Sheila Nesis, at The Blogs

Sheila Nesis

Oct 25, 2022, 9:06 PM

This year, I took it upon myself to be sealed in the Book of Life

Sometimes self-love looks more like going under the knife than getting a massage. To my sisters out there: check if you have BRCA – and take action if you do!

Nov 17, 2021, 5:50 PM

Can Prayer Help Us Be Good Samaritans?

Recently, I have found myself re-reading Rabbi Raymond A. Zwerin’s collection of High Holy Day sermons. Organized in a book called “Forty Years of Wondering” (2006), one of the sermons that continues to strike me was given on Kol...

Sep 2, 2021, 2:52 PM

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Who will live and who will buy… a carpet?

One line in the High Holidays liturgy offers a life-affirming release from the paralyzing confrontation with the inescapable failures of humanity

Mar 15, 2021, 10:10 AM

On being a stranger

On Monday, October 2, 2017, I was summoned to appear for my citizenship interview in Denver, CO. I showed up about 30 minutes before my scheduled time, presented my official appointment notice, passed through security, and moved quickly to...

Sep 25, 2020, 2:22 AM

Ruth’s Song

In early 2016, I heard my colleague Cantor Sheera Ben-David sing a song. The song was about an unexpected, yet real fact regarding the life of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, z”l. “As If I Weren’t There,” with lyrics written...

Jun 2, 2020, 8:27 AM

A Prayer for ‘Trying’

There is a piece of liturgy. It’s not one of the major sections of our worship experience. It’s not the Bar’chu, K’riat Sh’ma or Amidah. It does, however, appear in every worship experience. It’s the Chatzi Kaddish. This ancient...

About Me

Cantor Sheila Nesis isthe Cantor in Residence at Etz Chaim Synagogue in Portland, Maine and the creator and educator of the Prayer Leadership Training program at the Center for Small Town Jewish Life in midcoast, Maine. She has been selected to be part of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s Clergy Leadership Program beginning in January 2023. Her writings appear in various Jewish publications, including The Times of Israel, Kveller, The Forward, and Ritualwell. Originally from Argentina, she lives in Cumberland Foreside, Maine, with her husband and two children.