NEWSLETTER, FEB. 10, 2020 |
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Shalom! Happy New Year! Which one you ask? Well, in just the past 7 weeks, we have been brought into the Winter solstice, the secular new year and new decade, the Chinese new Lunar Year, and today, we celebrate the Jewish New Year of the Trees— a holiday known as Tu B’Shvat! There’s a kabbalistic value on planting the seeds that will grow the trees and one day yield the fruits you will harvest down the line. So, what are you planting these days? What do you hope they will yield? I am pleased to report SO MANY great seeds are being planted here at Keeping It Sacred: connections with individuals, institutional partners, in person and virtually! Below, you can find links highlighting this incredible work. Together we are building great things! Thank you for being a HUGE part of the celebration and celebrating milestones with us— among other things, our tremendous growth: On Linkedin, we enjoyed our 1000th link! Our Webpage enjoyed 701 sessions since January 1! Our Newsletter boasted 102 new subscribers in just three weeks! Each individual is a cherished member of this community and we love to hear from you. Reach out to rabbiheathermiller@gmail.com or via phone at 818-312-8388 anytime to let us know what you’re finding meaningful, inspiring and what you’d like to see. Below find information on what’s new, including: - Information on TONIGHT’S RADIO INTERVIEW
- Updates on our Daf Yomi Study Group
- Preview of Tuesday's Torah Portion Reflection
- Information about Keeping It Sacred and Our Mission
- A Visit to the American Jewish University Mikveh
- Paul & Proto-Rabbinic Judaism Class at All-Saints Church, Pasadena
- Women’s Rabbinic Network
- Mitch Alboum at Serra
- Interfaith Service and Action on Immigration
Upcoming Events: - Midrashic Method at St. John’s Church in Rancho Santa Margarita this Spring
- Events at Temple Israel of Hollywood
- Keeping It Sacred Couples’ Retreat
And, THANK YOU for Keeping It Sacred! ...together, we're #keepingitsacred |
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TONIGHT! RABBI MILLER ON LATALKRADIO.COM
February 10, 2020, Rabbi Miller is set to be interviewed by Host Sheena Metal on Raising the Vibration, a talk show that spotlights those who are continually asking, “What can I do to make the world a better place?” It will be recorded live, so we’re not sure what will be discussed- FUN! |
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This Week's Torah Portion: Yitro Click Below for an Exclusive Preview of a modern framing of this week's Torah Portion |
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Our closed, secret, Keeping It Sacred- Daf Yomi Facebook Study Group is going strong. We have 45 members who regularly dedicate their learning in honor of someone special, and who glean the daily page of Talmud for meaning. Along the way, we experience some laughs, groans and curiosities, but always together in community. Some of the highlights of the learning so far have included intense discussion by the rabbis about what situations are ideal for prayer and exploring how we can be present and intentional in our prayer, infusing our lives with gratitude to bring greater awareness of the blessings in our lives, proper ways to accept honors, and wrestling with God like Moses! If you’d like to join these conversations, please email rabbiheathermiller@gmail.com for an invitation. All are welcome! Beyond that, we have posted for 38 days in a row visual art highlighting some of the most scintillating passages of the page. Here are the recent #Talmudgrams! For more, see @keepingitsacred on Instagram, Twitter, or on rabbiheathermiller.com under “Teachings.” |
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We founded Keeping It Sacred (KITS) to centralize the learning and inspiration. Now, we are building the mission statement of KITS which will be the guiding statement of values that centers all that we do. Let’s tweak it together! Please email rabbiheathermiller@gmail.com to add your thoughts on this draft mission statement: At Keeping It Sacred (KITS), we are building a text-centered open community with a holistic approach delving deep into Jewish tradition to pull up wisdom, customs, and practices that inspire, uplift, and empower people to live their most sacred potential. Also, you may wonder why the acronym for Keeping It Sacred is KITS? Naming it KITS honors my beloved grandmother, Kit Endler who is set to turn 100 this May! She has always been a blessing in my life, and by naming the acronym after her, we all benefit from her steadfast love. |
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February 9 2020, Rabbi Miller taught an adult learning session on Paul and Proto-Rabbinic Judaism. The class learned about the Zealots, Essenes, and Sadducees with particular focus on the Pharisees whose (proto-rabbinic) thoughts on resurrection of the body, messianic redemption, sins and good deeds, immortality, and individual salvation were carried through not only into Rabbinic Thought (the foundation of Judaism) but also into Paulean ideology (the foundation of Christianity). How wonderful to understand our communities as cousins, once again providing a foundation for interfaith understanding. Many thanks to Jeremy Langill and the entire All Saints-Church of Pasadena for hosting such a wonderful group of committed learners! |
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Rabbi Miller recently joined the Board of the Women’s Rabbinic Network, an organization of Reform Women Rabbis that has existed for over 40 years working on a number of issues including a Clergy Safe Employees/Employers Program addressing gender inequities across 11 Jewish seminary campuses, Pay Equity in partnership with the Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ), and building a community of support, joy and wisdom among its membership. Check them out at womensrabbinicnetwork.org and also on Facebook, and Instagram @wrn_women_rabbis |
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January 23, 2020, Rabbi Miller attended a talk at J Serra School in San Juan Capistrano by Mitch Alboum, author of the famous work, Tuesdays with Morrie. Alboum spoke about love and loss, life and death with vivid descriptions and deep feeling. Rabbi Miller was invited by a wonderful person who she had married over 10 years ago- a healer, spiritual seeker and Orange County LGBT activist. |
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January 22, 2020, Rabbi Miller participated in an Interfaith Service and Action on Immigration. The group highlighted the names and experiences of the children who have died in the US ICE custody at the border, and learned about some great organizing by non-profit organizations on the border. |
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UPCOMING: MIDRASHIC METHOD AT ST. JOHN’S CHURCH in RSM THIS SPRING Rabbi Miller will teach a class on the practice of filling in the gaps in biblical texts, a Jewish genre of literature known as Midrash, at St. John’s Church in Rancho Santa Margarita this spring. Stay tuned for more. EVENTS AT TEMPLE ISRAEL OF HOLLYWOOD As Visiting Rabbi at Temple Israel of Hollywood, Rabbi Miller will next lead Shabbat Services on February 28, 2020, and plan a meaningful Yom HaShoah commemoration there in April 2020. Stay tuned. COUPLES’ RETREAT: COMING THIS SUMMER! We are working on planning a Keeping It Sacred Couples’ Retreat for this summer. This retreat will be geared toward: - those who were married by Rabbi Miller and would love to add new dimensions to their prior Spiritual Couples Counseling,
- those who are already married and would like to benefit from a modern, relevant Jewish spiritual framing of relationship building, and/or
- those who are newly engaged and would like to see what the tradition has to offer in terms of modern, practical and spiritually wise relationship advice.
This retreat is in the beginning stages, but please contact rabbiheathermiller@gmail.com to let us know what timing works best for you. |
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Be sure to follow us on Social Media! | |
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We'd love for you to forward this to a friend to invite them to sign up, too! |
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