Tucked away in II Kings 11 is the story of a mother-daughter feud that is personal, political, and ultimately fatal. Jehu, a charismatic military commander, is anointed by Elisha as the next king of the northern kingdom of Israel. Jehu kills… Read More ›
biblical retelling
Beauty in the Heart of the Beholder by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
In the past two years, I began a project which I call biblical poetry. I had been doing my own translations of biblical verse based on the hieroglyphic meanings of Hebrew words. Ancient Hebrew or Semitic Early writing grew out… Read More ›
Moses and the Rambo Problem by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
Moses is an interesting character is in the pantheon of religious leaders. He is such a major personage, considered the founder of Judaism and yet there are no extra-biblical accounts of his life and his deeds. He only exists in… Read More ›
Voice-ing the HEaRt: The Sixty-Six Books of the Bible by Margot Van Sluytman
When Reverend Anne Hines of Roncesvalles United Church in Toronto invited me to write a poem for Easter Sunday 2020, I had no idea that this invitation would become a dance with Word via words, that would alter my very… Read More ›
Eden, Eve and a Tale of Seeds by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
Last month I wrote about the Garden of Eden. You can read it here: In that post, I described how Eden is essentially a garden of treasures. What are those treasures? I believe that they are seeds, the most prolific… Read More ›
Behold! The Treasures of Eden by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
The place and purpose of the Garden of Eden is a topic of endless fascination and interpretation. This blogpost looks at two biblical passages and the word eden itself to see what we can learn about its meanings. At its… Read More ›
Asherah, Blessed, Asherah by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
Once upon a time, the Great Goddess was the spiritual focal point of ancient culture. Her worship included honoring women, living in harmony with the earth, and cherishing the processes of the cycles of nature. Asherah was one of those… Read More ›
Heart Vibration: Biblical Poetry by Janet MaiKa’i Rudolph
My inspiration for biblical verses this month comes from the lovely and soulful translations of Rabbi Yael Levy in her book Journey through the Wilderness (subtitled: A Mindfulness Approach to the Ancient Jewish Practice of Counting the Omer). She has… Read More ›
A Mystical Journey: Psalm 93 by Janet Rudolph MaiKa’i
Sometimes I’m asked where I get my inspirations for verses to explore. In this case it was from the God Squad’s Rabbi Marc Gellman who discussed Psalm 93 in a recent column. In his analysis, he used Psalm 93 to… Read More ›
Biblical Poetry, 5th Installment
This is the 5th in a series of work I have been doing to translate passages of the bible into poetry that strips out the patriarchal overlays. You can read the previous posts. In this installment I am grouping together… Read More ›
Biblical Poetry, Continued by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
This is the 4th in a series of work I have been doing to translate passages of the bible into poetry that strips out the patriarchal overlays. You can read the previous ones here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part… Read More ›
More Biblical Poetry by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
This is the 3rd in a series of Biblical poetry where I am “translating” verses of the Bible. You can read the first two here: Biblical Poetry and Biblical Poetry, Part 2. One of my primary purposes of doing this… Read More ›
Biblical Poetry, Part 2 by Janet MaiKa’i Rudolph
Last month, I wrote about a new project I have been playing with which is to re-write biblical verses as spiritual poetry rather than follow along with stricter translations (although truth be told, my translations have never been strict). My… Read More ›
Biblical Poetry by Janet MaiKa’i Rudolph
This blogpost is about biblical verses and uncovering the magic and spirit behind its words. Why, you might ask, is this a project that belongs on a blog dedicated to feminism? I believe it does because it helps us to… Read More ›
Aren’t We All Divine Children? by Janet MaiKa’i Rudolph
Consider the following four birth stories: A high priestess became pregnant in a manner that was forbidden in her society. She gave birth to a baby boy. Fearing for her child’s life, she fashioned a basket of rushes and cast… Read More ›
Musings on The Crown by Janet MaiKa’i Rudolph
Even though I was a late-comer to the Netflix series The Crown, when I did watch it, I was riveted. Lots of thoughts ran through my mind at this picture of royalty. The concept of royalty in human history is… Read More ›
Delilah Reclaimed by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
*This post includes a call for stories at the end. In my previous blogpost, I wrote about the Biblical tale of Samson and Delilah and why it was likely written in a manner to hide older pagan mythos. You can… Read More ›
Delilah, Lost by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
Delilah is a beautiful name on its own merits. As a biblical personage Delilah is forever connected to Samson for their tales are intertwined. As it is told in Judges, Samson is the clear hero of the tale and Delilah… Read More ›
Yes, there are Goddesses in the Bible, Part 5 by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
As I wrote my last blog post, the Great Goddess of the Canaanites, Ashera was honored and worshipped (according to the bible) within and through groves of trees. Ashera and El, the “great bull god” were deeply connected. In fact, in… Read More ›
Yes, there are Goddesses in the Bible, Part 4 by Janet MaiKa’i Rudolph
This is the 4th in a series of blog posts about finding goddesses in the bible who had been hidden away through translation or denigration or other means. In my last blog post I discussed Lilith as a Great Goddess… Read More ›
Yes There are Goddesses in the Bible, Part 3
This blog post is the 3rd in a series of looking for female deities in the bible who have been translated out of easy reach or otherwise hidden within its words. In my last blog post I discussed bird imagery… Read More ›
Yes, There are Goddesses in the Bible – Part 2 by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
As I wrote in my last blog post, there are female deities and goddesses sprinkled all throughout the bible. They just aren’t obviously in plain sight. One example is the Goddess and Her association with birds. Many ancient creation myths… Read More ›
A Feminist Retelling of Cain and Abel by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
Eve and Adam had many children. Two of them, the sisters Cain and Abel, were best friends. When they grew up, Cain became a farmer, and Abel became a shepherd. In their community, people shared what they had with each… Read More ›