Category: Holidays
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Joy on Purim
Read the article on Svara. In her recent Rosh Chodesh piece for the month of Adar II, my friend and colleague Rav Avigayil Halpern beautifully describes the emotional place of the Jewish calendar this time of year and perhaps, even more, the ways in which joy—simcha—shows up in Jewish spaces. Using the…
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Passover Reader 5784: Not A Haggadah
In collaboration with Exploring Judaism. Passover is a powerful story of redemption and liberation. One of the core ways we orient ourselves to those themes is with an organized story, the Passover Seder. This year (2024/5784), we are excited to publish a Passover Reader to help you prepare for the…
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SVARA: This is Chanukah
Rabbi Tuchman, SVARA Fellow, discusses how we should light the menorah on Chanukah. Originally published December 15, 2023. Read the full article here.
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SVIVAH: Lighting Candles Together: Chanukah 2023
Many Flames, One Bright Light Featuring Rabbi Lauren Tuchman. Friday, December 8, 2023
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Knowing and Not Knowing: Celebrating the Expansiveness of Torah
Originally published in 2021 Today, I remember. I remember vividly the all-consuming sadness I felt last Purim, as the sun was setting and my celebratory seudah was ending, the last event I attended with a large Jewish community. I remember feeling overcome with the intuitive sense that it would be…
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When The Holidays Are Hard
Why are the holidays hard? It’s Elul. Everyone around you is talking about their Rosh Hashanah plans, maybe going home to family, maybe gathering with friends. Perhaps you are someone for whom the holidays carry a lot of heaviness—and not because of their themes or liturgy but because you aren’t having the traditional…
Rabbi Lauren Tuchman 