Honesty Moment, Book Launch, Hi Hos sneak peak!

Hello!

How are you doing? I have been oscillating between enjoying some beautiful local summer adventures and the simple pleasures of park visits, patios, and parenting. I'm also having some days that feel hard. I imagine you are the same -- some days are better than others as we make our way through this changing landscape. It's like life is all the time - ups and downs, change, uncertainty, small pleasures and big milestone moments, only everything feels amplified.

More on that in a moment but first, some announcements:

1. In case you haven't been following my social media: IG, FB, and twitter (and you should be! I try not to spam your emails but am on social media most every day - click to follow!), I wanted to let you know that my book launch for The A-Z of Intermarriage is tonight at 7:00 ET! Would love to see you! Registration is free and this link also gives you an awesome 35% discount!

2. Did you know that every Friday at 11:00 ET I do a show called Daring Judaism with Dan Libenson (of Judaism Unbound)? It's up on the JewishLive Facebook and YouTube channels. Would love your comments and questions!

3. I also want to dangle a teeny carrot about my offerings this summer and fall. Because of the pandemic, most of us are going to have our High Holiday experiences seriously altered. Maybe that's not you -- maybe you haven't marked Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur meaningfully in a while or ever.... and this might be an amazing year to start! But maybe you are sad that your usual communal gatherings or services are altered. I want to help. Truly. I am going to offer a super low-cost but high-value program to gear up to the High Holidays. I'm working on it now and super excited about it.

I think a lot of communities -- doing their best in hard times -- are trying to transfer High Holiday services online but keep them as similar as possible. I worry that will be unsatisfying. It will not fill the nostalgic need for the familiar, and some of the content won't land right. I also worry it isn't taking advantage of the opportunities of online spiritual practice and community. That's where Secular Synagogue can come in! We have a couple of years of practice doing this well.

Towards the end of summer I want to help you get clear on what the upcoming year will be like. And then we will celebrate together in a connected community (connected digitally as well as in terms of caring and friendship). Right from where you are -- anywhere you are -- for we already have folks participating in Mexico, Germany, Scotland, British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Texas, California, Illinois, and beyond. Imagine being in a synagogue service with all of these people in all of these places. Not only that, but you already know and have had meaningful conversation with these people. It's coming... and I promise it'll be awesome. So open these emails (do they go to spam? If so, please mark me as "safe"). Follow the social media channels. Hit like or share on some of the stuff to keep me in your feed. And also to keep you connected with something that might offer some real meaning, especially now.

So back to the honesty stuff. My job as a spiritual leader and a teacher is to figure out how to hold space for others in their journeys, offering support and strategies as well as gentle probing and pushing towards growth. One of the brightest spots of this time has been the way the Secular Synagogue community has come together to support one another, and engage in some hard work around personal and communal growth.This includes work on Black Lives Matter and anti-racism, and maternal and reproductive rights. Just this week we are having nuanced discussion about fast days (today is actually one!) and why they might work for some and be triggering for others. We have discussed Israel/Palestine -- no name calling or divisiveness, even when we disagree. We have talked about our character traits, drawing on positive psychology, and how we can draw on them during this time. That's all this week. It is unbelievable. If you'd like to join us we will be opening a registration period later in summer. Would love to have you!

That's me and my honesty stuff. How are you these days? Who is holding you up? Who are you supporting? And how are you moving through it all?

Sending you love wherever you are at (I mean that in all ways),

Rabbi Denise