Rabbi Lauren Tuchman

Category: Teachings

  • The Sfat Emet on Yom Kippur

    This drasha was originally written in 5777. One of the most beautiful teachings I have encountered about Yom Kippur is from the Sfat Emet. The Sfat Emet uses the symbology and metaphor of a mikvah to talk about what Yom Kippur is and how it functions. Yom Kippur is this…

  • ELI Talk: We All Were At Sinai: The Transformative Power of Inclusive Torah

    Rabbi Tuchman delivered an ELI Talk We All Were At Sinai: The Transformative Power of Inclusive Torah in which she offers a new paradigm for understanding the religious import of including all within our sacred spaces.

  • Senior Sermon, the Jewish Theological Seminary

    Watch Rabbi Tuchman’s senior sermon, delivered on October 23, 2017 at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

  • On Creating Holy Communities

    Choosing to become a rabbi was a decision I made with an incredible amount of consideration and care. I wish to bring my particular passions, skillsets and knowledge to bear on some of the most important justice issues within the Jewish community and beyond it. Further, I believe strongly that…

  • Pokeakh Ivrim: Opening our Minds to New Forms of Inclusion

    Typically when we think of access in general and in Jewish community specifically, we first default to thinking about physical access—is the bimah accessible? Do we have sign language interpretation provided for services and other events? Are Braille and large print siddurim available? It has often been my experience as…

  • Parashat Emor: On Reading Leviticus 21 and the Problematics of Embodied Leadership

    This piece first appeared here. Parashat Emor (Leviticus 21-24), read this week in synagogues outside of Israel, opens with a passage describing limitations placed on individuals whom a Kohen (priest) may mourn or marry, as well as limiting sacrificial service in the Mishkan to those who are able-bodied. We learn…

  • Parashat Kedoshim and the Admonitions of Amos

    Amos is widely and popularly considered to be the social justice prophet. He unequivocally rejects the sacrificial cult of his day, considering service of God to be about justice, rather than about fulfilling one’s obligations through offering sacrifices. Read more on State of Formation

  • Disability and God Talk

    I am a rabbinical student, deeply passionate about creating truly inclusive and accessible Jewish communities in which all Jews can find a spiritual home, and in which we can all bring our full selves to bear on the life of our community. I want to create communities in which the…

  • Radio 613: Disability Justice and Spirituality

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  • Review: Encountering the Stranger: A Jewish Christian Muslim Trialogue

    Leonard Grob and John Roth, eds., by Lauren Tuchman In Encountering the Stranger, co-editors Leonard Grob and John Roth present essays by eighteen contributors, three Jewish, three Christian, three Muslim, all of which, in some fashion, explore what it means to encounter the other. The contributors were brought together after…