Our Shared Struggle For Peace
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Our struggles are not with each other; we must unite in the shared struggle for peace
Ariel Tovlev
Oct 166 min read
Return to Your Soul
Different levels of our soul: nefesh, ruach, and neshama; how to keep our neshama pure and bright.
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Ariel Tovlev
Oct 87 min read
To Believe or Not To Believe... an Eternal Question
Rosh Hashanah sermon about belief & disbelief in God
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Ariel Tovlev
Oct 87 min read
The Power of Witnessing
A Rosh Hashanah sermon on the power of showing up in community and bearing witness to each other's pain
124 views0 comments
Ariel Tovlev
Mar 297 min read
Is Our Desire to Create "Safe Spaces" Supporting Segregation? A Reflection on How Communities Protect Trans Children but Avoid Trans Adults
It is not enough to protect trans kids if we are not empowering and honoring trans adults. Much of the transgender rights movement has...
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Ariel Tovlev
Feb 1622 min read
On Race, Diversity, and being B'tzelem Elohim
Stories from my own life on diversity which have taught me about ignorance and efforts to move past it.
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Ariel Tovlev
Jan 319 min read
Humility: the Middah of Anavah
In preparing to apply for rabbinical school, I was meeting regularly with my rabbi. In one of our meetings he prepped me through a mock...
95 views1 comment
Ariel Tovlev
Jan 96 min read
In Support of a Ceasefire
An explanation of why I am a Zionist who supports a ceasefire in Palestine.
431 views2 comments
Ariel Tovlev
Dec 8, 20231 min read
Lessons in Grief Taught by a Teenager
A couple years ago, one of my professors died from an illness we all hoped she’d recover from. The whole college was in mourning over...
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Ariel Tovlev
Sep 15, 20218 min read
When Forgiveness is Not Teshuvah
On Yom Kippur, we ask for forgiveness from those we have wronged, and we grant forgiveness to those who have wronged us. We consider this...
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Ariel Tovlev
Mar 8, 20212 min read
Intersectional International Women's Day
Happy #InternationalWomensDay! I love this Miriam's cup I made with Congregation Or Ami 's family education program Menschify! We all...
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Ariel Tovlev
Nov 19, 20203 min read
A Year After: Remembering the Tree of Life Massacre
It has been a year now since the antisemitic massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. I remember exactly where I was when I...
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Ariel Tovlev
Sep 18, 20202 min read
Mussar Musings for a New Year
Shanah tovah umetukah lekulam! A good and sweet new year for everyone. When I was younger, I thought of teshuva in the traditional sense...
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Ariel Tovlev
Aug 14, 20205 min read
Trans Love is Miraculous
Anyone who has been in love knows how otherworldly the feeling is: the out-of-body feeling of weightlessness, the in-the-body feeling of...
33 views1 comment
Ariel Tovlev
Jun 13, 20204 min read
Anti-Trans Legislation
The government's attempt to roll back trans healthcare protections is personal to me. Between 2014-2015, I spent an entire year trying to...
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Ariel Tovlev
Feb 13, 20203 min read
Advocating for Safety Over Bravery
I hate the term "brave space." I understand that no space can completely be a safe space, and most spaces in the world are not safe...
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Ariel Tovlev
Dec 24, 20194 min read
Living Out Loud
I've been thinking about something lately. I know I talk a lot about being trans. And some people who haven't known me very long might be...
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Ariel Tovlev
Nov 4, 20197 min read
The Life Of Sarah; The Deaths of the Martyrs
I knew rabbinical school was going to be difficult. Ancient and Modern Jewish history, Torah chanting, Hebrew grammar, learning all the...
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Ariel Tovlev
Jun 29, 20192 min read
Chag Ga'avah Sameach -- Happy Pride!
Ze'evi and I went to pride wearing our pride kippot, and I had on a Jewish queer pride flag. Throughout our day/evening, multiple people...
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Ariel Tovlev
May 30, 20193 min read
From One Land to Another
As I pack up my LA apartment to relocate to NYC for the summer, I'm remembering this time last year when I was leaving Israel and the...
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