Rabbi Jennifer Lewis

Rabbi Jennifer Lewis will serve UHC Terre Haute during the 2024-25 academic year.

For 49 days, we’ve counted the Omer and examined our spiritual selves. Happy Shavuot!

By Rabbi Jennifer Lewis
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Starting on the second night of Passover, we began the period of the Counting of the Omer, which in Jewish tradition helps us with spiritual preparation for our next festival, Shavuot (when we celebrate Moses’s receiving the Law at Mount Sinai). This period represents the time between our liberation from slavery and our formation as a people in covenant with God. We count the Omer during the seven weeks (49 days) between Passover and Shavuot.

There are several customs associated with the Omer period. One of these is studying Pirke Avot (Portions of Our Fathers, which is a book contained in the Mishneh, part of Jewish oral tradition).

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Passover represents a period of change. As Rabbi Nachman said, approach it without fear

By Rabbi Jennifer Lewis
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As we prepare to celebrate Passover together, beginning the evening of Saturday, April 12, we also note the start of the Hebrew month of Nisan. The trees and flowers are finally blooming in Terre Haute (and Cincinnati)! The Festival of Freedom will soon be upon us.

And yet, the transitional period from Winter to Spring, beautiful as it may be, comes with its challenges. Allergy season is here, for one! But seriously, as Winter fades and Summer is on the horizon, I am reminded of the wisdom of Rabbi Nachman of Brazlov : “The world is a narrow bridge; the most important thing is not to fear at all.”

Our tradition celebrates our journey from enslavement to freedom, also a time of great uncertainty. Moving from any profound period of change—from stability to uncertainty—can be frightening. This is true whether that change is economic, political, social, personal or spiritual.

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AI sleuths Ki Tissa while Rabbi Jen notes the Purim tradition of gift-giving and good works

By Rabbi Jennifer Lewis
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As we enter the joyous month of Adar, and in honor of the upside-down silliness often accompanying the holiday of Purim, I asked artificial Intelligence (a.k.a. “AI”) to come up with a Torah teaching for our next Shabbat together that combined sitting in a Starbucks and writing this month’s newsletter. Here is a snippet of the Al version:

“This week, as I sit in a cozy corner of my local Starbucks, I find myself reflecting on Parashat Ki Tisa and its timeless teachings. The bustling environment around me, filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and the soft hum of conversations, provides an ideal backdrop for contemplating the profound messages within this portion. Ki Tissa reminds us of the essential balance between our spiritual commitments and earthly responsibilities, a theme that feels particularly relevant in our fast-paced, modem lives.”

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On Tu B’shvat, we contemplate the new growth of nature and our role in sustaining creation

By Rabbi Jennifer Lewis
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Happy Tu B’shvat, the Jewish Birthday of the Trees!

This year, the holiday (15 of Shevat on the Jewish calendar) begins on Wednesday evening, Feb. 12, and extends through sundown Thursday, Feb. 13.

In Israel — and other areas with a Mediterranean climate — almond trees begin to bloom and spring is in the air. Although spring will not be with us for a few months here in the Midwest, we reflect on the meaning of this holy occasion in the days and weeks to come.

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