Setting: A Torah study group at a long-term senior residence in Cincinnati. Harriet: I wish more people joined us today. But people forget we’re meeting. People here forget everything. There are so many people who are forgetting their memories. Me: That sounds really hard. Shirley: People forget things, but there are so many people here with interesting stories. I just…

ואהבת את ה׳ אלוהיך בכל לבבך, ובכל נפשך, ובכל מאודך—“And you shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” — Deuteronomy 6:5 I love to teach—with all my heart, soul, and might. And I love my kids, the students I teach. There is nothing more magical than the moments when…

This past summer (2019) I had the honor and privilege of being the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati fellow at Temple Sholom synagogue. It was a wonderful summer, full of new experiences and challenges. Rabbi Terlinchamp was on sabbatical throughout the summer, and I was very fortunate that the lovely staff and community of Temple Sholom greeted me with open arms.…

During the summer of 2019 I had the fortunate opportunity to serve as a Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati fellow at Cedar Village Senior Living Community. The process that led to my ultimate service at Cedar Village was complicated, but I ultimately found the work extremely meaningful. I did not select Cedar Village as my first choice for a summer fellowship…

Relationships in life don’t really end, even if you never see the person again. Every person you’ve been close to lives on somewhere inside you. Your past lovers, your parents, your friends, people both alive and dead (symbolically or literally)—all of them evoke memories, conscious or not. Lori Gottlieb, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our…

This summer, I had a fellowship at the Brueggeman Center for Dialogue. I helped to create the Cincy Multifaith Calendar, an online resource designed to help students talk about their faith traditions and learn about the traditions and identities of their classmates. We gathered representatives of the major faiths in the Cincinnati area to write calendar entries for the holidays…

Last summer I had the privilege to be the Judaic director at Camp Livingston in Bennington, Indiana. Camp Livingston is a pluralistic Jewish overnight camp tucked into southeastern Indiana. When faced with deciding which Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati fellowship I preferred, I knew I wanted to be at camp. I grew up attending a variety of camps as a Jewish…

A woman recounted the painful loss of her husband and snippets of her childhood in New York, including fancy dinners and theater outings with her father, who was a food critic. These outings, she shared, led to her career as a clinical nutritionist. She spoke with pride about her two children. Unfortunately, there are few with whom she can talk.…

Israel has always been important to me, but living in Jerusalem during my first year of rabbinical school deepened my connection to the land and the people. Working for the Cincinnati Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) this past summer allowed me to expand my knowledge of modern Israel and hone my skills in teaching and talking about this complicated place.…

On the last day of his life, as the Israelites are preparing to enter the Promised Land without him, Moses offers his final teachings and directives to the Jewish people. He assures the Israelites that Torah—and the teachings and commandments contained therein—is not beyond them to uphold after he leaves them. Torah doesn’t live in the heavens and it isn’t…

It was our Sage Hillel who taught us al tifros min hatzibbur  “do not separate yourself from the community” (Pirkei Avot 2:4). I was certainly glad to be part of a community this past summer at Congregation Adath Israel here in Cincinnati, Ohio. Community was truly the focus of my eight-week fellowship with this community, as I and, it seemed, the other…

This past summer I was fortunate to be able to work with the Jewish Family Service of Cincinnati (JFS). While many organizations focus on a specific area or type of Jewish communal work, the JFS’s efforts are broad and often help segments of the Jewish community that are rarely prioritized and often forgotten. JFS programs help serve and bring together,…

I walk into the classroom, all eyes on me. I remind myself that I have done this before, and that I am prepared. Little did I know at that moment the challenges I would face and the obstacles I would have to overcome. This year, as a Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati fellow, I was placed at Rockdale Temple in their…

My journey to rabbinical school began with a meaningful and impactful conversation with my mentor, Rabbi Educator Vicki L. Tuckman, z”l. After a long day at summer camp, we found ourselves sitting on her cabin porch around midnight as the stars rose over the Mahoning Valley. I remember her exact words: “You’re going to be a rabbi—you just don’t know it yet.”…

The first time I stepped into a hospital room as a chaplain, I lasted about 90 seconds. The conversation was kind but awkward—I offered my well-wishes for a speedy recovery and invited myself out the door. I was convinced that this was going to be one of the most difficult summers of my life. But Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) surprised…

It does not matter what you say or how you say it; rather, it matters how it is received. —Rabbi Yaacov Leider The relationship between an educator and a learner is built upon the ability of the educator to effectively communicate material, emotion, and passion to their learners. The role of the educator is to foster and maintain among their…

When I began my year of teaching at Temple Sholom’s Religious School, I was nervous. It was my first time teaching in a classroom setting, and I was assigned to teach the post–B’nai Mitzvah class with students ranging from seventh to ninth grade. I felt unprepared to teach them but excited to try. For the first class I decided to…

On paper it is easy. Make a list of what was needed, then do it. Contact a few people, make sure everything was set up in the right place—pretty straightforward. But I never had to plan an event before. I have done programing, certainly, but I have never had to handle logistics, or ensure that speakers were present and all…

Over this past year, I’ve had the pleasure of teaching Hebrew and Judaic studies to kindergarten and third-grade students in my role as a Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati fellow at Rockwern Academy in Cincinnati. As I was teaching, I was also reading Parker Palmer’s The Courage to Teach in the education seminar at HUC-JIR. In thisimportant work on education, Palmeroutlines six paradoxes of…

When I began my Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati fellowship at the Jarson Education Center two years ago, I took one look at the booklet containing grade topics for the entire school and offered, out of pure insanity, to work with the religious school director to write curricula for grades 2–5. In retrospect, I had no idea what I was getting…