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Hanna Yerushalmi

Mourning the losses at the Weizmann Institute

Shiva for Science 
Thousands of heart tissue samples,
obliterated.
Unique DNA libraries teeming with stem cells,
evaporated.
Generations of pioneering research,
destroyed.
A $50 million crown jewel of science, 
erased.
In one lab,
three entire floors 
collapsed,
nothing left, 
no data,
no images,
no notes,
no history.
Oh dear rabbis of the Talmud,
where is it written—
how should we  
sit shiva for science?
About the Author
Hanna Yerushalmi grew up in the Midwest, where kindness is a priority and listening is the first step in a relationship. And so relationships became the lens through which she views the world. Over the years, this lens further propelled her to the rabbinate and working in relational life. Hanna is an ordained rabbi and a licensed professional counselor currently working in private practice with couples around issues of intimacy. Hanna lives in Annapolis and, together with her husband, is raising four young adults by teaching them about kindness and the value of listening. She is also the author of three collections of poetry about Israel after October 7th, "Strip of Land,” “October Shiva,” and Let Us Be.”