Author Archives

• The Thirteen Attributes of Shekhinah: A Prayer for the High Holidays by Jill Hammer

  By Jill Hammer on September 29, 2017 • ( 9 )

  

  On Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur (the Jewish New Year and the Day of Atonement), and on the festivals throughout the year, traditional Jewish liturgy includes the Thirteen Attributes of the Divine. Exodus 34:6-7 is the first to mention these… Read More ›

• Earth Dreaming, Water Dreaming: How Elemental Dreams Offer Healing for the Earth and Us by Jill Hammer

  By Jill Hammer on May 23, 2017 • ( 7 )

  

  I once dreamed I was giving a lecture on a spiritual philosophy called magmatheism.  The literal meaning, I thought when I awoke, would be something like “belief in the divinity of molten rock.”  I had the sense this dream was… Read More ›

• Miriam the Prophetess as Guardian and Healer by Jill Hammer

  By Jill Hammer on March 29, 2017 • ( 14 )

  

  The biblical traditions of Miriam the prophetess have captured the imaginations of Bible-readers throughout the ages.  Miriam, Moses’ sister, watches over Moses in his cradle (Exodus 2), and leads the Hebrew women in dance at the shore of the Sea… Read More ›

• Meeting Phrike: Feminist Theology and the Experience of Horror by Jill Hammer

  By Jill Hammer on January 24, 2017 • ( 19 )

  

  Myself, I saw the numb pools amidst the shadows; myself, the wan gods and night in very truth.  My frozen blood stood still and clogged my veins.  Forth leaped a savage cohort… Then grim Erinys (Vengeance) shrieked, and blind Furor… Read More ›

• Judaism, Feminism, and The Twoness of Creation by Jill Hammer

  By Jill Hammer on November 22, 2016 • ( 6 )

  

  Rabbi Amorai said: “Where is the garden of Eden:  He answered himself: “In the earth.” Sefer haBahir, 12th century Provence For many liberal Jews, the phrase “tikkun olam” has been an important rallying cry.  The phrase is often used as… Read More ›

• The Red Thread, the Red Heifer, and Red Ritual by Jill Hammer

  By Jill Hammer on September 18, 2016 • ( 8 )

  

  There is an old Jewish custom to use a red thread, tied around a bedpost or a child’s wrist, to keep away demons.  In particular, the red thread is said to keep away Lilith, the female demon who steals children. … Read More ›

• Stealing the Yarn: Jewish Women and the Art of Feminist Dreaming (Part 2) by Jill Hammer

  By Jill Hammer on December 29, 2015 • ( 8 )

  

  In my last post, I discussed the uses of dreamwork for Jewish women who are uncovering their own spiritual language. The protagonists of recorded Jewish dreams, from Joseph to the dream interpreters of the Talmud to the kabbalists, tend to… Read More ›

• Entering The Cave: Jewish Women and the Art of Feminist Dreaming (Part 1) by Jill Hammer

  By Jill Hammer on December 20, 2015 • ( 9 )

  

  Dreams are my window on my wildest self. They are also a way to observe the conflicts within, and therefore they are a feminist practice, teaching me about my relationship to power, gentleness, love, and brokenness. Claiming my dreams is… Read More ›

• Embracing the Hebrew Priestess by Jill Hammer

  By Jill Hammer on September 17, 2015 • ( 12 )

  

  Even after I was ordained as a rabbi, I longed to be a priestess. The spiritual leadership I wanted most was less about leading traditional Torah study and prayer (though I’d done plenty of that) and more about immersing in… Read More ›

• Shekhinah by Rabbi Jill Hammer

  By Jill Hammer on June 10, 2013 • ( 12 )

  

  I invite you to encounter Her as I encountered Her— with mystery, and with surprise. The Sabbath night is the joy of the Queen with the King, and their uniting… Scholars who know this secret are intimate with their wives… Read More ›