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Rachel Barenblat

Rachel Barenblat became a rabbi in January of 2011, and has been blogging as The Velveteen Rabbi since 2003.

Interests: Judaism, religion, ecumenism, poetry, motherhood, Christianity, Islam, liturgy, prayer, midrash, fandom.

Recent Activity

Two Truths for Entering the Sea

The familiar words of the haggadah landed differently with me this year. We speak every year of freedom from Mitzrayim – meaning not only מִצְרַיִם / مصر / literal Egypt, but also more broadly all of life’s narrow places and... Continue reading

Posted 4 days ago at Velveteen Rabbi

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Old magnolia: gaps just the right size for my dangling legs, a branch to rest a book on. The seaglass blue of sky over hills like an embrace from the horizon. Limestone painted pink at twilight, rosemary between my fingers.... Continue reading

Posted 5 days ago at Velveteen Rabbi

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The words of the "blessing for the body," superimposed over an MRI machine. There is nothing like a surprise trip to the hospital to remind me that I am not actually in charge. Things at the hospital happen on someone... Continue reading

Posted Apr 9, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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Yes, available for free to everyone! Click through to https://velveteenrabbi.com/2015/02/03/velveteen-rabbis-haggadah-for-pesach/ and below the preview of the PDF, there is a button that says "Download." You can download the PDF and print it.

Commented Apr 5, 2025 on New edition of the VR Haggadah! at Velveteen Rabbi

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New edition of the VR Haggadah!

I think I started sharing Velveteen Rabbi's Haggadah for Pesach on this blog in 2007, though the haggadah existed long before that. Anyway: cue the fanfare, drumroll please: as of 2025, here's an updated edition, version 9. Find it here:... Continue reading

Posted Apr 4, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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What does it mean this year to celebrate freedom? What does it mean this year to claim we are free? Are we free to speak – or only if we hold the “right” opinions? Are we free to be who... Continue reading

Posted Apr 2, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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הַחֹ֧דֶשׁ הַזֶּ֛ה לָכֶ֖ם רֹ֣אשׁ חֳדָשִׁ֑ים רִאשׁ֥וֹן הוּא֙ לָכֶ֔ם לְחדְשֵׁ֖י הַשָּׁנָֽה׃ This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you. (Ex. 12:2) This is the beginning... Continue reading

Posted Mar 28, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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Doikayt is a Yiddish word central to Buddhist teaching: "right here, right now." Wait, that's wrong. The definition said Bundist. Labor unions, not zazen -- build better wherever we are. Justice is the promised land we may never reach. But... Continue reading

Posted Mar 19, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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From the Depths - new from Bayit

Collaborating with members of Bayit's liturgical arts working group has become an integral part of my spiritual practice in recent years. As we brainstorm, create, workshop, revise, and polish new art and liturgy together, I feel more grounded in the... Continue reading

Posted Mar 17, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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Poem beginning with a line from this morning's Duolingo Arabic lesson

There is no problem, I like to sleep. When I'm sleeping, it's just dreams: too many suitcases to carry, or realizing I packed the wrong clothes and nothing in this closet fits. (This airport is too big, I can't find... Continue reading

Posted Mar 11, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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The news, and a glimmer of hope

An image from The Blues Brothers. Two news stories are sitting in my consciousness side by side. One is Columbia University losing federal funding and the related plan to deport a Palestinian grad student activist who had a green card.... Continue reading

Posted Mar 10, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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Lifting up some history

The trailer for season two of High on the Hog. If you can't see the embedded video, it's here at Youtube. I recently started rereading High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America by Jessica Harris, which... Continue reading

Posted Mar 7, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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Talmud says, מִשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אֲדָר מַרְבִּין בְּשִׂמְחָה -- "When Adar enters, joy increases." (Ta'anit 21a) Or maybe, "When Adar arrives, we increase our joy." This may be easier said than done. In recent years I've struggled with the injunction to rejoice... Continue reading

Posted Mar 4, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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Sanctuary: Terumah 5785 / 2025

דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃…וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃ Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart is so moved… And let... Continue reading

Posted Feb 28, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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I don't have words

This post is about grief and death and loss and children in Israel and Palestine. If these aren't subjects you can face right now, you might want to scroll on by and skip this one. Take care of yourself. My... Continue reading

Posted Feb 25, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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New music for Rejoice / Fragile

A couple of years ago I wrote a pair of Sukkot poems, Fragile and Rejoice. In the manuscript for my next book of poetry, they're a two-part poem titled "Shekhinah says." You could read them as written in God's voice... Continue reading

Posted Feb 24, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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When my angled knife cuts through the air smells sharp and clean. Shreds of cabbage pile up. Fennel, apple, scallion, celery. Lemons, olive oil, kosher salt. I learned this as "Shabbat salad." Searching for its origins, I find salatet malfouf,... Continue reading

Posted Feb 16, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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People of Truth: Yitro 5785 / 2023

When I sat down to read this week’s Torah portion, Yitro, this verse jumped out at me: וְאַתָּה תֶחֱזֶה מִכּל־הָעָם אַנְשֵׁי־חַיִל יִרְאֵי אֱלֹהִים אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת שֹׂנְאֵי בָצַע Seek out, from among all the people, capable individuals who fear God— trustworthy... Continue reading

Posted Feb 14, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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Shabbat morning: I sat down in the sanctuary to tune my guitar. I like arriving early and playing a little bit of music for God. In summer I sing to the birds and the trees and the herbs in our... Continue reading

Posted Feb 10, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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The only way is together: Beshalah 5785 / 2025

This week’s Torah portion contains one of the most visually beautiful passages in Torah. Some compare this calligraphy to brickwork, like the bricks Torah describes our ancient ancestors making for Pharaoh. Others compare it to waves, like the sea we... Continue reading

Posted Feb 8, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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The big picture

Everything is interconnected. I take this as an article of faith. It is a first principle, like gravity. In a human body, everything is connected. I know that sometimes pain over here is actually caused by something wrong over there,... Continue reading

Posted Feb 4, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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Grief is sticky. It glues things together, so one source of sadness links up with another. Sometimes it plays possum in my heart and I think it's gone. But it's not gone. It always seems to visit again. I remember... Continue reading

Posted Jan 28, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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I believe the days are getting longer. I believe this nation can become the land of promise my mother understood it to be. I believe we have obligations to each other. I believe every human being is made in the... Continue reading

Posted Jan 25, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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Here is what I know

In yesterday's Letter from an American, Heather Cox Richardson noted that some of yesterday's Executive Orders are, in the words of one observer, “bizarre legal fanfic not really intended for judicial interpretation.” Even so, they are already causing harm. One... Continue reading

Posted Jan 21, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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Doing what's right: Sh’mot 5785

My heart breaks for everyone suffering fire in California. This week I’ve been struggling not only with the fires, but also with untrue things people are saying about the fires. One notorious figure has even claimed that the wildfires are... Continue reading

Posted Jan 17, 2025 at Velveteen Rabbi

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