Rabbanit Jenna Englender on the newborn nation seeking nutrition • Rabbi Jeffrey Fox on nursing on Shabbat • Rabba Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez on milk donation and use • Rabbi Lila Kagedan on the ethical influence in the legal world of nursing

Rabbi Dr. Erin Leib Smokler on a breasted, maternal God • Rabbanit Leah Sarna on extracting milk on Shabbat through a pump • Rabba Dr. Carmella Abraham on the medical requirement to pump

At a pivotal moment, Moshe leads the nation in song and dance to celebrate their own change in role and identity. However, they are not alone-- Miriam, formerly acknowledged as a “sister” and now a “prophetess” in her own right, leads the festivities as well as she changes role and identity, exhibits Naima Hirsch.

The story of water parting and making way for the birth of a people appears twice in the text: in the original creation story and in the splitting of the sea. Rabba Sara Hurwitz examines the two narratives and the importance of song as carrying on the power of creation.

In the second installment of the podcast, Rabba Dina Brawer and Rabbanit Leah Sarna guide a mindful awareness of three portions of tefillah which surround routine. From the routines of nature listed in the hallelujah section to the daily korban tamid’s fixed position at the beginning of the day to the acceptance of key values through recitation of shema. With this sense of regularity, one is invited to step mindfully back into the day.

In a world deemed by so many to be unprecedented, it is easy to believe that this moment stands apart in history. However, as Rabba Sara Hurwitz explains, this is hardly different than the second plague to afflict Egypt. When just one frog erupted from the Nile, it was simple to believe that the solution would be hitting it. However, when hitting produced more plagues, more grief went into the problem than the solution. Perhaps it is time to reflect on what seems unprecedented and learn from it, taking into account both the good and the bad learnt along the way.

Agents of Change Training, a program run through Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta, is collecting anecdotes from women and girls describing their lives in the pandemic, and how they dealt with the myriad changing rules and the unknown. The program, headed by former television program manager Dina Fuchs Beresin, looks to anonymously represent a diverse array of women whose voices, says Rabba Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez seeks to share.

While so many people in the world take part in a prayer service, the rigid structure known today as the Jewish tefillah service was not always so formulaic. Instead, Rabba Dina Brawer explains, it has undergone many formulas and attempts to create a meaningful routine. With this in mind, chavrutot Rabba Dina Brawer and Rabbanit Leah Sarna have created a podcast encouraging a meditative moment before davening with song, silence and simple discussion.

In the first Rashi on the Book of Shemot, the medieval commentator explains the loving reason for repeating the names of Ya’akov’s descendants. As cited in the midrash, this is comparable to the stars in the sky. Rabbanit Yael Smooha traces this metaphor through the passuk quoted and expands its significance to the original source in God’s promise to Avraham.

Following the January 6 riots in Washington, D.C. where protestors stormed the Capitol building, rabbis of the local community sought to speak to panicked communities about strength and hope. The responses varied, from Maharat Ruth Friedman’s focus on prayer to community responses over Zoom through song and dialogue, each seeking to fill a hole of fear.