Rabbi Sarah Freidson

Each Yom Kippur afternoon, after the sanctuary has quieted post-Musaf and the long day stretches on, my congregation gathers for adult learning. For several years, our session has been a community favorite: “Bad Celebrity Apologies.” It’s exactly what it sounds like — and so much more.

In a world where people seem to be cold and cruel, I have witnessed my congregation’s members demonstrate kindness, compassion, and concern time and time again. When I was 33-years old, my marriage ended and I became a single parent to a toddler, six months into a new job as the solo rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom, a small synagogue in Mahopac, NY.  I had no local support system when the life I had built cracked apart. As I broke the news individually to each member of my congregation’s executive committee, they shocked me.  Every single one of them said something along the lines of, “I’m so sorry.  The details are none of my business.  How can I support you?”  And support me they did, […]