L IFESTYLE /C ULTURE
Ritualwell’s ADVOT Creates Poetic Community
ARTS SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
BEFORE RITUALWELL
was a website containing more
than 2,200 liturgy and rituals
crowdsourced by Jews, it was an
idea of where to put dozens of
scraps of paper in the drawers of
offi ces in the Reconstructionist
Rabbinical College and Kolot:
Center for Jewish Women’s and
Gender Studies in Wyncote.

In 2001, RRC and Kolot,
in partnership with Ma’yan, a
Jewish feminist organization,
uploaded the prayers scrawled
on those papers to the newfan-
gled Internet, creating an
archive of Jewish writing that
fi lled in the gaps of liturgies
and practices that historically
excluded women and LGBTQ+
Jews. Community members
were invited to write and submit
Overwhelmed with the
thought of moving?
THINKING OF A
RETIREMENT COMMUNITY?
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What will I do with all of my stuff?
their own liturgies and rituals.

Almost two decades later,
Ritualwell has not only become
a library of prayers and poetry,
but an online community
center for Jews looking to hone
their skills through writing
workshops and classes.

Approaching its 20th anniver-
sary in December, Ritualwell
recently launched ADVOT, a
nationwide year-long writing
program, looking to continue its
mission of democratizing Jewish
traditions of old and new.

ADVOT, which means
“ripples” in Hebrew, consists of
27 writers, who will participate
in monthly online salons and
weekly writing studios.

Th e idea for ADVOT came
organically from Ritualwell’s
increasing workshop and
programming attendance over
the pandemic. On the anniver-
sary of the World Health
Organization’s declaration of
COVID as a pandemic, Ritualwell
hosted a virtual healing ritual
with 155 attendees.

“We noticed that there was a
community of people that was
growing around these off erings,
people who were taking these
22 OCTOBER 28, 2021
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had an opportunity to do that.”
Ritualwell’s reach goes far
beyond its workshop participants.

In April 2020, shortly aft er
COVID lockdowns began,
Brooklyn-based liturgist
Trisha Arlin wrote “A Blessing
for Washing Hands During a
Pandemic.” Th e prayer went
viral. “I keep hearing about churches
and synagogues and nursing
homes and hospitals that have
posted the prayer,” Arlin said.

Arlin’s prayer epitomizes
Ritualwell at its most potent. It
captures what it meant to live
through a time of uncertainty
and fear, and it took a mundane,
individual act and through
its widespread popularity and
accessibility, it became a point of
connection for those in Jewish
communities nationwide.

“Prayer is singular; it’s
between you and God,” Arlin
said. “But the essence of Jewish
prayer is that it’s done in a
community, and Ritualwell
off ers another version of that
community.” ●
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the senior Jewish educator
at the University of Illinois
Champaign-Urbana, was
looking for a community
through ADVOT. As a rabbinic
student, she is hoping to publish
a book of original liturgy.

Paul has participated in
writing groups before, but none
specifi c to Jewish writers.

“Fiction writing groups or
even creative nonfi ction writing
groups are not going to know
what to do with a ritual,” Paul
said. “Writing among liturgists
and other ritual designers is a
completely diff erent experience.”
Though the community
component of ADVOT is what
makes it unique to its members,
liturgy writing is personal.

Because of Ritualwell, Jews who
otherwise didn’t have a space
to write or publish rituals and
prayers specifi c to them now do.

“I’ve always loved Judaism’s
tradition of conversation,
challenging, reinterpretation,”
said Alex Carter, a member of
the liturgy committee at Bet
Mishpachah in Washington, D.C.

“One of my pet projects is reading
LGBTQ+ people and experiences
into literature, history; and I’ve
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Ritualwell immersions and then
were sending work to us, and
we were publishing their work,”
said Hila Ratzabi, Ritualwell’s
director of virtual content and
programs who co-leads ADVOT
with Adva Chattler. “We thought
‘it seems like there’s this creative
community here, and it doesn’t
really have a container yet.’”
Despite the commonality
of ADVOT’s participants in
wanting to create Jewish liturgy
and ritual, the cohort is made
up of writers from across the
country of varying ages. Some
are even in the process of
converting to Judaism. Many
were Ritualwell fans for years,
having already read or submitted
works to the site.

Th ough only a few weeks into
the program, participants are
already recognizing its merits.

“Writing is a very solitary
activity,” said ADVOT member
Karen Webber, who lives in
Boston. “Bouncing the ideas
off of like-minded people is
amazing. And then taking the
poetry from poems into ritual,
into prayers — that sort of
elevates it. It’s a diff erent level.”
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T orah P ortion
CAN DL E L IGHTIN G
To Eulogize and to Weep
BY RABBI SHIMON SILVER
PARSHAT CHAYEI SARAH
THIS SERMON WAS deliv-
ered Chayei Sarah 5779, one
week after the Oct. 27, 2018,
massacre at the Tree of Life
building in Pittsburgh.

Avraham came to eulogize
Sarah and to weep for her.

Avraham arose from upon
his deceased and spoke to the
Chitites saying: “I sojourn and
live in your land …”
“You are a prince of G-d in
our midst …”
From where did Avraham
come? Rashi says he came from
the Akaidah, the binding of
Yitzchok. He was informed of
the sudden death of his beloved
wife. Avraham just experienced
the height of spiritual ecstasy,
enduring the greatest test. And
immediately, he received this
terrible blow. What can one say
at a time like this?
Ramban says the Hebrew
word for “he came” is used here
to mean “he began.” In other
instances where the Torah
describes a eulogy, this term is
not used. Why is it used here?
The Hebrew terms are “to
eulogize Sarah and to weep
for her” — which means that
Avraham came with this
intention. Why does the Torah
not state in the past tense,
Summit Continued from Page 10
only the site of the most
violent antisemitic attack in
U.S. history but also a place
where people are actively
responding to tragedy, said
Jared Cohon, a summit
steering committee member
and president emeritus at
Carnegie Mellon University.

Scott Brady, former U.S.

Attorney for the Western
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM “Avraham eulogized Sarah and
wept for her”?
It appears that Avraham
came with the intention of
eulogizing and weeping. He
even began trying to do so, but
he could not follow through. It
was just too much, too difficult.

There are situations that
are so close to the heart, so
sensitive to the self, that it
is impossible to speak about
them. What is there to say?
The massacre at the Tree of
Life building is not something
that happened somewhere
far away in some anonymous
place, that we can look at from
a safe distance and talk about.

It is not something that we
can watch on the news, talk
about for a while and then tune
out. This is here, right here. It
happened to us. It took place
right in our midst. How can we
even talk about it? What can
we say? We are silenced by our
shock and our emotions.

Most rabbis in America
probably are talking about
this “news” today, perhaps the
biggest speech of their careers.

But here, in Pittsburgh, what
should we say? It is just too
hard to say anything about this
terrible event.

The commentaries ask about
the order of “to eulogize and to
weep.” Usually, weeping comes
first, and then the eulogy.

Perhaps Avraham came with
the intention of eulogizing but
was unable to. He could only
cry. We are unable to speak,
but we can cry.

“To eulogize Sarah, and
to weep for her.” Kli Yakar
explains that Sarah was known
as the tzadekes, the righteous
woman of the world. When
he eulogized her publicly,
Avraham used her name. The
crying, however — that was
for Avraham alone. He did not
need to use her name to cry.

He was crying about himself as
much as about the loss of the
great woman. There is no need
for the Torah to mention what
Avraham cried about.

The prevailing practice is
to refrain from mentioning
the souls of the departed on
Shabbos Mevorchim, when
the new month is blessed,
which occurs today. One could
question this — some say that
Av Harachamim, the martyr’s
prayer, was instituted specifi-
cally to be recited on Shabbos
Mevorchim Iyyar and Sivan,
the period of the crusades
when they were martyred.

Furthermore, the instruction
was specifically to say it on
Shabbos, when tachanun is not
said, and when the souls are
not judged in Gehinom.

Our martyrs in Pittsburgh
entered directly into Gan Eden.

They also died on Shabbos
Kodesh, a sign of holiness.

Nevertheless, it makes no
difference whether we mention
District Pennsylvania and a
partner at Jones Day, said he was
also pleased that the summit
was occurring in Pittsburgh,
given the unique contributions
residents here can make.

When panelists and partic-
ipants come to Pittsburgh,
they’re able to see how the
community’s strength and
resilience help drive the conver-
sation forward, Brady said.

“Pittsburgh experienced
something that very few
communities in the world
have experienced,” Brady said.

“The loss that, not only the
victims’ families, but the entire
community [experienced] was
traumatic, was devastating. And
then to see how the families,
the community responded was
remarkable, and that was recog-
nized around the world.” l
Toby Tabachnick is the editor of
the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle,
an affiliated paper of the Jewish
Exponent. Adam Reinherz is a
reporter at that paper.

JEWISH EXPONENT
Oct. 29
Nov. 5
their names or not today. The
rest of the world needs to
mention their names. The rest
of the world is eulogizing. We
are not eulogizing, for we know
not what to say. We are crying
in our hearts and minds. Just
like Avraham. Avraham might
also have wept internally but
not openly, as the Torah says
he came “to weep” but does not
say he wept. Perhaps he was
unable to weep.

It is hard for us to weep
right now. There is so much
media. It has become like a
show, like something that we
watch but do not take part in.

Like a story, with pictures and
videos. We cannot focus on
what really happened and cry
about it. Not now. Once the
media moves on, then we can
weep by ourselves.

Nonetheless, we are all
probably crying silently, afraid,
panic-stricken. To eulogize is too hard,
crying happens by itself.

But what did Avraham say
in the end, and what did the
Chitites answer him?
Avraham arose from upon
his deceased, and he spoke to
the Chitites saying: “I sojourn
and dwell with you!” A gair,
sojourner, is a stranger. A
toshav, settler, is a resident.

Avraham described himself as
a resident alien (like it says on
my Green Card). “With you”
means that he felt a certain
Seminar Continued from Page 8
5:44 p.m.

5:35 p.m.

equality. He was together with
them, with feelings of unity
and fraternity.

The Chitites answered: “You
are a prince of G-d amongst us!”
This much, I suspect all of us
can say: We are conspicuously
Jewish, especially those of us
who choose to dress differently.

We are seen as Jewish residents
of the Pittsburgh community. I
have lost count of the number
of people to whom I am a
stranger, a gair, yet they recog-
nize me as a local resident, a
toshav, and see me as a part
of their lives with a measure
of fraternity, who have gone
out of their way to offer me
condolences. All of them.

In the street. In the stores.

The parking lot attendant.

Neighbors, acquaintances and
total strangers. “You are a
prince of G-d amongst us!”
Our responsibility is to
recognize this. We must live
up to this. We need to make a
kiddush Hashem. Right now.

There is kiddush Hashem by
the sacrificing of lives. And
there is kiddush Hashem
after the sacrifice, when we
acknowledge the friendship of
the people of the land in whose
midst we live. l
Rabbi Shimon Silver is the spiritual
leader of Young Israel of Greater
Pittsburgh. This column is a service
of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater
Pittsburgh. from them, but wants Jewish
community members to see
past the stigma associated with
being incarcerated.

“Quite frankly, we need to
have this discussion in this
group and in every synagogue
in our country,” he said. “We
need to open our doors a little
bit wider to the men and women
that are really challenged by
the criminal justice system.” l
alienated from his commu-
nity after being indicted for
a financial crime, discon-
necting him from Judaism.

“For some reason, the
second that indictment came
down ... my synagogue doors
closed and our community
closed,” Abramowitz said.

Abramowitz admitted to srogelberg@jewishexponent.com;
making mistakes and learning 215-832-0741
OCTOBER 28, 2021
23