Av 5784 / August 2024
Dear friends,
Today is Tu b’Av, the 15th of the month of Av. Though a minor holiday, Tu b’Av invites us to celebrate love and is understood in Rabbinic literature to be one of the two happiest days on the Jewish calendar. May we find moments of joy today.
I am delighted to share a variety of teachings and some announcements of upcoming offerings
Recent Publications
On August 16, I had two pieces published. I am particularly thrilled to share that I am featured on the Lilith blog. My piece, Disability As Beloved By G-d, is an exploration of disability-affirming Jewish spiritual spaces. I bring my personal background into this piece as I describe Disability Wisdom As Soul Care, the program I founded and launched in partnership with Kirva. Please share this piece widely.
The second piece, Torah From The Wilderness, is an exploration of the ways in which I hope Torah can serve as a source of resilience at a time of great shattering and change.
Join me on Patreon
I am incredibly grateful and blessed to have a dedicated membership community on Patreon whose support sustains this work and means so much. Those who join the community will have access to members-only teachings and opportunities to gather on Zoom. This monthly newsletter will remain free and will focus on my publicly available teachings. If you wish to become a member of my Patreon community, please follow the link above. Thank you for your support.
4 Paid Tiers: All paid tiers have access to member-only teachings, content, and virtual gatherings
Reduced Rate Membership ($5)
Regular Membership ($10)
Super Supporter Membership ($18): Additional opportunities to learn with me live!
Double Chai Membership ($36): All of the above! This is the highest tier. When you choose this option, you increase my ability to provide special offerings for all paid members.
Here are the most recent teachings I offered for the Patreon community. This morning, I offered a commentary for Shabbat Nachamu and Tu b’Av Belovedness and Comfort on Tu b'Av.
In July, I offered the following:
Finding Ourselves In Story, Finding Our Way Out Of Story: A Teaching for the Three Weeks
Join Me in Practice
I continue to regularly hold sits for several Jewish meditation communities.
I will be holding the Or haLev Ground and Center sit on Thursday, August 29 from 1:15-1:45PM EDT. These sits happen Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at this time on Zoom. Please visit their website to subscribe to receive daily reminders of upcoming sits, as well as access to recordings of sits for later practice.
I am also a teacher for the Toronto-based NeySHEV community lead by Aviva Chernick. They are on summer break during the month of August and will return in early September. Please visit their website to subscribe to their weekly newsletter in which they share their Zoom link.
On August 23, I will be holding the daily sit for the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Please follow the link above to sign up to receive daily reminders of upcoming sits and other programs.
Recent teachings
On August 6, I offered a lecture for the Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies entitled Unpacking Tisha b'Av. This, too, is an exploration of resilience in the most narrow of times.
Moving through and out of Tisha b’Av, we reach the seven weeks of comfort. During these seven weeks, we read special Haftarah portions from the Book of Isaiah, each offering a sense of comfort and the possibility of return and realignment. My Jewish Learning is exploring these weekly readings and I was invited to offer an introduction to the haftarah in general. Here is a recording from that talk, given on August 15. Prophets and Prophecy: An Introduction to the Haftarah
Bring Rabbi Tuchman To Your Community
I offer in person and virtual workshops throughout the year to organizations across the Jewish community as well as to organizations and groups outside of the Jewish world. I am eager to connect with likeminded, aligned folks across all traditions and have some availability this fall. To learn more about bringing me to your community, please follow this link.
May you have a wonderful remainder of August. And as always, thank you for reading. If you feel so moved, please do share this newsletter with your networks and encourage them to subscribe.
With blessings,
Rabbi Tuchman
Want to know more about Rabbi Tuchman? Visit her website.