04/10/2026
Kinnereth, WOW board member sharing a holiday experience:
On Simchat Torah morning, I was at Or Hadash, the synagogue I am lucky to call my community. I had the privilege of leading the aliyah for all the children, as someone who has been working in our community to create a synagogue where every child who walks through our doors feels that they have a place.
What an honor.
In my last conversation with Anat Hoffman, she asked me why I decided to learn learn the trope marks and be able to read from the Torah.
The answer was actually quite simple: wherever I am, I want to feel that I am a meaningful part of the space I am in. A religious space is no different. I want to feel that I belong, that my voice matters, and that I have the opportunity to contribute and take part in shaping the Jewish tradition I am part of.
There is a reason we invite children to come up to the Torah. They are our future. They are the next link in our chain. And we have a responsibility to teach them that each and every one of them has a place, a voice, and an equal right to choose, participate, and take responsibility for their Jewish lives.
As we approach Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan on October 12, and as Israel heads toward elections, I am reminding myself, and all of us that this is a time to look ahead and think about the future we want to live in, and the future we imagine for our children and grandchildren.
Will it be a future of division, exclusion, and silencing? Or one of equality, freedom of choice, and shared responsibility?
This is the time to step forward and show, with our feet, what we believe in.
This is the time to say that at the Kotel, too, we want equality - for our future, and for our daughters and sons.
