Yael Ridberg, at The Blogs

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May 19, 2022, 7:38 AM

Parashat Behar: You Shall Not Wrong One Another

As the news unfolded about the horrific massacre at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, NY, and the 10 beautiful lives brutally ended while grocery shopping, the reporting turned to the shooter's “manifesto," and his hate saturated words. The...

Apr 22, 2021, 9:03 AM

The Mighty Waters of Justice & Love: Parashat Aharei Mot-Kedoshim

This week’s guilty verdicts in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd z”l was a significant moment for our country. So many emotions filled the airwaves of relief and gladness, yes, but also resolve, determination,...

Feb 25, 2021, 6:44 AM

Righting a world turned upside down: Purim & Parashat Tetzaveh

Purim 2020 was the last in-person event celebrated by many Jewish communities around the country before the COVID-19 shutdown. Little did we understand that the essential psychological principle of Purim of hafichut – the reversibility of our world – would...

Jan 21, 2021, 5:40 PM

Parashat Bo: The rituals of American democracy

Wednesday morning, I settled in to watch the inaugural events unfold. I was filled with anticipation and relief that the last four years were over, and a new era was about to begin. I was transfixed watching the guests...

Jan 15, 2021, 7:02 PM

Parashat Va’era: Stubborn resolve for the future

In a letter to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. following the march from Selma to Montgomery in March 1965, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel z”l wrote: “ Even without words our march was worship. I felt like my...

Nov 12, 2020, 1:37 AM

A Woman’s Place: The House, The Senate, and No. 1 Observatory Circle

One hundred years after the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote, 55 years after the Voting Rights Act codified voting protections for Black Americans, and 52 years since Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to...

Apr 24, 2020, 9:23 AM

Isolation to Reintegration: Tazria-Metzora Is More Modern Than We Think

I really hoped I could open the Torah portion this week and not find a connection to COVID-19, the Stay-at-Home orders, or another opportunity to extol the virtues of virtual community. But of course, it’s never a surprise when...

Mar 20, 2020, 1:13 AM

Creating Community in the Time of COVID-19: Vaykhel-Pekudei

It is impossible to count the number of moments this past week where I have seen the creation of virtual communities online in response to the Covid-19 closures and shutdowns all over the world. The multiple musical sing-alongs in...

Nov 7, 2019, 8:46 AM

What Might Have Been If? Yitzhak Rabin z”l and Lech Lecha

Parashat Lech Lecha will always remind me of Yitzhak Rabin, z”l. Living in Jerusalem at the time, I can remember the details of the night Rabin was assassinated the way my parents can remember where they were when they...

Jan 18, 2019, 10:09 AM

Parashat Beshallah: The Harder Road and the Women’s March

The Women’s Marches in 2017 and 2018 were dramatic and proud expressions of a commitment to equality and justice for women, people of color, LGBTQ Americans, and all who have been systemically impacted by the hateful rhetoric that has...

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About Me

Rabbi Yael B. Ridberg serves as the spiritual leader of Congregation Dor Hadash in San Diego, California. In addition to her congregational responsibilities, Rabbi Ridberg serves on the Board of The San Diego Jewish Academy. She lives in La Jolla with her husband and four daughters.