Rabbi Rachel Barenblat

Ensouled וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ׃And on the seventh day, [God] rested and was ensouled. (Ex. 31:17) I step into Shabbat like I’m walking into your house: breathing deep, lungs filling wit…

New on Velveteen Rabbi: a prose #poem for this week's #Torah portion. velveteenrabbi.com/2026/03/06/e...

An Evening with Michael Twitty: Recipes from the American South Join Award-winning author Michael W. Twitty and moderator Sam Chapple-Sokol for an evening discussing Recipes from the American South. ABOUT THE COOKBOOKA home cook’s guide to one of America’s most di...

boldforkbooks.com/products/twi...

Thread. Worth reading. (Sigh.)

Every time I think I can't be surprised by the level of awful, I'm... wrong.

Gorgeous, as ever. Thank you for curating, Dave.

Poetry Blog Digest 2026, Week 9 A personal selection of posts from the Poetry Blogging Network and beyond.

Death stuck in traffic, puritans vs. mermaids and more with @emmalee1.bsky.social @jannoble.bsky.social @jkepfer.bsky.social @velveteenrabbi.bsky.social @aempoet.bsky.social @djvorreyer.bsky.social @thepoetslizard.bsky.social @webbish6.bsky.social 2/3
www.vianegativa.us/2026/03/poet...

In Times Like These - Bayit: Building Jewish What questions and passions animate us as we approach this particular Purim? Where in public life do we see analogies to Vashti, to Esther, to Achashverosh, to Mordechai? What lessons […]

Also sharing one more time before #Purim begins: new prayers, poetry, and art from @bayit.bsky.social .

yourbayit.org/purim26/

Written last year but I think still resonant / relevant.

Joy increases? Talmud says, מִשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אֲדָר מַרְבִּין בְּשִׂמְחָה — "When Adar enters, joy increases." (Ta'anit 21a) Or maybe, "When Adar arrives, we increase our joy." This ma…

Maybe part of the way we reach freedom lies in Purim's reminder that like Esther, we have to speak out for the freedom and safety of others. Like Mordechai, we have to stand up for what's right, and refuse to bow to those who claim power unjustly...

velveteenrabbi.com/2025/03/04/i...

on the other trafficked girls in Esther because the girls in the harem matter, too

So I wrote the thing. Trigger warning.

Too many parallels to ignore.

Purim Reminds Us That Cultivating Joy Is An Important Spiritual Tool The festive Jewish month of Adar reminders us that joy does not always arise from spirituality, rather it is our job to cultivate it.

A friend reminded me of this piece just now - I'd forgotten I'd written it. Maybe it'll speak to you. #Adar #Purim #joy #sorrow

thewisdomdaily.com/purim-remind...

this link seems to take me to this year's resource - which is cool! but I'm trying to find something from your 2022 resource again, if it still exists? If this is a pain to dig up, no worries, just thought I'd ask.

I... do not actually even have words right now. I realize someone is always wrong on the internet, but this one may take the proverbial cake. (Not you. Them. OMG.)

Many things It’s not a new war: it’s the same war.Friends run to their sheltersagain, in pajamas or carryingtheir children. I don’t have friendsin Tehran or Isfahan. Last weekI read the words…

(7/7) Find a bit of commentary on the poem, including a couple of links and a translation of the text from the Kli Yakar that sparked the last lines, here: velveteenrabbi.com/2026/02/28/m...

(6/)

off the front page. How can I just
shower, make breakfast tacos, listen
to Bach while the world is on fire?
The world is always on fire.
It's not a new war. What can I do
but clean out the ashes
and kindle my little light?

(5/)

who attacked our elders and children
without warning, lurking around
every corner of history. Many things
can be true at the same time.
When I heard about the attack on Iran
I thought, look how far they'll go
to keep the depredations of powerful men

(4/)

Monday will be Purim when we retell
a telenovela of bravery in the face
of tyranny. Ancient Shushan is in
what's now Iran. What can I do?
Today is Shabbat Zachor, the day
we remember Amalek: the tribe

(3/)

the regime seemed to be going after
the same thing, as though to prevent
anyone seeing. Many things can
be true at the same time. I remember
the Iraq war, the WMDs that weren't.

(2/)

I read the words of doctors
describing the wounds of protesters.
Watching Into the Woods I noticed
how many characters lose their eyes.
One prince, two stepsisters, a
giant. The doctors in Iran said

(1/)

It's not a new war: it's the same war.
Friends run to their shelters
again, in pajamas or carrying
their children. I don't have friends
in Tehran or Isfahan. Last week

@bendthearc.bsky.social Is it still possible to see your 2022 Pesach supplement, Four Cups of Liberation?

Many things It’s not a new war: it’s the same war.Friends run to their sheltersagain, in pajamas or carryingtheir children. I don’t have friendsin Tehran or Isfahan. Last weekI read the words…

New on Velveteen Rabbi: a poem about Purim, Amalek, the attack on Iran, and kindling light.

velveteenrabbi.com/2026/02/28/m...

The Once and Future Womantasch Celebrating Purim’s Full Moon As “Holy Body Day.”

For reasons that don't bear exploration at this juncture, I felt called to share one of my favorite old articles from Lilith magazine, which I remember reading in print back in 1998. #AlmostPurim #womantasch

lilith.org/articles/deb...

Oh my heart. How can it be so long? The photo is beautiful. Holding you (and Phoebe) in my heart.

Makes me feel like I've gotta really up my Yom Kippur game. ;)

I'm getting Tamsin Muir vibes. It had never occurred to me that Judaism could exist in the Gideon the Ninth (etc) books until just now. This is kind of breaking my brain.

Could be made out of anything! Halakhically the roof should be made of organic material that's no longer growing out of the ground -- often branches, cornstalks, or bamboo mats. But our sages said you could even use an elephant for one wall of the sukkah, as long as it would stand still all week.

Yep, guessed totally wrong.

Hijinks ensue.

It turns out that animating the golem is not actually the hard part. The golem is somewhat baffled by the realities of contemporary American Jewish life, and has never seen an Excel spreadsheet.