Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Sacred Month of Ramadan

Posted on February 13, 2025 by Kim Alston
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Muslims worldwide look forward to the start of the Ramadan season, a beautiful time of year for reflection, spiritual renewal, and devotion to Allah. Some of our students and community members at Smith will engage in Ramadan. You will hear many … Continue reading →

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Co-Curricular Opportunities for Jewish Learning

Posted on February 13, 2025 by Kim Alston
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The Talmud in Kiddushin asks an important question: “Which is greater: learning or action?”  The Talmud’s question makes it clear that both have spiritual importance (or it would have been worded differently) but the question is examining the relative importance … Continue reading →

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Mezuzah: How a Jew Marks Liminal Space by Rabbi Bruce Bromberg Seltzer

Posted on March 20, 2024 by Anna Ostow
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The mezuzah is a very important and visible symbol of a Jewish building or room.  It establishes that a space is in some way tied to Jews–by use or ownership.  Mezuzah is a biblical Hebrew word for doorpost but usually … Continue reading →

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CRSL Shepherds a Re-energized Ramadan at Smith

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Kim Alston
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Whenever we guide others on a path or journey, whether spiritual or physical, it is a great responsibility for the appointed leader. The Center for Religious and Spiritual Life holds this sacred role dear to its heart. Students know when … Continue reading →

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Reflections on Peace

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Anna Ostow
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Peace Now: Not the Absence of Tension but the Presence of Justice; Not the Presence of War but the Absence of Weapons By Reverend Matilda Cantwell, CRSL Director and College Chaplain When I was seventeen, I had a purple T-shirt; … Continue reading →

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Introducing the Reflect, Resist, Rejuvenate Lounge

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Anna Ostow
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REFLECT RESIST REJUVENATE LOUNGE We are proud to announce the official “opening” or coming on-line of our Reflect, Resist, Rejuvenate lounge. This room was re-purposed just prior to the pandemic from a reading room to a reading room plus, with … Continue reading →

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2021-2022: The Center for Religious and Spiritual Life Explores Transformative and Disability Justice as Spiritual Practices

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Matilda Cantwell
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This year as Smith focuses on “Democracies,”  we are painfully aware that social injustices were woven into the fabric of our society at its founding. We also find ourselves at a point at which the very structure of democracy in … Continue reading →

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The War in Afghanistan, 9-11, and our Interconnectedness

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Kim Alston
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I thought it was a good idea to bring attention to the handling of the events in Afghanistan by the U.S. military last month through Generating Justice and Joy because it demonstrates the confusion, complexity, complicity, and connection that so … Continue reading →

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Think of Criticalhope as One Word

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Rhonda Shapiro-Rieser
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Critical hope seems at first to be a contradiction in terms–a clash of two universes of discourse.  “Hope” has to do with the experience of faith which inspires vision, which engages us in action and (hopefully) to a sacred, healing … Continue reading →

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Reflection on Cromwell Day

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Kim Alston
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I’m reading a book that I find interesting on the subject of race. It’s called Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life, written by scholar educators Karen E. Fields and Barbara J. Fields. As the title suggests race or … Continue reading →

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