Ruth Schapira
What is a mitzvah, really?
Mitzvah. Good deed? Commandment? You might be most familiar with the word mitzvah as it appears in Bar or Bat Mitzvah which is usually...
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Ruth Schapira
3 min read
Jewish Organizations: The Importance of Acting Ethically
Remaining in Focus What many of us strive for in life is achieving personal integrity, a state of being when our ‘inside’ motivation...
Ruth Schapira
3 min read
Questioning God
“It is because I believed in God that I was angry at God, and still am. But my faith is tested, wounded, but it’s here. So whatever I...
Ruth Schapira
3 min read
Being in the Wilderness: A Shavuot Experience
The quiet allows the voice of our soul to emerge On the week before Shavuot, we begin the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, known in...
Ruth Schapira
2 min read
If Covid-19 is a test, are we passing?
What if God is waiting for us to cry out? What if all we need to do is to cry out in despair, as Abraham did thousands of years ago?...
Ruth Schapira
3 min read
Do we own our Jewish history?
I read something from an unlikely source that struck my deepest core as a Jew, and came to a full stop at a passage from the first...
Ruth Schapira
3 min read
Shavuot: reminding me of who I need to be
It is hard for me to personalize Shavuot, though I know there is great spiritual meaning to be found within it. Shavuot is one of the...
Ruth Schapira
3 min read
Will you value your baggage more than a life?
What would you do in an emergency? I heard something disturbing that I couldn’t shake off. This is not what I usually write about, but I...
Ruth Schapira
1 min read
When “Never Again” becomes “Yet Again”
Yet Again? This piece in The Hill, written by Rabbi Steinmetz, senior rabbi at Congregation Kehillath Jeshurun and editor-at-large at...
Ruth Schapira
3 min read
How to Approach Passover Like a Teacher
For those of us hosting a Passover seder, there are often so many preparations we need to do in advance: buying, organizing, cleaning and...
Ruth Schapira
2 min read
Make Your Mornings Special
How do you wake up every morning? Do you have a particular ritual? In Judaism, we have a tradition of waking up with a declaration of...
Ruth Schapira
2 min read
There’s no secret sauce: we already know the recipe for Jewish engagement
How many ants does it take to move an elephant? That’s what the traditionally bureaucratic Jewish community feels like to me sometimes,...
Ruth Schapira
2 min read
Parents: Don’t let summer choices drive you crazy. Ask these questions.
Summer camp. Arts classes. Internships. Specialty Sports Camps. College Prep Programs. Travel programs. SAT summer prep classes....
Ruth Schapira
2 min read
5 Ways to Create a Memorable Passover Seder Experience
Nice Seder, but not intensified Same Seder, intensified! What will you do to construct meaningful memories at Passover this year? The...
Ruth Schapira
3 min read
The one summer I chose Israel
At different times in my life, Jewish educators would often prompt seminar audiences to describe and prioritize their Jewish identity....
Ruth Schapira
3 min read
The global power of Jewish community
The incredible beauty of the Venice Synagogue. The intricately carved mehitzah (separation) is on the far left. The rabbi’s D’var Torah...
Ruth Schapira
2 min read
Marketing Jewish Education for Now and Later
Sales. Marketing. Branding. Social Media Presence. Analytics. SEO. ROI. Just a few short years ago, terms like these were absent from...
Ruth Schapira
2 min read
From Jewish Camp to Home: Five Easy Things to Do
How can your Jewish community maximize campers’ experiences when they arrive home? Summer camp is exhilarating for our Jewish teens. For...
Ruth Schapira
1 min read
The Funniest Tweet I’ve Seen
@ruthschapira – Congratulations on making on our Top Twitter list!https://t.co/7uLLpx66yfpic.twitter.com/TOfjLdMNRT — ECPhiladelphia...
Ruth Schapira
3 min read
This is Not the Climate Change You’re Thinking About
Sloppy Words, Sloppy Food At times, I resist writing a post because I just don’t want to spend the time doing all the research it might...
Welcome to my blog archive. You can read new posts on Substack.
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