A friend of mine recently shared, "When I was a girl, my mom was insistent in making me dress up as Esther EVERY SINGLE YEAR because 'a Jewish Persian girl should celebrate a Jewish Persian heroine!'"

"And there you have it!" I thought. "A perfect example of why representation matters!"

The concept that representation matters is the idea that who is depicted in media and in public places, in legends and in news, matters. It shapes people's ideas about ourselves and our community, and about others not like us, too. So, who is valorized and shamed, who is uplifted and who is denigrated, matters.

Much consciousness has been raised about this issue throughout the feminist movement, and actually started changing more rapidly for the better during the beginnings of the #metoo movement. More storylines featuring protagonists and centering the experiences of women and trans and gender nonbinary people were financed and run (think of show like the Morning Show, Pose, and Insecure).

The story of Purim would absolutely be one of these stories that features the bravery and courage and creativity and commitment of a Persian Jewish female protagonist. How powerful is it that it is the story that is told all around the world tonight! No wonder my friend's mom encouraged her (strongly) to celebrate and emulate Esther. These are the stories we should know and we should tell and we should share-- these are the stories that make a difference. May we celebrate the story of Esther not only tonight but year round!

Please enjoy the following evergreen resources that you can watch or listen to at your convenience (below in this newsletter). One about some of my favorite parts of the Purim story, and one a lively retelling of the Purim story (that I shared with my kids before school this week!). Let us be proud of Esther's leadership, and the leadership of all the Esthers in our community year round!

Together, we're #keepingitsacred…

Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

A BIT ABOUT... PURIM

Have you tuned into our "A Bit About... the Holidays" webcast (available on our website and YouTube) and podcast series (available at Spotify and podcast players everywhere)? Rabbi Miller shares some of her favorite features of each of the holy days there. Check out the episode on Purim which begins tonight!

PURIM: RETOLD

Especially for kids, and kids at heart-- Rabbi Miller shares the Purim Story with her kids ages 6 & 7 in a fun and engaging way. Hear in the story the themes of: being proud of who you are, standing up for what you believe in, women’s heroism, and also models an uncle/niece family structure! Use this story to talk with kids about these themes and values. Listen HERE.

BALABUSTA MASK

The colorful “Hot Pink” Rabbi Rose Durbin is back to lead us in an intrepid exploration of stereotypes of Jewish women across the millennia. We can’t wait to explore the textual and visual insights she has to share March 7 at 9am PT/noon ET. REGISTER HERE.

MANY THANKS TO CONGREGATION BETH CHAYIM CHADASHIM

A huge THANK YOU to Congregation Beth Chayim Chadashim for partnering with Keeping It Sacred to bring out SO MUCH Purim Goodness! The shpiel included Sam Smith and Lizzo, the hamantaschen included vegan delicacies, the reading included beautiful chanting by Cantor Juval Porat, and the community service project included tying blankets for teens coming out of the foster care system and homeless teens through the @lalgbtcenter. Fulfilling the four mitzvot of the holiday is fun!

ACCESS JUDAISM

Please join us for the Melanie Grohman z"l Access Judaism session 2 classes!

This program features a broad spectrum of thoughtfully curated Jewish subjects in the realms of history, rituals, culture, philosophy, law, and spirituality. These interactive classes, which include post-class reflection questions, can also count towards requirements of conversion or adult b'nai mitzvah ceremonies. (Think of it like a Judaism 201 type program for those who have already taken a 101 program or are already familiar with the basics of Jewish life). Classes are open to students entering with a diversity of backgrounds. There is no prerequisite for the class-- start with Session 2 if these classes appeal to you!

​This course is taught over Zoom in two sessions of 8 classes each. The classes are flexible and are designed so that a person can choose to take one class, several, a whole session, or both sessions. Suggested donation for one class is $25, one session is $180 and the full program is $300. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Access Judaism SESSION 2:

1/9 The Intelligent Design of the Prayer Service

1/23 Reform Renovations of the Prayerbook (REGISTER HERE)

1/30 Rituals as Markers of Transition (REGISTER HERE)

2/6 The Characteristics of a Good Jew (REGISTER HERE)

2/13 Slam Poetry in the Golden Age (REGISTER HERE)

2/27 Bad Theology: Terrible Explanations of Why The Righteous Suffer (REGISTER HERE)

TODAY! 3/6 Siblings or Cousins?: Jews and Christians in the First Century (REGISTER HERE)

3/13 Before You Die, Consider These Rabbinic Thoughts (REGISTER HERE)

SAVE THE DATES and then, register HERE for one or all classes designed to give you greater Access to Judaism.

*This series is named after our beloved Keeping It Sacred community member, the late Melanie Grohman, may her memory be for a blessing, who loved learning about Judaism and our community. Her memory is a blessing.

HOMELESS MEMORIAL SERVICE

TONIGHT! Each year, thousands of homeless people die on the streets of our nation due to illness, exposure or violence, many from Pasadena, CA without the dignity and respect they deserve. Help us honor and acknowledge their lives and membership in the human family. Rabbi Miller will participate in this service led by All Saints Church in Pasadena tonight, Monday, March 6 at 6pm. For more information and/or to provide the name of someone you know who has lost their life on the streets (so they can be acknowledged in the service), contact Melissa Hayes at 626.583.2725 or mhayes@allsaints-pas.org.

All are welcome. Participating in the service are our siblings experiencing homelessness, members of Pasadena’s homeless-services community, and local religious leaders. Pianist Russell Ferrante and members of the Trouveres youth choir will offer music.

And join us for a meal and reception following the service in Sweetland Hall!

If you cannot be at the service, you can stream it live here at 6 p.m.: https://allsaints-pas.org/live-stream/.

GRIEF, ANGER, AND UNRESOLVED FEELINGS*

Monday, 3/27 at noon PT/3pm ET join us for a discussion about the grief, anger, and unresolved feelings we may have as we deal with the death of someone who has hurt us. What does tradition say? What has helped us? Where might we find spiritual strength? Register for this program HERE. (*This program was envisioned by the participants of our recent Access Judaism program called "When Bad things Happen to Good People," and is open to everyone.)

HEALING CIRCLE & TALMUD TEXT STUDY EVERY THURSDAY

THIS THURSDAY AND EVERY THURSDAY! Ever want to jump into a conversation with the rabbinic sages of old? Now you can! Join us as we study a page of Talmud every day, adding our perspectives and the relevance to our own lives as we go along. 

The more varied the participants the deeper the conversations.
Thursdays 11am PT/2pm ET.

Currently, we are 100 members strong from 36 different states and 11 countries!

We are:

People interested in becoming Jewish

Members of various Jewish denominations

Clergy

Lay leaders

Retired people

People who are not Jewish

We are in our 20s to 80s, and we are everywhere on the spectrum of gender.

Build community affirming of one another’s journey in the sea of Talmud with us! Benefit from the wisdom of Jewish tradition!

What people say:

"Yesterday's class was superb!! I remain impressed by so many things that you do! You are able to keep us on track, share (some of) your knowledge with us, make all sorts of connections to the Jewish and secular worlds, and meet each of us where we are! Kudos to you!!"

"Talmud study has opened a window to that world for me. I love the anthropology and sociology of it all."

"The minority opinions may someday count as much as the majority opinions. It reminds us that things change the Halacha changes and we change each year that we read it."

"We have the opportunity to compare the Halacha we are practicing today with the one they were writing and studying in the Talmud... It has been very interesting how things have evolved how we keep the tradition in our own way."

"I feel very close to this amazing group and I'm grateful to Rabbi Miller for conducting it."

AND just prior to our Talmud Study, we hold space for check-ins and healing prayers for loved ones in need, including ourselves. 

Keeping It Sacred programs are free for all because we uphold the value of keruv/accessibility; voluntary financial contributions to help offset the cost of these programs are greatly appreciated.

To join and of these gatherings, please register HERE. Also, DM Rabbi Miller on Facebook HERE to be added to the closed, secret group where we question and discuss. And look for us on Instagram daily HERE.

Also, this past week, our own Rabbi Miller's article on Nazir 41 was published by the Daily Dose of Talmud.

ROSH CHODESH RACIAL JUSTICE BOOK REVIEW

The Rosh Chodesh Racial Justice Book Review group will explore another in our select collection of psalms and their messages about racial justice. This is our way of starting each month with a new vision of racial justice.

• February 21 (Psalm 137): REGISTER HERE

• March 28 (Prophetic Voices): REGISTER HERE

• April 25 (Prophetic Voices): REGISTER HERE 

Register at: keepingitsacred.com/upcoming

CCAR BOOK: PROPHETIC VOICES OUT NOW!

The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR Press) has published a book called Prophetic Voices. It helps readers renew and reimagine (and reconnect!) with the Haftarah readings of the liturgical cycle. Rabbi Miller has entries in the book and we are very excited to announce that it is now available!

Buy the new book here now! Excerpts from this book will be the new material for our Rosh Chodesh Racial Justice Book Review.

Join the CCAR book launch on Tuesday, March 14, at 7:30 PM ET. The event is free and open to the public. Register here: https://ccar.co/pv-launch

NEW IDEAS AROUND ENGAGEMENT: A URJ SERIES

Rabbi Miller has been asked to share the wonderfully engaging approach of the Keeping It Sacred community with over 400 participants and over 190 communities -- this means that your ability to make Keeping It Sacred a place of solid and welcoming engagement is being shared is going to be shared across the Reform movement! Here's the invitation to join us in the conversation:

Registration is now open for New Ideas Around Engagement: a URJ series 

Join with others who want to go beyond hospitality and are willing to think differently. Learn with leaders in the field around three values of engagement – community, belonging, and curiosity. You will learn new vocabulary around community work, consider new principles for engagement, be inspired by practitioners in the field, and build a network of other curious leaders who want to explore community and belonging in new and deep ways. 

The series will be six sessions – attend them all, or what you can. Each one will be a conversation around engagement and the values of community, belonging, and curiosity. Registration information for optional discussion sessions to think and imagine more with leaders will be sent separately. 

Session Dates: 

Wednesday, March 8, 1-2:15pm ET (12-1:15pm CT / 11am-12:15pm MT / 10-11:15am PT)  

Rabbi Miller speaks: Wednesday, March 22, 1-2:15pm ET (12-1:15pm CT / 11am-12:15pm MT / 10-11:15am PT)  

Tuesday, April 11, 3-4:15pm ET (2-3:15pm CT / 1-2:15pm MT / 12-1:15pm PT)  

Tuesday, April 25, 3-4:15pm ET (2-3:15pm CT / 1-2:15pm MT / 12-1:15pm PT)  

Tuesday, May 9, 3-4:15pm ET (2-3:15pm CT / 1-2:15pm MT / 12-1:15pm PT)  

Tuesday, May 23, 3-4:15pm ET (2-3:15pm CT / 1-2:15pm MT / 12-1:15pm PT)  

Register here 

Email Rachel Margolis, RJE, with any questions.

REFORM JUDAISM HEBREW CLASSES

Sign up for Hebrew Classes with Reform Judaism here!

The Keeping It Sacred community (KITS) is now part of the URJ and the URJ offers two online Hebrew courses:

1. Learn to Read Hebrew for Adults, an online ten-session course. Learn the shapes and sounds of the Hebrew alphabet, with a warm and supportive educator to guide you.

2. Reading Hebrew Prayers, an online six-session course for those who can slowly sound out Hebrew words. Gain comfort and fluency reading Shabbat prayers in Hebrew.

Thought you'd want to know about the opportunity!

RAC DAY OF ACTION IN DC

For KITS community members IN and able to get to Washington, DC: The legislative action arm of the Reform movement known as the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC), is hosting a day of action in DC. Find your voice and advocate in meetings on Capitol Hill for climate change, racial justice, reproductive rights, and more! Find more information HERE.

LET'S CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Join us online at: keepingitsacred.com, Instagram accounts @hearabbi and @keepingitsacred, our Facebook pages HERE and HERE, YouTube Channel HERE and podcasts everywhere. Join us there for updated Talmud posts, Torah commentary, inspirations and invitations to gather online and in person.

Whether you found us through a friend, neighbor, a listserve or browsing the internet, we are glad you're here!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

iCal USER? 

If you use iCal and would like the complete Keeping It Sacred calendar added to your calendar, click HERE. This way you won't miss an opportunity to connect via our LIVE activities. 

EVERY DAY

Please enjoy TWO seasons of our 7-episode web series People Keeping It Sacred and our Jewish Holiday series called "A Bit About..." both available on YouTube HERE and via podcast on your favorite podcast player including: PocketCasts, Breaker, RadioPublic, Apple + Podcasts, Google Podcasts  Spotify and more HERE.

ONGOING: SPIRITUAL COUNSELING

Rabbi Miller is available for 1-on-1 spiritual counseling; pay what you can. Topics are based upon the participant and can include your personal theological understanding of coronavirus, spiritually making space for others in your home, the spirituality of isolation and finding your way back to sacred connection. For more information, click HERE.

3/5 MITZVAH & MEGILLAH: A NEW PURIM EXPERIENCE

3/5 at 4pm PT Keeping It Sacred is partnering with Beth Chayim Chadashim— the world’s first LGBT Founded Jewish Congregation and their kids program --to bring to our community a unique in person (in Los Angeles) Purim experience. Essentially it is an act of service, tying blankets to deliver to the LA LGBT Center’s youth homelessness and transitional services program. And along the way Purim characters will “visit” us in costume and in character. It should be lots of fun with lots of hamantaschen! Megillah & Mitzvah: A New Purim Experience Sunday, March 5, at 4 pm PT. SIGN UP HERE through Beth Chayim Chadashim.

3/6 ACCESS JUDAISM

3/6 at noon PT/3pm ET join us as we discuss: Siblings or Cousins? Jews and Christians in the First Century. Did Christianity spring forth from Judaism? Or did contemporary Judaism and Christianity emerge together? Learn the roots of both and you decide: Siblings or Cousins or parent/child? We'll make proto- rabbinic Judaism fun and accessible! Register HERE.

3/6 HOMELESS REMEMBRANCE SERVICE IN PASADENA, CA

Each year, thousands of homeless people die on the streets of our nation due to illness, exposure or violence, many from Pasadena, CA without the dignity and respect they deserve. Help us honor and acknowledge their lives and membership in the human family. Rabbi Miller will participate in this service led by All Saints Church in Pasadena tonight, Monday, March 6 at 6pm. Will also be live-streamed HERE: https://allsaints-pas.org/live-stream/.

3/7 BALABUSTA MASK: STEREOTYPES OF JEWISH WOMEN

The colorful “Hot Pink” Rabbi Rose Durbin is back to lead us in an intrepid exploration of stereotypes of Jewish women across the millennia. We can’t wait to explore the textual and visual insights she has to share March 7 at 9am PT/noon ET. REGISTER HERE.

3/9 HEALING CIRCLE

Join us as we gather every Thursday for a Prayer Circle. Lift up names of those who are ill, and join together for support and community. All are welcome. 10:30am PT/ 1:30pm ET/ 3:30pm Brazil time/ 6:30pm London-time. Register for this program HERE. 

3/9 PAGE-A-DAY OF TALMUD DAF YOMI GROUP MEET-UP

Thursdays at 11am PT/ 2pm ET/ 4pm Brazil time/ 7pm London time, join us as we review the past week's Talmud readings in sacred international community. No experience necessary, but be ready for some *interesting* discussions. Bring what you know about Torah, but also what you know to be true from your own life. Your insights are appreciated. Register for this program HERE.  

3/13 ACCESS JUDAISM

3/13 at noon PT/3pm ET join us as we discuss: Before You Die, Consider These Rabbinic Thoughts. What are the most important things to think about in life? What will we be held accountable for later? How can we live the best life possible? Learn from the wisdom that was shaped over millenia in the Jewish tradition. Register HERE.

3/16 HEALING CIRCLE

Join us as we gather every Thursday for a Prayer Circle. Lift up names of those who are ill, and join together for support and community. All are welcome. 10:30am PT/ 1:30pm ET/ 3:30pm Brazil time/ 6:30pm London-time. Register for this program HERE. 

3/16 PAGE-A-DAY OF TALMUD DAF YOMI GROUP MEET-UP

Thursdays at 11am PT/ 2pm ET/ 4pm Brazil time/ 7pm London time, join us as we review the past week's Talmud readings in sacred international community. No experience necessary, but be ready for some *interesting* discussions. Bring what you know about Torah, but also what you know to be true from your own life. Your insights are appreciated. Register for this program HERE.  

3/23 HEALING CIRCLE

Join us as we gather every Thursday for a Prayer Circle. Lift up names of those who are ill, and join together for support and community. All are welcome. 10:30am PT/ 1:30pm ET/ 3:30pm Brazil time/ 6:30pm London-time. Register for this program HERE. 

3/23 PAGE-A-DAY OF TALMUD DAF YOMI GROUP MEET-UP

Thursdays at 11am PT/ 2pm ET/ 4pm Brazil time/ 7pm London time, join us as we review the past week's Talmud readings in sacred international community. No experience necessary, but be ready for some *interesting* discussions. Bring what you know about Torah, but also what you know to be true from your own life. Your insights are appreciated. Register for this program HERE.  

3/27 GRIEF, ANGER, AND UNRESOLVED FEELINGS

Monday, 3/27 at noon PT/3pm ET join us for a discussion about the grief, anger, and unresolved feelings we may have as we deal with the death of someone who has hurt us. What does tradition say? What has helped us? Where might we find spiritual strength? Register for this program HERE.

3/30 HEALING CIRCLE

Join us as we gather every Thursday for a Prayer Circle. Lift up names of those who are ill, and join together for support and community. All are welcome. 10:30am PT/ 1:30pm ET/ 3:30pm Brazil time/ 6:30pm London-time. Register for this program HERE. 

3/30 PAGE-A-DAY OF TALMUD DAF YOMI GROUP MEET-UP

Thursdays at 11am PT/ 2pm ET/ 4pm Brazil time/ 7pm London time, join us as we review the past week's Talmud readings in sacred international community. No experience necessary, but be ready for some *interesting* discussions. Bring what you know about Torah, but also what you know to be true from your own life. Your insights are appreciated. Register for this program HERE.  

3/31 SHABBAT SERVICES

Friday night, 3/31 at 5:30pm PT/8:30pm ET, give yourself the gift of space to reflect and rejuvenate with monthly shabbat services. Rabbi Miller and Jeffrey Silverstein will lead the community with Jewish thought and sacred song. Together, we will lift up anniversaries, birthdays, and honor remembrances of our loved ones. This program runs the last Friday night of every month. Please email Rabbi Miller your important dates so we know when to honor your sacred times (birthdays, anniversaries, remembrances) at rabbimiller@keepingitsacred.com. And please register here: keepingitsacred.com/upcoming-1.

THANK YOU!

You are a cherished member of this community and we love to hear from you-- what questions do you have? Reach out to rabbimiller@keepingitsacred.com or via phone at 818-312-8388 anytime to let us know what you’re finding meaningful, inspiring and what you’d like to see.

Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

And now on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, RadioPublic, PocketCasts!

We'd love for you to forward this to a friend to invite them to join us, too!