Rabbi Shoshana's Blog

Nov 184 min read

4 Lessons from PDA Autism that help me stay grounded in these divided times

by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman #1: Grandiosity is a thing and I can let it go. Before I knew I was Autistic, I felt personally...

Oct 812 min read

Oh, Gather Up the Brokenness: Loving Our Shattered Parts

My sermons draw from Jewish sacred texts, as well as science and mindfulness. They always have a universally applicable message. This...

Dec 1, 202311 min read

Finding Our Lost Hearts: the practice of radical t'shuvah

A Yom Kippur Sermon The last scene of the Disney movie Moana is one of the most powerful endings I’ve seen in a children’s movie. Moana...

Nov 1, 20232 min read

Blessing of Choosing: a radical alternative to Erusin in a Jewish wedding

My husband, Yotam Schachter, and I got creative with the first ritual blessing of our wedding. Why? The traditional Jewish liturgy for...

Oct 1, 202311 min read

The Torah of Deep Time

A Rosh HaShanah Sermon 2023/5774 Delivered at Temple Beth El of Portland, Maine Exactly ten-and-a-half years ago, I got on a plane to...

Aug 1, 20239 min read

When Trees are our Counsel

Reb Nachman of Bratslav used to pray: רבונו של עולם Master of the Universe, grant me the ability to be alone; may it be my custom to go...

Feb 15, 20235 min read

The Wellbeing & Becoming Ketubah

My husband and I wrote this original ketubah (marriage contract) for ourselves. We liked it so much we wanted to make it available for...

Feb 13, 20235 min read

Earth Amidah

In Jewish tradition, the Amidah prayer is a series of blessings recited three times a day. Each blessing has a theme. I wrote the...

Sep 1, 20222 min read

Eileh Ezkarah: a Martyrology service for our time

View on RitualWell.org I wrote this poem for Yom Kippur , 2020 and recited it at Temple Beth El in Portland, Maine, where I was helping...