RSVP for Lunch with Rabbi Wax

Scholar in Residence: Rabbi Pamela Wax
September 2-4
Friday @ 8:00 pm
Saturday @ noon
Saturday @ 7:30 pm
Sunday @ 10:00 am

We look forward to welcoming Rabbi Pamela Wax to Oak Park Temple on the weekend of September 2-4.  In addition to offering two workshops on poetry and including a few of her poems in our Shabbat evening service, Rabbi Wax will read from her new book of poetry, Walking the Labyrinth (Main Street Rag, 2022), dedicated to her brother (and our member) Howard Wax, z”l, beloved husband of Rob Pooley, and father of Sarah and Marcus Wax. Poetry served Rabbi Wax as a healing practice through her grief in the aftermath of Howard’s death in 2018, and she has become passionate about imparting a love for poetry to others. We hope you will join for all or part of the weekend activities.

Preorder Rabbi Wax’s book of poetry and pick up your inscribed copy on Saturday night.

Fri., Sept 2
8:00 pm – Shabbat evening service with Rabbi Wax.  (Also on Zoom.)
Rabbi Wax will be offering the D’var Torah.

Sat, Sept 3
12:00 pm – Lunch (RSVP below) and The Poetry of Psalms
Rabbi Wax will offer an interactive workshop and conversation about the biblical Psalms, with an emphasis on contemporary psalms from poets including Leonard Cohen, Alicia Ostriker, Laurance Weider, and Joy Ladin, among others.

7:30 pm – Walk the Labyrinth with Poet/Rabbi Wax
Rabbi Wax’s discussion of and reading of poems from Walking the Labyrinth will be followed by Q&A and an opportunity to purchase the book if you have not pre-ordered it here for pick-up on Saturday evening. (Email Rabbi Wax at pwax@bcn.net if you want the book inscribed to anyone other than the purchaser or if you want it shipped prior to her visit with us.)

Sun, Sept 4
10:00 am – Jewish Poetry for Heart and Mind: Discussion

11:15 am – Jewish Poetry for Heart and Mind: Generative Writing
Rabbi Wax will lead us through a discussion of a number of modern and contemporary poems by Jewish poets, asking questions such as "What makes a poem Jewish?" and "What makes a poem a poem?” The last 45 minutes will be for those who desire a generative writing component, in which Rabbi Wax will share a couple of writing prompts and leave space for you to workshop your drafts. For experienced and beginner writers alike!
 

Rabbi Pamela Wax has served as a hospital chaplain, congregational rabbi, and as the assistant director for adult Jewish education at the Union for Reform Judaism. She has just retired her position as the spiritual care coordinator at Westchester Jewish Community Services in White Plains, NY, where she ran a spiritual healing center for 19 years, offering pastoral counseling and spiritual journeying opportunities for writers, meditators, and seekers. She has been a devoted teacher and student of Mussar for over 20 years. 
 
Rabbi Wax is the author of Walking the Labyrinth (Main Street Rag, 2022) and the forthcoming chapbook, Starter Mothers (Finishing Line Press). Her poems have received awards from Crosswinds Poetry Journal, Paterson Literary Review, Oberon Poetry Magazine and the Robinson Jeffers Tor House and have been published in many literary journals. Her essays on Judaism, spirituality, and women’s issues have also been published broadly. Rabbi Wax walks labyrinths wherever she finds them and resides in the Northern Berkshires of Massachusetts with her husband Chaim Bronstein. She is the sister-in-law of OPT board member Rob Pooley and the proud aunt of Sarah and Marcus Wax.