Rabbi Leah Berkowitz is back! And with her is the co-author of her new book “Maybe it Happened This Way”, Ricki Wovsaniker! Join us as we learn all about their awesome collaboration and hear a bit about their awesome selves as well!
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Learn more about the new Broadway show recommended by Emma, And Juliet (and go see it if you can!)
And….we’re back! You may have noticed we disappeared for a while. Want to know why? Tune in to find out! In this episode, Rabbis Marci & Emma also discuss whether or not they apologise too often and if Valentines Day is Jewish (or not so much).
Have an “Ask the Rabbi” question? Click on the “Message” button on our webpage and ask away! You might just hear the answer on an upcoming episode and you’ll get a fun shout out and maybe even some free swag!
Please consider supporting us by clicking on the “Support” tab on our webpage so that we can keep this podcast current and accessible to all!
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Welcome to the very first Women Rabbis Talk podcast in quite some time! It has been a while! I'm one of your hosts, Rabbi Marcy Bellows and with me, as always, is
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb! And we're excited to be back and to be looking at each other and to be talking with all of you. Hi, Marci! We had an email a while back already from Ziva, one of our listeners, who says, "Hello, I'm a big fan. I've reached out to you before. And I'm over here wondering and hoping you guys will be back soon. Any plans for 2022? Hope all is excellent with you both!"
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Well, thanks Ziva, for emailing. We love hearing from our fans. It's crazy that we have fans. And it's awesome to hear from everybody. Good question. Where have we been? Well, it's not a funny story. I was gonna say it's kind of a funny story. It's not a funny story. It's kind of just a story. Right after High Holy Days, which were a little, you know, crazy this year anyway, because once again, we all had the various COVID considerations of in-person, live-streaming, etc. I think my long term back issues just kind of bottomed out. As some of you may recall, I was in a bad car accident 2004. And I had spinal fusion surgery for the first time in 2007, to repair what had happened in my spine in that accident. And look, I got 14 awesome years out of that fusion, which, yeah, like whohoo, the original surgeon had told me, I'd maybe get 5 to 10. So I was already ahead of the game. But right after High Holy Days, my left leg decided to just stop working. It's like, No thanks, I'm out. I couldn't put any pressure on it or any weight on it, I was hospitalized for a week after that injury, only to find out that it was time for another fusion. The first fusion had been L5-S1, for those of you who know these terms, and this one was going to be L4-L5, the level immediately above, and it was going to be a two-day long procedure. They were gonna go in from the front on day one. And a general surgeon had to be present to kind of, you know, move my organs out of the way so that the surgeon could reach my spine from the front. Don't think about it too much. It's way too creepy. It creeps me out. And then on day two, they were going to flip me over like I don't know, a rotisserie chicken, and then get in from -
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
A pancake!
Rabbi Marci Bellows
I was going to be a pancake, a crepe. They were going to do the fusion and like, fortify it from the back. I also was told I needed a three month medical leave. And thank God my community, my congregation has continued to be incredibly patient and loving and compassionate. And I just started back at work last week, just a few days ago, I am pretty tired, but really, really happy to be back. Really happy to experience healing. And one of the best parts is being back here with you, Emma, my darling.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Well, I know I've heard from other listeners, not just Ziva, who said how much they miss us. And I've missed you. Not exactly, because we talk all the time in our just personal friendship. But I've missed this space that we've created, and this work that we have been doing together. And it's really nice to be back in this weird zoom world with you.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
It is nice to be back here.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
And that's where we've been everyone. And thank you for missing us for those who reached out. And thank you for new listeners who said like I'm really enjoying the podcast. But it seems like there's only two seasons, is there going to be more? And all these things. So yes, the answer is yes, we have episodes in the can. And also I guess just to issue it, a thank you to our guests who recorded with us quite a while back now whose episodes haven't yet aired. And we hope to be able to still air those even though they will be like, of a time, and then we've got plans for the future. So they'll probably be a brief hiatus between this episode and the official launch of season three, I guess, while we do some finalizing of our season three plans, but we wanted to update everyone and just sort of whet your appetites for more amazing conversations with amazing female rabbis to come!
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Absolutely. In line with what Women's Rabbinic Network is also thinking about, we want to focus even more on women-identifying rabbis and non-binary rabbis, and how does their experience mirror and differ from the experience of women rabbis in our movement, in the Reform movement, because there's a lot of really amazing stuff happening even in just the few months since we've last put up an episode. There have been some major changes, some big news in the Reform movement that impacts a lot of what we tend to cover on our episodes, so lots of late-breaking stuff will be coming out soon.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Absolutely. And there have been some amazing and also some horrifying things that have happened in the Jewish world. We may circle back and talk about those and reflect back even though they passed by and hopefully are safely consigned to the past, but but that they impact our colleagues and ourselves. We'll talk about those things.
So Marci, what are you thinking about?
Rabbi Marci Bellows
One of the things that has always been really difficult for me is taking the time and space I need in order to care for myself to allow myself to heal adequately before rushing back to work. I know I touched on this last year when I was battling COVID. And you may remember the brain injury I had. Yeah, it's it's been a time. I'm reminded of this Inside Amy Schumer sketch for those of you who ever watched the show, where she shows a panel of smart educated women who are participating in the discussion. And these women are presumably at the forefront of their fields. And yet, with every answer that they give to the moderators questions, they all start with, "Sorry", and they're unsure of themselves the entire time. The modertor even pronounces one of the women's names incorrectly as "Meegan". And she says, "Oh, sorry, it's Megan". And he, the male moderator got her name wrong. Why is she apologizing? And the entire bit continues in this way. And of course, as good comedians do, it elevates and escalates as the sketch goes on. At one point, a woman coughs up a little bit and requests water. And an assistant brings a Diet Coke, and she apologizes for being such a diva. But she's allergic to caffeine. So the assistant next brings a steaming cup of coffee, clearly still caffeinated, which she cannot drink. And one of the other panelists offers to drink it, the assistant then spills it all over her, resulting in terrible burns. But the burned woman apologizes for just disturbing the whole panel. And I just love it. Because I think for so many of us, our natural inclination for whatever reason, we are taught to apologize for our very presence for our very existence. And lest we think in the slightest way that we have inconvenienced someone, we apologize. Even when someone is being generous to us or giving, we still might say, "Oh, I'm sorry, can I please get, you know, that salt over there?" Instead of just saying, "can you please pass the salt." We apologize for even having a need at all. And this is something I've worked on quite a bit. I'm by no means done with this. I think it's a lifelong struggle for many of us. But I think there's so many places where we can be saying thank you, or maybe even nothing at all, instead of immediately saying, "I'm sorry". One of the other places where I know I often do this in an elevator. If I walk in, and I happen to just now take up space in the elevator, or need to get off said elevator, I apologize. Even though that's what the elevators for. It's to get on the elevator, travel some distance up or down, and then get off. But I will apologize for even needing to do that. I know that now that I'm back at work, I've worked hard not to say "I'm sorry" for the time that I'm away, though I may feel bad. And that addresses another issue which is just guilt about needing self-care and serious healing from a serious surgery. But instead, I really want to focus on saying "thank you". "Thank you for giving me the time I needed to heal," rather than, "I'm so sorry, I needed three months off". "Thank you for all of your generous offers of meals, of shopping, of entertaining our son", instead of saying, "oh my god, I'm so sorry. We need this extra help". Right? It's it's taking the same need the same sentiment, and yet you're flipping it, and instead of making yourself feel bad, you're just expressing gratitude to the person who has been kind and hopefully, hopefully understands what you've been going through. So I hope that we all can think about all the times we say "I'm sorry", in our lives. All the times we second-guess our own needs and apologize for our own needs, instead of just declaring them, just owning them, or even just saying "thank you" for when those needs are met. And hopefully we will all continue to do our own Tikun, our own repairs, and allow our words to carry life-affirming power and goodness. Every single day.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Amen.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Amen!
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Well, well Marci, I am a woman and I'm Canadian, so I'm doubly sorry. And also when I'm sorry I'm also soh-rry. And, yes, I share the struggle. I like you said and you know you read about it and the feminist books and you hear it discussed and you say, "Oh, I know, I do that and do it too often", but it's really, really hard to correct in ourselves. And the time where I finally said to myself, "this is getting ridiculous", was, I think my first year living here in Cape Town, and I was walking down the street. And there was a man who likely lives on the street, and was going through like the trash can on the sidewalk, and had made a very big mess around, and I had to go around him and the mess to get where I was going. And as I went by, I said, like, "so sorry, just coming through!" And then I was like, wait, why? Like, I am sorry for his circumstances. But that's not what I was apologizing for. I was like, this is actually ridiculous that I'm apologizing to this person who has made it kind of difficult to get by, for perhaps very valid reasons. But still, yeah, it was like a real moment of noticing. I'm sure that I still apologize too often, but I do also try to think about different language to use in those moments. I try to do more, "Excuse me, coming through", you know, to still be polite, but not apologetic, and also to to consciously have things in my life that I'm not apologetic for, and to to just be taking more confident ownership of who I am and how much space I take up and the value that I bring and the like it or not like it. "Sorry, not sorry", is a thing that I sometimes embrace. Good things for all people to think about. But definitely relevant to women in the rabbinate. I'm sure all of our colleagues had moments of apologizing when they didn't need to.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Nope. Nope.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
And didn't even notice that they were.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Wow that's a whole other thing. Yep. When it's just so I don't know, just a knee jerk response when somebody bumps into you, and you apologize. "I'm so sorry. I was taking up space and in your way."
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Sorry that my physical form was where you wanted to be."
Rabbi Marci Bellows
So sorry.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
"I'm sorry. I couldn't make myself invisible. Bye!"
Your second question about you know, is it just okay as people to celebrate Valentine's Day? Is there anything complicated about about that? And how, how do people who are not in a relationship or in a partnership, feel about the day and feel on the day, I certainly, thankfully, this year, I have a partner. And it's nice to be able to feel included in the Valentine's Day celebrations. But I have had many, many years of feeling very outside Valentine's Day. And it is incredibly painful. And I certainly know lots of other people who have felt that pain, you know, magnified on that day. So for me, just like with other secular holidays that are relationship based, like Mother's Day and Father's Day, I try to think very carefully and intentionally about what I post on social media. And this sort of balance of, I'm very lucky to have a mother that I love, who's alive and who I can celebrate on Mother's Day. And I know that there are people who don't, and for whom their relationship with their mother is very complicated, or they've lost their mother, or they've been trying to become a mother and haven't been able to. And so I don't just post like a "Happy Mother's Day!" to my mom post, I post a like, "this is my mom, and I love her and I'm celebrating her today AND I'm also thinking of all the women for whom this day is painful or complicated." And so when I post on Valentine's Day, I post similarly like today, I didn't post - so Jonathan gave me a rose and chocolates this year, which is so nice, but I didn't post them on social media. So I've been on the other end of that social media feed, and it hurts, it hurts. So instead, I posted a message about you know, whoever you are, you know, whatever your life is, is you're loved, and know that you're loved and know that you're special. And, you know, I think especially as rabbis, it's really, really important for us to sort of hold that complicated space of people for whom these days are a celebration, and who want to be able to say to the world "I love my partner", "I love my dad", you know, whatever it is. And I want to be able to celebrate that for all the commercialization that it is. And I think we can, that as rabbis, we can model how to walk that complicated, nuanced path on these kinds of days. And I think, I guess in some ways for me that's how I make Valentine's Day Jewish, is by being intentional about the way that it is celebrated and communicated and shared.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
It's really beautiful. There is a sensitivity in Judaism and an awareness of the fact you know, al ha-d'vash v'al ha-oketz, right? We have the honey and the sting, from a bee - I'm quoting Naomi, Shemer, Al Kol Eileh, for those of you who are not familiar with the song, or who want to go listen to it right now, because I quoted it.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
(Emma sings Hebrew) Now we have to sing it.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
(Marci sings in Hebrew) I don't remember the next word
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
(Emma and Marci sing Hebrew) The bitter and the sweet, right?
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Yep. I really like you calling attention to the fact that we can be sensitive to that. Even in a day that can be so sweet and romantic, that we don't have to gloat. We don't have to rub it in people's faces. We can enjoy our own sweetness or even recognize our own pain while allowing space for the other, the other side of it.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Exactly. Exactly. Thanks for thinking that through with me, Marce. Ni to be thinking about things together with you again.
Marci, I would love to offer you an opportunity to bench Gomel. for our listeners who maybe don't know what that is or what that means, Birkat HaGomel is a blessing of Thanksgiving that is traditionally often recited as like part of an Aliyah, being called up to the Torah - it can be offered at other times - for someone who has gone through a life challenging or dangerous situation, moments, experience, to give thanks for having made it through, basically. And it's a blessing and response so that as a blessing that the person who has come through the experience recites, and then there's a response that comes from the congregation. So in this context for us, I will read the response on behalf of not just myself but all of our listeners, and everybody who loves you and is giving thanks with you that you are healing and stepping back into your full wellness.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Thank you. It's so sweet of you to offer this. So Birkat HaGomel: Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha Olam, sh'g'malani kol tov. Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has bestowed every goodness upon me.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Amen! Mi sh'gmalchem kol tov, hu yigmalchem kol tov, selah. May the One who has bestowed goodness upon you continue to bestow every goodness upon you forever. Amen.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Thank you.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
And then we just love you so much, Marci.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
And I love you, and I love you all. Thank you everybody for your patience and your blessing.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Amen
You've you've had a run, and I'm so in awe of your your bounce- back and your your pain threshold, and your spirit through it all and, you know a lot of people would have buckled in a two years like the two years you have had. And I love you so much. I'm so proud of you.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Thank you.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
I really hope things are on their way up for you now and that we won't have any more injuries or illnesses to navigate anytime soon.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Kein Yehi Ratzon!
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Let's have a break. Marci gets a break. It's somebody else's turn. It's always somebody else's term. We pass it around in the world. That's the reality. Marci is saying no, no, don't say that. Yes, reality is so like, Rabbi Tamar Grimm, who we've had on the podcast. She used to, she said, it's interesting. I don't know if she believes this anymore or not. But we had once like a really intense theological conversation on a subway train in New York City, definitely one of many, where she was talking about, but what she believed at the time at least, was that there's like a certain amount of pain in the world. And we pass it around. And you know, when when you're experiencing joy, someone else is experiencing pain. And when you're experiencing pain, someone else is experiencing joy. And that's the nature of the law. So I'm not wishing unpleasantness on anybody else. I'm just saying it's not Marci's turn anymore. Marci took her turn. She gets a break now.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
I'm okay with that. Thank you. I'm okay with at least Marci's had her turn. Marci's family has had its turn. We're good. Thank you. Good. We have learned compassion many times. We have learned resilience many times. We're good!
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
A more Jewish statement, there never was - more than a Jewish statement than that.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Yes
Rabbi Marci Bellows
So what's coming up?
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
What is coming up? Great question. More amazing conversations with more rabbis who identify as women and maybe some who don't. More learning and growing together, and hopefully more listener engagement. Listeners, we would love to hear from you. Not just when we've disappeared and you want to know where we are, but when you're listening to us and you want to be part of the conversation. Please send us your questions, send us your feedback, your responses. Don't forget to rate and review and share and all that good stuff. Help others find this. We've got new swag we'll be posting about in social media, follow us on social media. And if you have suggestions of people we should be talking to on this podcast. If you are a rabbi and you'd like to be on this podcast, or rabbinical students, or a teenager thinking about being a rabbi or somebody married to a rabbi, we'd love to talk to you get in touch. In a minute, we'll play a message that tells you how to get in touch. So thanks. Marci.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Thank you, Emma. I love you and it's so nice to be back
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
I love you too
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Okay, bye, everybody. Talk to you more soon.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Thank you for listening to Women Rabbis Talk
Rabbi Marci Bellows
We'd like to thank Seth Lindman for tech and Sound Support
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Our music is by Aviva Chernick and Jaffa Road.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Women Rabbis Talk is self edited and self produced and we hope to one day have some help with that.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
If you'd like to support us, please use the links in our episode notes.
Rabbi Marci Bellows
You can also follow those links to check out all of our awesome swag and merch.
Rabbi Emma Gottlieb
Please remember to rate review and share share share so that others can find this podcast and enjoy it too
Rabbi Marci Bellows
Todah Rabah!
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Join us for this very important (dare we say groundbreaking?) conversation with Rabbi Rachael Pass about Jewish views on abortions and why (most) women rabbis don’t share about their personal experiences of abortion. This is an episode we are particularly proud of so don’t miss out!
Have an “Ask the Rabbi” question? Click on the “Message” button on our webpage and ask away! You might just hear the answer on an upcoming episode and you’ll get a fun shout out and maybe even some free swag!
Please consider supporting us by clicking on the “Support” tab on our webpage so that we can keep this podcast current and accessible to all!
Join us for this incredibly important conversation with Rabbi Sandra Cohen who shares with us valuable insights and resources relating to mental health (yes, Rabbis struggle with mental illness too!).
Have an “Ask the Rabbi” question? Click on the “Message” button on our webpage and ask away! You might just hear the answer on an upcoming episode and you’ll get a fun shout out and maybe even some free swag!
Please consider supporting us by clicking on the “Support” tab on our webpage so that we can keep this podcast current and accessible to all!
Summary: Rabbi Stacy Rigler, RJE, the awesome Executive Director of ARJE (The Association of Reform Jewish Educators) takes us to the next level as she beautifully explains everything we could ever want to know about Rabbi-Educators and why they are so valuable in our Jewish education spaces! We also have a timely chat about the impact of anti-semitism on Jewish education and introduce some lesser-known women on whose shoulders we stand, Rabbi Regina Jonas and Ray Frank. To support ARJE: Support ARJE | Association of Reform Jewish Educators (ARJE) (reformeducators.org)
Have an “Ask the Rabbi” question? Click on the “Message” button on our webpage and ask away! You might just hear the answer on an upcoming episode and you’ll get a fun shout out and maybe even some free swag!
Please consider supporting us by clicking on the “Support” tab on our webpage so that we can keep this podcast current and accessible to all!
As we’ve learned in previous episodes, abortion is permitted in Jewish tradition. On May 17, 2022, a large “Jewish Rally for Abortion Justice” was held in Washington, DC. Rabbi Marci Bellows attended and captured the thoughts of more than twenty of her colleagues as they marched for women’s rights, reproductive rights for all pregnant individuals, and basic health care rights.
Following some introductory reactions from Emma and Marci, allow yourself to be moved and heartened by the many voices of Jewish leaders committed to fighting for Abortion Justice.
Have an “Ask the Rabbi” question? Click on the “Message” button on our webpage and ask away! You might just hear the answer on an upcoming episode and you’ll get a fun shout out and maybe even some free swag!
Please consider supporting us by clicking on the “Support” tab on our webpage so that we can keep this podcast current and accessible to all!
— This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app —
Emma K. Gottlieb 0:00 Welcome to Women Rabbis Talk the podcast where women rabbis talk to other women rabbis about being women rabbis. I am one of those women rabbis. My name is Rabbi Emma Gottlieb, and I’m here with my favorite and only and best co host –
Rabbi Marci Bellows 0:17 Oh my gosh, it’s Rabbi Marci Bellows. I’m so honored because you happen to be my favorite and only and best co host. So that’s really fortunate.
Emma K. Gottlieb 0:26 Imagine that. Well, Marci. We are having a very serious conversation today, although it’s us. So they’ll probably be some lightheartedness along the way. But you recently went to Washington, DC. Could you tell us a little bit about why and what you did there?
Rabbi Marci Bellows 0:44 Well, Emma, I was in Washington, DC from Sunday to Tuesday, attending the Washington Institute for the National Council of Jewish Women, an organization that I hadn’t really been involved with before. But I’ve been so impressed with a lot of the events and materials and advocacy they’ve been doing over the past few years that I really wanted to attend their conference. Even a few months ago, they were planning on holding a rally for abortion justice on Tuesday, May 17. Lo and behold, the Supreme Court leak on May 2 made that Jewish rally for abortion justice, that much more of a critical and weighty and important event. The Supreme Court leaked documents, of course, indicated a major intention of overturning Roe versus Wade, which has been the law of the land since 1973. The rally was truly incredible. So many colleagues and congregations were there. And a lot of us were shocked that we had to be there.
Emma K. Gottlieb 1:55 Yeah, the whole thing is, it’s shocking. It’s bananas. It’s ridiculous. It’s heartbreaking. It’s all the things. First of all, I had ginormous FOMO of all of you being together, marching, I was marching with you in spirit, screaming and rallying as loudly as I could from Cape Town, where this issue is not an issue. And I you and I have talked about sort of my struggles and my thinking around how to be involved in this cause, which is so dear to my heart and important to me, and hopefully most women, but clearly not enough of them. And yeah, trying to figure out this sort of balance of being involved from afar, while also knowing that for my home community this isn’t relevant as South Africa has legalized abortion back in 1997. Women are able to access abortions here up until their 12th week of pregnancy and and then after that, for certain medical conditions or reasons. It’s even free here for people who don’t have health insurance, which is kind of crazy for us North American girls to think about a country, you know, in Africa that’s not as fully developed as North American countries having better access, easier access and freer access to abortion than women in Texas or recently, Oklahoma.
Rabbi Marci Bellows 3:28 Absolutely. That is part of what is so shocking. And it’s not the South Africa, America comparison. But it’s America being who we think it is, where we think we had gotten to, and watching over the last number of years, this reversal, this devolution of so many of our rights and our abilities to have equal human rights as women, people who are LGBTQ, all the injustice for people of color, and other marginalized groups. We have just watched rights erode over the last number of years, either officially or unofficially. We even see yesterday – what’s, what’s ironic, I suppose – is that yesterday, a poll was released that said 64% of Americans support Roe versus Wade. So two thirds of Americans support maintaining this as the law of the land. The consequences are staggering, and really almost impossible to imagine the ripple effects of what it would mean to make Roe versus Wade no longer legal and to make abortion no longer legal. I think we will lose so much of our workforce. I think poverty will rise greatly. So many people of course, women will be forced to carry pregnancies and give birth in situations where they wouldn’t otherwise The whole view of our society, the entire makeup of our society will shift. So this rally really allowed Jews to come together and say, if you’re speaking about religious freedom, and that is the basis for the Supreme Court’s decision is the religious freedom to say when life begins, and if it’s at conception, or even at fertilization, as some states are saying, Jews have to say very loudly, if you’re talking about religious freedom, that has to include Jews and their religious freedom to have an abortion, because not only is abortion permitted within Jewish law, but there are times when it is even required in Jewish law, particularly when the health of the mother is at great risk.
Emma K. Gottlieb 5:51 I mean, it boggles the mind it really – dear listeners, if someone can explain to us how a person can have an abortion before fertilization, we would love to understand that more fully, because it really seems like these laws are being written and passed by people who have no scientific understanding of our bodies, or how reproduction works. It’s very disturbing.
Rabbi Marci Bellows 6:25 Abortion before fertilization sounds like contraception, it sounds like a condom, it sounds like maybe Plan B, it certainly doesn’t sound like there’s any actual portion that could possibly take place before fertilization for God’s sakes. Plus, as someone who struggled with infertility, and very successfully had my lovely child by in-vitro fertilization, there are all kinds of other issues related to what’s going to happen to embryos that are fertilized, and really the future of IVF all together,
Emma K. Gottlieb 7:02 right. And I mean, I guess that also broadens the conversation in some ways and deepens the fear. Does that mean that the next thing to go is, you know, whatever access is still available to contraception? And, you know, and then more women are getting pregnant and not able to get abortions. And the whole thing is, is terrifying. It’s just terrifying, and heartbreaking. And I’m so proud of the women of our movement and the rabbi’s of our movement, and all of the other Jews and women of the world who are participating in fighting back, and our male allies, and our non binary allies, all the allies, all the people, I’m proud, I’m grateful. I’m with you in spirit. And we are going to have an amazing opportunity now to hear from some of the leaders of our movement, the rabbis of our movement and some of the other incredible women who you encountered while rallying in DC. So Marci, you can tell us a little more about that, and then we’ll hear from them.
Rabbi Marci Bellows 8:09 Yes, it was really a profound opportunity to collect the voices of as many rabbis as I could, who were there and who could speak to why they were there. Why was it so important as a human being as a Jew, as a rabbi to be present, we have 22 Voices of various genders and various movements. We have representatives from every movement in Judaism, reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox, we have some very big names in the Jewish world as well. Some of the highlights are Rabbi Hara person who is the Chief Executive Officer of the CCAR, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, we have Rabbi Jonah Posner, who is the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. And we have Rabbi Abbey Stein, who is really just an incredible author and advocate for LGBTQ causes in the Orthodox community, and especially trans causes. As a trans woman herself. She wrote the book becoming Eve, we’re hoping to have her on as a guest in the near future as well to hear more of her story and so many other incredible colleagues have spoken. And I hope that this collection of recordings that you’re about to hear will uplift your spirit. I think so many of us are so scared and lost in despair, even of what could come. And when you feel that way, I encourage you to come back to this episode. Listen to these voices of all of these Jewish leaders who you know are out there inspiring their communities, and speaking truth to power upholding Jewish values and Just come back to it and let it give you hope. Let it bring light back into the darkness
Emma K. Gottlieb 10:04 beautiful. I’m looking forward to hearing the voices of hope and may all of our prayers and all of our efforts bring about much needed repair and a return to sanity and progress and health and wellbeing for all and true religious freedom. Absolutely. Amen.
Rabbi Marci Bellows 10:28 Amen. Hear this wonderful collection right after this
Rabbi Hara Person: This is Rabbi Hara person. I’m the Chief Executive of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. I’m here to say proudly that the Reform Movevent believes that abortion access is essential health care, a basic human right and a Jewish value.
Rabbi Amy Schwartzman: My name is Amy Schwartzman. I’m the rabbi at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Virginia. I’m thrilled to be here today with a large number of congregants facilitating our root connection as Jews and as congregants to pursuing the social justice we need that allows women to have access to health care. Abortion is a healthcare issue. It’s a Jewish issue. It’s an issue that we have been wrestling with for decades, and tragically are still wrestling with today. We need to bring our Jewish values to this protest, and to every small and large discussion we have about abortion. Thanks.
Rabbi Jonah Pesner: I’m Rabbi Jonah Pesner, the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and I’m here to march for abortion rights, which is a Jewish issue and a human rights issue.
Abby Stein: Hi, everyone, my name is Abby Stein, I use she/her pronouns. I’m here with I think two two very important messages. First and foremost, I want to center the voices of my LGBTQ cis and transgender siblings who are impacted, whether it’s trans men and binary people who literally get access to abortion, or it’s a lot of other trans people rely on reproductive care in places like Planned Parenthood, for our basic mental and physical health, as well. And I think the other very important message is that we need to focus on not just accepting and tolerating people who have abortions and people who need access to reproductive care and abortion justice, we need to learn to celebrate it because I think that is celebrating life. Celebrating who we are. Celebrating our right to choose. Celebrating our right to control our bodies is celebrating life at its core. Thank you. (background noise)
Rabbi Rachel Pass: This is Rabbi Rachel pass here at the Jewish rally for abortion justice. But it’s really amazing to be here and to say that my abortion was a blessing and my Judaism supports blessings.
Rabbi Debbie Bravo: I’m Debbie Bravo. I’m a rabbi from Long Island and I’m here because I can’t believe that we once again have to fight this fight. And it is our fight that we need to fight on behalf of all those who can’t. Rabbis need to make sure that we are leading this fight to make a difference.
Rabbi Chuck Briskin: Hi this is Rabbi Chuck Briskin. I’m here because I have to be here. And I’m here to bring my two teenage sons to show them what it means to show up when rights are threatened.
Rabbi Stacey Rigler: Rabbi Stacey Rigler. As a Jewish educator, I believe that nothing we teach is as important as how we live our lives. And I was lucky enough to be able to travel to DC today to be with so many members of our community to stand up for our values, and practice our American freedoms. Hi This is Rabbi David Windsor from Temple B’nai Shalom in Fairfax station, Virginia. I’m so proud to join here with the Jewish community, recognising the importance of a woman’s right to choose the opportunity to have power over our bodies, and to recognize that health care for all is so important for everyone.
Rabbi Kelly Levi: My name is Rabbi Kelly Levy, I come to this wonderful event today from Austin, Texas. And I’m here because Texas is really a challenge right now we we’ve been dealing with the restrictions and abortion ban since September and it’s been very painful and difficult for my community and for the entire state. So I’m here to say that being pro choice, and being pro abortion is what it means to be pro life. And we are here to support everybody and everybody’s choice to do what they want with their body and say it loud and proud. And make sure that that voice is heard.
Rabbi Michael Nameth – Rabbi Michael Nameth he/him/his I’m here at this rally, because my Jewish values say that we need to protect women, we need to support women, and that we need to speak out when situations like this arise. We can’t be silent. We have to be here in support as allies fighting for justice fighting for abortion rights.
Rabbi Jill Nagler: Hi, I’m Rabbi Jill Nagler from congregation, Shalom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And I’m so proud to be here, with leaders with family with three generations from my family and my spouse. All because we understand that Jewish values are women’s rights and health care rights. And we’re proud to stand with this Jewish community today.
Rabbi Jesse Olinsky: Rabbi Jesse Olinsky, South Orange New Jersey, regardless of whether or not Judaism permits, condones, supports and even obligates abortion, which he does, being pro choice means somebody shouldn’t need the approval of the rabbi to make decisions about their own bodies having a separation of religion and government separation of church and state. These people get to decide whether or not I support those decisions or not, even if I do, therefore, it needs to be louder to support them. To remind them that they don’t need my support to make decisions about themselves.
Rabbi Deborah Bennet: Hi, this is Deborah Bennett, I’m a rabbi in Long Island’s and I am here because these decisions are too important. They are too monumental to be in the hands of anyone, but the women who are making these decisions. Let’s continue that right for all women everywhere.
Rabbi Anat Katzir: Hi, my name is Rabbi Anat Katzir. I’m here from Oradell, New Jersey. And it was really important for me to come and make sure that our Jewish voices heard on this issue, and that the values that we hold are protected and celebrated in our country.
Andrew Mandel: Hi there. I’m Andrew Mandel. I’m a rabbinic intern at Northern Virginia Hebrew congregation this summer, and I’m here at the rally because abortion is healthcare, and we as Jews must respect the lives and dignity of all people.
Rabbi Liz Zeller: I’m Rabbi Liz Zeller, I’m from Long Island. And I’m here because I want people to know that my religion says that abortions are not only a right, but it is something that we should demand for all always for all time.
Rabbi Craig Axler: I’m Rabbi Craig Axler from Columbia, Maryland. And I’m here at the Jewish rally for abortion justice, because as a male cisgender Rabbi, I know that this is not a time that I can possibly sit this moment out, but that I have to use my power and my voice to join with others, asserting that abortion is a Jewish value
Rabbi Michael Holtzman: Michael Holzman, I’m a rabbi in Northern Virginia. I’m here because religious freedom means we respect people’s choices to govern their own body as created in God’s image.
Rabbi Elissa Koppel: Hi, I’m Rabbi Elissa Koppel. It’s always a pleasure to be on this podcast. So we’re here at the Jewish rally for reproductive rights. And I’m in disbelief that since high school we have been fighting this battle and that’s ludicrous. The time is now the time is always now to use our voices and make the change we need.
Rabbi Neil Shuman: Hi, I’m Rabbi Neil Shuman from Plainview New York. I’m here because I believe that women should have a right to decide their future. According to Jewish religion, life doesn’t begin at conception, and therefore person should have a right for what they want the future their life today.
Rabbi Josh Kushner: Hello, I’m Rabbi Josh Kushner and I’m here because abortion is a human right. And it’s really important to stand with our Jewish values and just stand with every single human being who needs access to reproductive health for every single human being
Rabbi Marci Bellows: Thank you so much for tuning in to women rabbis talk and we hope you enjoyed today’s episode.
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Rabbi Marci Bellows and Rabbi Emma Gottlieb were thrilled to welcome Rabbi Heather Miller, the entrepreneurial creator of the online Jewish community, Keeping it Sacred. In this episode, Rabbi Miller teaches us about following one’s heart, how our rabbinic work honors those who come before us, and the ways that she led the way in creating an online community before they became a necessity in the post-COVID world. Check her out at https://www.keepingitsacred.com
We welcome back our Consulting Correspondents (our Corresponding Consultants?) Rabbi Elisa Koppel and Rabbi Leah Berkowitz for a review of the highlights of the recent WRN (Women’s Rabbinic Network) Convention: Journey to 50! The Convention, celebrated virtually over Zoom, focused on five decades of women rabbis, and the coming 50th anniversary of the ordination of Rabbi Sally Priesand, the very first woman rabbi ordained in North America. Come along to hear what women rabbis talk about when they are only around other women rabbis!!
Just in time for Purim! We are so excited to welcome back our THREE-PETE guest, Rabbi Leah Berkowitz to talk about her awesome new children’s book, a rhyming feminist fairytale called “Queen Vashti’s Comfy Pants” (available through PJ Library or Behrman House)!
Women Rabbis Talk Podcast 