Category Archives: Jewish muse

Finding Our Voices

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Breathe. Breathe. Relax.

The flute teacher I began studying with in high school kept saying those words, and eventually, it sunk in. The teacher showed me how to breathe from the depths of my soul – or rather my diaphragm. Leave the shoulders out of it. Breathe from your belly. Voice teachers gave me the same kind of coaching when I studied singing in my 30s. I learned to let the music flow. Music I played became less technical and more soulful. Internally, perhaps I became more soulful, too.

Sisterhood: Mahjong and Old Ladies or Something Else?

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Mahjong. Bridge. Gray hair. Lots of gray hair.

Say Temple Sisterhood, and those images crowd my mind. In my 30s, when I first joined a temple, I avoided sisterhood events. I was sure I was not one of them.

But now I am 45. A mother of a 2-year-old, I’m juggling part-time work, child care, and home life with my need to become a bigger part of a Jewish community. Try the all-at-once approach, I decided, and signed up for the annual sisterhood retreat in early February.

Welcome to the Jewish Muse Blog

By | | Jewish muse
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Shalom. Chances are, you came to this blog because you too are trying to figure out how faith can fit into your life.

Born Jewish, I was raised in a non-religious household. My faith meant little to me until strangers threw my religion in my face when my family moved from western New York State to rural Ohio. At the time, I was 9, and was one of only three Jews in the school system; the other two were my older brothers. Peers often interrogated me when they found out I … Continue reading →