75 years ago, toward the end of 1944, the first woman ever to be ordained as rabbi perished in Auschwitz at the age of 42. As a chaplain and educator, she had offered inspiration and solace to thousands. Throughout Nazi Germany and in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, she had worked tirelessly to affirm human dignity at the end of life.

And for nearly half a century afterward, her legacy was mostly forgotten.

At my own rabbinical ordination 20 years ago, I invoked Rabbi Regina Jonas z"l (of blessed memory) as a pathfinder in whose name I stood. Today WAYS OF PEACE Community Resources honors the chaplaincy and education legacy of Rabbi Regina Jonas in all of our services and programs. LEARN MORE

WAYS OF PEACE fosters the dialogue between generations that is essential for learning the lessons of history — especially through How to Mourn AND Organize, our growing initiative for responding to hate speech and violence. During this season of remembering and giving, please honor the pathfinder legacy of the first woman rabbi with a year-end donation to WAYS OF PEACE.

WAYS OF PEACE Community Resources renews justice and kindness across lines of diversity and throughout the life cycle. At least 10 percent of net staff compensation is donated toward further healing of our shattered world.

“I cannot grant forgiveness to the man who shot me for the murder of my 11 friends. But, strange as it may sound, I try my best to grant him forgiveness for having shot me.” — Daniel Leger, Pittsburgh survivor and Jewish burial fellowship leader 

This past Sabbath marked the first yahrtzeit / anniversary by the Hebrew calendar of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. The sacred story of how Abraham and Sarah welcomed and accompanied wayfarers will be part of the ritual, as it was last year.

The Hebrew word levayah is usually understood as accompanying the dead — but it actually includes the full range of ways we are called to show up for each other throughout life's transitions. Now as in so many times past, accompanying each other and bearing witness are among the most healing and effective recourses available to us. LEARN MORE

“Grounding Ourselves”: WAYS OF PEACE returns to Earth Island Journal

November 8, 2019

Our most sustainable practices — those that quietly prevent the depletion of vital natural resources — are rarely headline-grabbing. Natural burial, like community composting, involves acceptance that the organic remains of the living are neither trash nor personal commodities. They belong to the earth.

Yet, even though human bodies have been continuously returned to the earth for millennia, the idea that our world will be overrun by cemeteries remains entrenched in popular consciousness. The experience of the United Kingdom — a tiny island nation that has long promoted cremation to save space — teaches otherwise. LEARN MORE

"How to Mourn AND Organize," a project of WAYS OF PEACE, has begun to offer contemplative interfaith walks through the 9/11 commemorative labyrinth in downtown Manhattan.

We will offer our next labyrinth walk on Sunday, October 27th at 4:00 pm to commemorate the first year since the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue attack. Our NYC walk will mark the hour before the day's final "Remember. Repair. Together." gathering in Pittsburgh.

A labyrinth fosters mindfulness that how we walk is integral to where we are going. As we follow the winding path together, we will bear witness to the shattering AND the resilience of our communities near and far — and recommit ourselves to the still, small voices of peace. LEARN MORE

The walk will take place rain or shine. PLEASE REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE BY SATURDAY 10/26 to confirm your participation and get directions. Space is limited due to Parks Department regulations, and the labyrinth can be challenging to locate within the park.

Emerging from the 9/11/01 disaster relief — and gathering momentum since the 2016 elections — "How to Mourn AND Organize" brings together the timeless wisdom of prophets, sages, activists and artists in dialogue with contemporary best practices for responding to hate speech and violence. LEARN MORE

“Life and death have I placed before you, blessing and curse—so choose life, that you and your descendants may live!” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

In Jewish tradition, the combined eighth and tenth letters of the Hebrew alphabet represent the number 18—and the intrinsic value of life. On the 18th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, join WAYS OF PEACE as we “choose life” by walking the 9/11 commemorative labyrinth in downtown Manhattan. We will offer this intimate and contemplative walk at 4:00 pm on both Wednesday 9/11 and Monday 9/23 (the Hebrew date of the anniversary). 

A labyrinth fosters mindfulness that how we walk is integral to where we are going. As we follow the winding path together, we will bear witness to the ongoing devastation of post-9/11 wars and recommit ourselves to the still, small voices of peace. LEARN MORE

EACH WALK IS LIMITED TO 18 PARTICIPANTS due to Parks Department regulations (as well as the 18th anniversary). PLEASE RSVP to reserve and confirm your participation on either Wednesday 9/11 or Monday 9/23.

These 9/11 anniversary peace walks are offered through “How to Mourn AND Organize,” an integrative project of WAYS OF PEACE. The Wednesday walk is offered in collaboration with Judson Memorial Church. 

Emerging from the 9/11/01 disaster relief—and gathering momentum since the 2016 elections—“How to Mourn AND Organize” brings together the timeless wisdom of prophets, sages, activists and artists in dialogue with contemporary best practices for responding to hate speech and violence. LEARN MORE

Join WAYS OF PEACE at the Hazon Food Conference!

Aug 14th-18th, 2019

Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center,

Falls Village, CT      LEARN MORE

Thursday, August 15th at 10:30 AM

 
How did food become money? How can money become food justice? In Part One of this program, we’ll trace the original mini-cycles of food sharing within the biblical rhythms of sabbatical / release. We'll consider principles of fairness and sustainability that ancient prophets and sages developed from these rhythms, as we field-test emerging practices of solidarity to help each other face—and digest—our own Jewish choices with love and courage.

Friday, August 16th at 10:30 AM

In Part Two of this program (open to all, regardless of previous participation), we’ll apply the principles and practices identified in Part One to a core challenge articulated by Hazon: empowering “those whose disadvantage is invisibly connected to our own food choices.” Through storytelling and discussion, we'll center the personal experiences of front-line food workers and others as we deepen our understanding of food insecurity. Approaching food justice as an ongoing action / reflection process, we'll highlight current best practices as we continue to help each other face—and digest—our own Jewish choices with love and courage.

LEARN MORE 

Join WAYS OF PEACE at ANTIGONE IN FERGUSON
Thursday, June 27th at 7:00-9:30 PM

FREE ADMISSION / St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church
157 Montague Street, Brooklyn, NY

Antigone in Ferguson aims to...bring diverse and—at times—divergent communities together to remind them of their humanity and the core values they share. — Bryan Doerries, Theater of War Productions

Sophocles’ Antigone is an ancient play about a teenage girl who wishes to bury her brother, Polyneices, who recently died in a brutal civil war. Conceived in the wake of Michael Brown’s death in 2014, Antigone in Ferguson is a collaboration between Theater of War Productions and community members of Ferguson, MO and features an original score performed by a core choir of Brown’s teachers, activists, and law enforcement from St. Louis and New York City.

Every night that we sing “I’m Covered” at the end of the play, it’s my way of covering my student Michael Brown. — De-Rance Blaylock (Soloist)

Each performance culminates in a powerful, audience-driven discussion about race and gender-based violence and social justice. Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips is honored to represent WAYS OF PEACE as a panelist at the post-performance discussion on Thursday, June 27th.

In cities of diversity...we bury the dead of non-Jews along with the dead of Jews, for these are ways of peace. We console the mourners of non-Jews along with the mourners of Jews, for these are ways of peace. — Jerusalem Talmud (~400 CE)

New York City Council Testimony on Hart Island

More than one million dead, most of them lost to family and forgotten by history, have been buried on Hart Island since 1869. At a recent City Council hearing, Rabbi Regina Sandler-Phillips gave testimony on behalf of WAYS OF PEACE in support of expanded family and public access to the island, a new municipal office that would support and assist all New Yorkers to access vital funeral resources; and an inter-agency task force on issues related to public burial.

I was privileged to visit Hart Island in September 2017, and I want to express my gratitude for all that has brought us to this point: for the solidarity of anonymous prison inmates who built monuments to honor those they buried; for the loving courage and tenacity of Hart Island family members, friends, and community activists; for the stewardship and accompaniment of supportive municipal representatives through decades of challenge and change....

The honor of the dead is not an isolated funeral product, but rather an ongoing process of building community across all the lines that too often divide us. READ MORE

"But she persisted...." These exact words were among those I spoke 20 years ago at this time—to honor the first woman ever ordained as rabbi, at my own rabbinical ordination. You can read my full speech here, and an excerpt appears further below.

I reached my 60th birthday last month, and I am observing both of these milestones as a celebration of all the choices that my life, freedom, health, and abundance have made possible. I hope you'll join me! LEARN MORE

Today WAYS OF PEACE honors the legacy of Rabbi Regina Jonas z"l (of blessed memory) in all of our services and programs. We foster the dialogue between generations that is essential for learning the lessons of history.

There's still time to support our DOUBLE-ANNIVERSARY FUNDRAISER. At this time of celebration, help us take our work to the next level!

Excerpt of Ordination Address
(May 27, 1999 / 12 Sivan 5759)

Esther Broner said in the name of Virginia Woolf: "A woman writing thinks back through her mothers." And a woman being ordained, I believe, can do no less...

So today it is fitting that I "think back" through two particular mothers...both of whose names I consider myself to bear, and by whose merit I stand here....

And as I stand here today, by the merit of all of my fathers and mothers...and in the name and special merit of Regina Sandler and Regina Jonas, I pray that we not...use our celebrations as blinders, to avoid facing the pain and suffering of our broken world. May we rather be strengthened by our seasons of joy to open our own hearts wider and to take up the work of tikkun, of repair—to seek justice, to pursue peace, to turn toward each other every day with greater lovingkindness—now, while we're alive; now, while we're free; now, while we remember. READ MORE

I am grateful to have reached my 60TH BIRTHDAY this past week — and will mark 20 YEARS OF ORDINATION as a rabbi in the coming weeks. I am approaching these milestones as a celebration of all the choices that my life, freedom, health, and abundance have made possible. I hope you’ll join me!

Since 2012, WAYS OF PEACE has facilitated personal and community transformation through compelling programs, unique publications, and life-changing consultations — with at least 10 percent of net staff compensation donated forward to other nonprofits that promote justice and kindness across lines of diversity.

We have been called to facilitate healing conversations in the aftermath of the 2016 elections. Our caring community impact has spread around the world. Our book sales have reached the triple digits, and hundreds more read our newsletter each month. We continue to guide individuals and families through both joyous and sorrowful changes in their lives.

Through all of this, WAYS OF PEACE has grown without any primary institutional funding support. At this time of celebration, please help us take our work to the next level!

* Make a tax-deductible donation to support:

How to Mourn AND Organize 

 

MA'AVAR: Music of Passage and Transition

 

I Know Six: Our Servant-Class Matriarchs

 

or any of our other innovative programs and services

* Refer us to visionary foundations and other like-minded individuals who may be willing to support our efforts

* Bring a program to your community

* Schedule an individual or family consultation

* Order copies of Generous Justice  or Counting Days

CONTACT US with words of encouragement!

WAYS OF PEACE Community Resources renews justice and kindness across lines of diversity and throughout the life cycle. We foster the dialogue among generations that is essential for learning the lessons of history.

Until last week, the 45-year-old was in charge of Muslim burial customs involving the washing and wrapping of the deceased women in the local community. Absent of her, [Husna] Ahmed's family washed her body themselves. — David Child, "Christchurch mosque attack victims laid to rest in mass burial," Al Jazeera News, 3/22/19

Like Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz in Pittsburgh, Husna Ahmed was a beloved caregiver and burial fellowship leader in Christchurch — scheduled the next day to teach the Muslim body preparation traditions that are so similar to Jewish ones. 

Tragedies from Pennsylvania to New Zealand highlight the powerful, cross-cultural healing practices of caring for the bodies of the dead. As we bear witness to the shattering of our communities and our world, the blessed memories of Husna, Jerry, and others offer us continual opportunities to organize ourselves locally toward this ultimate kindness. 

We bury the dead of non-Jews along with the dead of Jews, for these are ways of peace. We console the mourners of non-Jews along with the mourners of Jews, for these are ways of peace. — Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Gittin (~400 CE)

WAYS OF PEACE offers simple, practical tools for advancement of local caring efforts. And the consolation that grows from communities organized for support and prepared to serve is ultimately a cause for celebration. 

LEARN MORE

"This year we are still slaves. Next year may we all be free."

We are reminded that hatred can be as intoxicating as alcohol, as Purim revelry gives way to sober preparations for Passover. The season of counting days that begins with the Festival of Freedom offers vital opportunities for personal growth to all of us. LEARN MORE

COUNTING DAYS provides inspiration with brief, daily reflections for today's challenges. It's a primer for spiritual seekers, students of Mussar (Jewish ethical discipline) and mysticism, chaplains, synagogue leaders, Jewish Family Service staff, spiritual directors, and all who care about healing the scourge of addiction within the Jewish community and beyond.

Order Counting Days now to insure delivery before Passover! *

*Those in the greater NYC area can purchase COUNTING DAYS directly from Ways of Peace, without sales tax or shipping charges.

CONTACT US about hosting a COUNTING DAYS book program in your community! We can donate a percentage of the proceeds for each book sold to your hosting synagogue or other nonprofit organization. 

All of us face life's most difficult decisions with the best information we have available at the time. Yet greater awareness is urgently needed of how fossil-fuel-invested choices at the end of life result in significant, often unrecognized damage. Can the death of a master composter help us connect the dots?

Earth Island Journal, 2/19/19

Both composting and natural burial hinge on acceptance that the organic remains of the living are neither trash nor personal commodities. They belong, and should be brought back, to the earth.

These connections were intensified for me last April with the self-immolation of master composter David Buckel in my local community of Brooklyn, NY. A pioneering civil rights attorney who had exchanged legal briefs for buckets and shovels, Buckel was passionate about involving as many people as possible in community composting powered entirely by renewable energy sources. “My early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves,” he declared in his final message before setting himself on fire.

It has never been easy to accept our own bodies as compostable material. Perhaps David Buckel's legacy can help us affirm life by redirecting our end-of-life conversations toward a natural, fossil-fuel-divested return to the earth. LEARN MORE

WAYS OF PEACE Community Resources promotes justice and kindness across lines of diversity and throughout the life cycle. We foster the dialogue among generations that is essential for learning the lessons of history.