Blessings in Everyday Moments: History, Meaning, and Practice
Rachael Gelfman Schultz
Ms. Rachael Gelfman Schultz is a teacher and writer. She has taught in a variety of formal and informal Jewish educational frameworks in Israel and in the US, including high school, Hebrew school, adult education, and one-on-one tutoring. She specializes in teaching students in the process of conversion. Rachael writes, edits, and translates for Jewish non-profit organizations and publishers, as well as writing Jewish educational curricula. Rachael has a BA from Harvard University in Religion and an MA from Hebrew University in Jewish Thought. She also studied in the Bruriah Scholars program at Midreshet Lindenbaum and the Advanced Kollel at Pardes Institute. Originally from Sharon, MA, Rachael now lives with her family in Mitzpe Netofa in the Galilee.
Why say brakhot (blessings)? How can the experience of saying blessings shape how we go about our daily lives? In this class, we will focus on a different blessing each class and take a closer look at the language, history, and meaning of that blessing, through the lens of ancient, medieval, and modern thinkers. We will focus on blessings such as asher yatzar, the blessing on going to the bathroom, and borei nefashot, the blessing after eating certain snacks or having a drink, as a way of exploring the meaning of blessings in the Jewish tradition and our lives.