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Ariel Tovlev
Nov 8, 20241 min read
The Birds Don't Know
A poem in response to the US presidential election
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Ariel Tovlev
Oct 16, 20247 min read
Our Shared Struggle For Peace
Our struggles are not with each other; we must unite in the shared struggle for peace
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Ariel Tovlev
Oct 16, 20246 min read
Return to Your Soul
Different levels of our soul: nefesh, ruach, and neshama; how to keep our neshama pure and bright.
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Ariel Tovlev
Oct 8, 20247 min read
To Believe or Not To Believe... an Eternal Question
Rosh Hashanah sermon about belief & disbelief in God
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Ariel Tovlev
Oct 8, 20247 min read
The Power of Witnessing
A Rosh Hashanah sermon on the power of showing up in community and bearing witness to each other's pain
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Ariel Tovlev
Aug 30, 20241 min read
Zichronot: Our Memories
our memories the memories we have of others are faulty things inconsistent, disjointed, warped by emotion which ones carry on? which are...
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Ariel Tovlev
May 29, 20241 min read
Empathy
"the heart is never so open / as when it is broken / let it break, let it break"
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Ariel Tovlev
Mar 29, 20247 min read
Is Our Desire to Create "Safe Spaces" Supporting Segregation? A Reflection on How Communities Protect Trans Children but Avoid Trans Adults
It is not enough to protect trans kids if we are not empowering and honoring trans adults. Much of the transgender rights movement has...
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Ariel Tovlev
Feb 16, 202422 min read
On Race, Diversity, and being B'tzelem Elohim
Stories from my own life on diversity which have taught me about ignorance and efforts to move past it.
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Ariel Tovlev
Jan 31, 20249 min read
Humility: the Middah of Anavah
In preparing to apply for rabbinical school, I was meeting regularly with my rabbi. In one of our meetings he prepped me through a mock...
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Ariel Tovlev
Jan 9, 20246 min read
In Support of a Ceasefire
An explanation of why I am a Zionist who supports a ceasefire in Palestine.
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Ariel Tovlev
Dec 8, 20231 min read
Lessons in Grief Taught by a Teenager
A couple years ago, one of my professors died from an illness we all hoped she’d recover from. The whole college was in mourning over...
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Ariel Tovlev
Oct 27, 20231 min read
Ruach: a Prayer for Creation
Ruach wind, spirit, the invisible force felt but not seen falling leaves surround me thank you God for the wonder of creation
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Ariel Tovlev
Oct 24, 20231 min read
The Only Red Tree: a Poem
the weather has turned the sun takes its time to rise slowly slinking into position in the sky not quite reaching the top tenderly...
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Ariel Tovlev
Oct 14, 20231 min read
The One Who Makes Peace: a Prayer
The One Who Makes Peace blessing bread bought from the supermarket our blessing says, thank you God for bringing forth bread from the...
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Ariel Tovlev
Apr 11, 20231 min read
Teach me
God of time and space, teach me the patience of a planet steady in orbit the silent wisdom of stone the resilience of mountains eroding...
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Ariel Tovlev
Sep 15, 20218 min read
When Forgiveness is Not Teshuvah
On Yom Kippur, we ask for forgiveness from those we have wronged, and we grant forgiveness to those who have wronged us. We consider this...
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Ariel Tovlev
Mar 8, 20212 min read
Intersectional International Women's Day
Happy #InternationalWomensDay! I love this Miriam's cup I made with Congregation Or Ami 's family education program Menschify! We all...
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Ariel Tovlev
Jan 27, 20211 min read
Ha'aretz (The Land)
השקדיות העייפות פותחות פריחותן באי רצון האביב מעיר אותן עם רעד נראה לי כמו הארץ אבל איזה ארץ היא הארץ שלי? אין לי כלום, שככתוב: לה׳ הארץ...
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Ariel Tovlev
Nov 19, 20203 min read
A Year After: Remembering the Tree of Life Massacre
It has been a year now since the antisemitic massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. I remember exactly where I was when I...
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