As we step into a new secular calendar year, I want to share with you that I will be taking Month Three of my six-month sabbatical this January. Many of you have asked what sabbatical time looks like for a rabbi, and the truth is, this month is intentionally spacious. I will be taking time to breathe. To not schedule. To sit without being accountable for anyone or anything other than showing up to my own soul with honesty.
Sabbatical is not only rest; it is restoration. It is the practice of stepping back so that I may return more grounded, more open, and more whole. Our tradition understands this deeply. The Torah teaches, “U’vayom hashvi’i shavat vayinafash”—“On the seventh day, God rested and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:17). The word vayinafash shares a root with nefesh, soul. Rest is not the absence of work; it is what allows the soul to return to itself.
During this month, I will also be participating in the Mahloket Matters Fellowship, a partnership of Pardes and The Jewish Education Project. The fellowship focuses on how we navigate disagreement, especially around Israel, with clarity, compassion, and Jewish wisdom.
We know that conversations about Israel today can feel overwhelming. They can leave us anxious or isolated, unsure of how to speak from the heart without fracturing relationships. This fellowship offers something I have long believed Judaism does best: frameworks for arguing with integrity, listening with humility, and remaining in community even when we disagree.
Our sages teach in Pirkei Avot that there is such a thing as “machloket l’shem shamayim” a disagreement for the sake of Heaven. Such a debate is not about winning; it is about seeking truth together while honoring the dignity of each person at the table. In a polarized world, sometimes even in our own Jewish spaces, this text feels less like ancient wisdom and more like a lifeline.
My hope is that this fellowship will help me return with new tools: to teach, to guide, and to model conversations that are brave rather than brittle. Conversations that make room for complexity. Conversations that remind us we can disagree and still remain one community.
Thank you, as always, for giving me the space to breathe and the confidence to return. Thank you for helping me maintain a sense of balance in my own life, and for partnering with me as we work together to reduce the polarization that too often creeps into our daily lives.
May this new year bring each of us moments of rest for our bodies, renewal for our spirits, and connection, especially in the places where it feels hardest.
With gratitude and warmth,
Rabbi Jodie
