Memorable Moment
Dancing ecstatically among friends (for the first time since the beginning of Covid) at the wonderful and insanely talented Idgy Dean’s (AKA Lindsey Sandwald, MDiv ’22) "one-woman mystical rock opera." Jews for Liberation Purim Spiel 2023 (especially sitting in the audience with Mauricio during the dress rehearsal). Community Tea outside on the HDS Campus Green on warm, sunny afternoons. Spiritual Care and Counseling triad with Purnajan and Nate. The guided Interior Castle meditation led by Stephanie Paulsell during our Teresa of Avila class. The guided Cloud of Unknowing meditation led by Stephanie Paulsell during our Contemplative Prayer in Christianity class. Making the Jewish roots of both Simone Weil and Teresa of Avila my soapbox issue from now until eternity. Experiencing my first year of HDS in my bedroom, through a Zoom screen, and still managing to make lifelong friends and write the papers that would anchor my graduate work for the next three years. Leading Morning Prayers at Harvard Memorial Church on the Jewish holiday of Purim and chanting the Book of Esther in Hebrew from the pulpit. During my short sermon I was able to reference the Song of Songs, the Gospel of Luke, medieval Christian mysticism, and the Mesopotamian pantheon in the span of about five minutes.
Favorite Class or Professor
The two professors who have most powerfully anchored my learning here at HDS are Stephanie Paulsell and Luis Girón-Negrón. They introduced me to the expansive and transcendent world of mystical literature and have nurtured my love for and fascination with the contemplative life. I was blessed to take multiple courses with each of them, and through their teaching deepen my spiritual and academic commitment to the transformative, sacred power of reading and writing. My favorite courses were "Contemplative Prayer in Christianity" with Stephanie Paulsell and "Mysticism in Literature" with Luis Girón-Negrón. Honorable mention goes to" Virginia Woolf & Religion" and "Thomas Merton," both taught by Stephanie Paulsell. These two courses grounded some of my most important thinking and writing about religion and literature while at HDS, and their subjects became the focus of my master’s thesis. Last, honorable mention goes out to Annette Yoshiko Reed, who I only just met this last semester. Her course "Ancient Judaism and the Jesus Movement" was incredible, and I recommend taking whatever class she is offering if you ever have the chance.
Message of Thanks
I would first and foremost like to thank my parents who have supported me and guided me since the beginning. Ima and Abba, you have showed me what it means to be a religious person and I strive to follow your example of goodness, piety, and generosity every day. I would like to thank my most beloved college professor Joselyn Almeida-Beveridge, for believing in me and setting me on this path. Thank you to my teachers and mentors at Yeshivat Hadar for grounding me always in Torah, Avodah, and Hesed and providing me with the Jewish lens through which I view the world. I send my eternal gratitude to the extended Project Zug team for getting me through the last few years with generosity, understanding, and lots of laughs. Thank you to my field education supervisors, Haley Schulman and Miriam-Simma Walfish (PhD ’22); our theological reflection sessions changed my life and transformed my work. Finally, thank you to Matt Potts and Stephanie Paulsell, my faculty advisors, and spiritual role models.
What I Hope to Be Remembered By
I hope I can be remembered as someone who was curious and excited about the wide world of religious and spiritual expression that is so bountiful at HDS. I also hope that I am remembered for thinking expansively about what spiritual care and “ministry” can look like.
Future Plans
God willing, I will continue to serve the Jewish community as an educator and spiritual counselor, and more formally as the Associate Director of Teen Empowerment at the Hadar Institute. I hope to find time to ground myself more deeply in contemplative practice after three years of transformative learning at HDS.