Our Scholar-in-Residence, Avigail Graetz, explores how the wisdom of impermanence can guide us during Elul—encouraging both self-examination and an open-hearted gaze outward, toward others and toward the world we share.
Meet and welcome Avigail Graetz! Avigail is a writer, teacher and dharma practitioner whose work explores the intersections of Judaism, Buddhism, and personal narrative. She has a background in literature, film, theater and interfaith dialogue, and is known for weaving spiritual insight with storytelling and social engagement. She holds a B.A and M.F.A from Tel Aviv University and an M.F.A from Ben-Gurion University. Avigail has accompanied individuals facing illness and death, drawing on both Buddhist teachings and her deep Jewish roots. For her novel, A Rabbi's Daughter, the author was awarded both the Pardes Fellowship at the National Library of Israel and the Jewish National Fund-Hebrew Literature Prize (2012). A Rabbi's Daughter was translated into English in 2017. She currently lives in India, where she published a poetry book Just This, Poems of Freedom and is working on a documentary film about her father, Rabbi Michael Graetz, and their shared journey through memory, aging and letting go.
Friday evening 6:00 pm Shabbat Service
Kabbalat Shabbat Presentation:
"Ki Teitzei and the Inner Battlefield: A Teaching on Conflict and Compassion."
Parashat Ki Teitzei opens with war and closes with the command to erase Amalek, yet most of its verses turn to family life and human relationships. As the High Holidays draw near, we ask: do we live as though life itself is a battlefield? Too often our drive to “change ourselves” becomes another act of inner aggression, perpetuating conflict instead of healing it. This teaching will explore how Parashat Ki Teitzei, read through the lens of mindfulness, can be an invitation to step out of cycles of inner war and to cultivate awareness, compassion, and peace.
Saturday morning 9:00 am Study Session
"Kohelet, Job, and the Buddha: Impermanence as a Path of Reflection and Liberation"
As we enter the season of Elul, a time of turning inward and preparing for renewal, the voices of Kohelet, Job, and the Buddha meet in surprising resonance. Each, in their own poetic language, wrestles with impermanence, suffering, and the fleeting nature of life. Together they invite us to look honestly at what passes away, to soften our grip on what we cannot hold, and to cultivate compassion as we face both the vulnerability of our own lives and the wider world.