Shira M. Zemel
Two of my pregnancies ended in miscarriage, and the other two resulted in the greatest joys of my life. But all four were a burden — emotionally and physically, personally and professionally.
Two of my pregnancies ended in miscarriage, and the other two resulted in the greatest joys of my life. But all four were a burden — emotionally and physically, personally and professionally.
When I grab the mic for 4 minutes, I break the illusion that the narratives worth listening to are ones we’ve already heard.
In a story about gentile Albanians protecting Jewish ones, I saw what my Muslim great grandparents, living in Nazi-occupied North Macedonia in the 1940s, experienced.
For Ori, and for all the Black babies who light hanukkiahs now…maybe this is the year we can celebrate that they, themselves, are fire.
I didn’t go to services this year because every time I logged on to Zoom services I immediately grew restless and twitchy and grief-triggered and I ended up shopping for hoodies on Lululemon.
This origin story of Adam & Eve has been used to punish, to instill regret, to sever us from one another. What if it’s also our salvation?
We need faith-based spaces where the participants are not seen as the ‘other.’ Spaces where we are not told ‘you don’t look Jewish’ or asked, ‘no, where are you really from?’
No one ever prepares you for pregnancy loss; however, it is important that we normalize the experience and recognize how common it is.
Wrestling with the legacy of signing melodies by Shlomo Carlebach— prolific and influential song leader, and also a known abuser.