In this episode, Hazan Diana Brewer reflects on Jewish spirituality through singing, listening, and the experience of being told not to use one’s voice. She describes working with students who believe they are tone-deaf, explaining that many can hear differences in pitch but were never given the chance to learn how to turn what they hear into sound. Brewer also speaks about the harm of being chronically silenced and about inviting people to play with their voices without judgment. As the Torah reading cycle moves toward Devarim, she connects these ideas to “Shema,” or “listen,” and reflects on attentive listening, shared sound, and the importance of imagining a space where one’s voice can be heard freely.

In this episode, Ḥazzan Diana Brewer speaks with Rabbi Juliet Elkind Cruz, also known as Juliet the Rabbi, about building an honest and welcoming kind of Jewish spirituality, where doubt, pain, joy, and healing all have a place. Juliet reflects on her path to the rabbinate, her longing for Jewish ritual growing up in an atheist home, and the moments of synagogue, family, and community that drew her more deeply into Judaism.
Rabbi Juliet also discusses her work with women clergy and Tzedek America, including social justice travel and a trip to Montgomery, Alabama that centered civil rights history and lived testimony. The conversation turns to prayer, faith, and hope, and ends with Juliet describing the importance of singing, shared voices, and music as part of Jewish prayer and communal healing.

FEATURED LINKS
jewishgrrrl.substack.com, realrabbinyc.com, julietelkindcruz.substack.com, tzedekamerica.org, jewishwomenclergy.com

Released for Tu b'Av

In this episode, I read "The Company is Divine" — a piece about the long, sometimes reluctant road from spiritual seeking to spiritual practice, and what changes in us when we stay with it. I trace this back to a cherished memory with my daughter, and forward through years of awkward prayer, a nighttime experiment in testing whether I was ever really alone, and a recent episode of Hidden Brain that gave me language — and neuroscience — for what I'd already felt. Referenced in this episode: Hidden Brain, episode featuring Lisa Miller Ahavat Olam — the evening liturgy preceding the Shema Recorded and produced in my home studio, opening and closing with an original melody. If a moment like this has found you too, I'd love to hear about it in the comments.