About

Miss Rumphius has traveled with me from my childhood in Los Angeles to my present day bookshelves in Dallas.

It’s my favorite children’s book because the clear message–to make this world a more beautiful place– has been a clarion call, heard originally around the family kitchen table and from the pulpit of my home congregation, Leo Baeck Temple. Along the way, it has sounded louder, not only as a response to our communal realities, but deep within as I’ve journeyed on my spiritual path. It has sounded clearer as I share this path with my love, Rabbi Michael Tevya Cohen. It has sounded with humility and wonder as we raise our two miracles, Eleanora Renee and Jordan Alexander.

This blog began in preparation for sabbatical, and now will continue to be a place to share my journey through battling breast cancer. During my sabbatical time, living amidst the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, I focused on the science and wisdom of trees, understanding more deeply the “roots” of this metaphor in Jewish tradition. I believe through closer observance and new perspectives, through embodied practices and dedicated time for study, there can emerge a deeper sense of responsibility to developmental sustainability and stewardship. I also believe with more understanding of scientific realities, the closer faith and science dance together. 

And finally, we know trees can teach us so much about resiliency through dark winters, about making our way through trauma into the hope and promise of renewal.