with the intention to increase love and friendship between ourselves and others.

TORAH, Jewish HolidaysAmy ArielFebruary 26, 2018Purim, Torah, Esther, Nowruz, Mishloach Manot Comments

WHERE THE LIGHT LANDS Seven weeks. Seven gatherings. One question: Where does Divine Light actually show up in our lives?

We'll gather seven times - omer days 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, and 49 - for learning, reflection, writing, and prayer together. The thread running through all seven sessions is malchut — the kabbalistic understanding that divine light doesn't stay in the heavens. It travels. It lands. It shows up in our bodies, our relationships, our daily acts of courage and lovingkindness. It shows up in us.

I am offering this series on a sliding scale contribution of $0–$180. Every dollar — every single one — goes entirely to feeding our refugee neighbors in Saint Paul. What you bring is welcome. Who you are is what matters. The tzedakah we gather is itself an act of malchut. When Divine Light travels it lands, and together we are going to help some of it land in Minnesota.