Julia Knobloch

I wrote this poem after I first visited LA for the funeral of a friend, in March 2016. It would be his birthday tomorrow - and this date also was the day I first visited AJU Campus two years ago.  

This poem is part of my chapbook Book of Failed Salvation, which is already out of the printer and will be available through Ben Yehuda Press very soon! I wrote it last year and it's amazing to think that I happened to be in La Cienega Park today, how things repeat, continue, and change at the same time. Hag Urim Sameach!

It's been a busy week without time to write a dvar but thankfully, Yehuda Amichai wrote a poem on Jacob struggling with the Angel, which inspired me to write a poem that echoes some of his lines. That poem was the first in what became a series of poems that eventually became a chapbook - my new chapbook to be released with Ben Yehuda Press in early December . You can read both here .

There are so many possible divrei Torah in this week's parsha -- from family feuds to a first kiss, from betrayal to armistice. I couldn't help myself but write about place (because I love thinking about places) and what it might have to do with the secrets of our souls . Shabbat Shalom. The map shows Lisbon, whose Latin name, Felicitas Iulia, always felt serendipitous to me :)

  A tad late, but here's a poem for Parashat Toledot . 

 A dream is not a prophecy - or is it? My dvar on this week's parsha is on Substack .

My thoughts for Lech Lecha 5782 on leaving, returning, and keeping a pact: Where Do I Go from Here?

As Sukkot is approaching, I'm grateful that my new poem Date Harvest was published today with the Jewish Journal.

These are some of the thoughts I shared this morning at a shiva minyan, and I'm sharing them here as a brief kavannah as we go into Yom Kippur.  

I had two poems with Ritualwell.org before the holidyas -- Jericho is a short reflection on what can be difficult about the act of forgiving, of making teshuva, and A Narrow Bridge appeals to our courage and trust to return and forgive despite unresolved matters. 

The team at Haggadot.com has included some of my Amidah-inspired poems in their High Holiday booklets -you can find Geulah /Redemption here , and it redirects you to Slicha / Forgiveness.

 I'm giving this dvar about comings and goings tomorrow at the Library Minyan at Temple Beth Am.

I'm honored that my poem 5780 is included in a list of " 18 exquisite Rosh Hashanah poems ", alongside luminaries such as Eleazar Ben Kalir, E.E. Cummings, Mary Oliver, and Lucille Clifton. The poem was originally published on ritualwell.org

An early dvar for this week , albeit a recycled one. The original I gave at the Brooklyn-based minyan and havura Shir Hamaalot two years ago.

I will be teaching a three-part series on "Seeking Forgiveness in the the Month of Elul" for Shomrei Torah Synagogue , starting this Thursday at 7:30pm on Zoom. The first session explores what it means to "fall on our face" (Nefilat Apaim), and the other two are about "The Desert and Forgiveness: What Makes Empty Spaces Sacred?" (August 26) and "Why We Forgive: Choose Life" (September 2) Click here to register !

I recently passed through Mannheim Station and remembered a conversation I had not long ago about this railroad hub as well as the many times I arrived or passed through this station, and I wrote about it here .

A bit delayed, here's a poem inspired by a recent visit to Heidelberg and the parsha last week .  Heidelberg is framed by two mountains, the Heiligenberg (Holy Mountain) and the Koenigsstuhl (King's Seat) - and Parshat Re'eh talks about potential curses and blessings to be pronounced by the Israelite tribes on two opposite mountains, Mount Ebal (curses) and Mount Gerizim (blessings). Most traditions place an altar built by the Israelite leader/conquerer Yehoshua on Mount Ebal, some say it was actually built on Mount Gerizim. 

 

After today's mourning on Tisha B'Av, comfort is on the horizon with Shabbat Nachamu. Parshat Va'Etchanan holds both: Sadness and pleading; promises of consolation and moving on. You can read my dvar here.  (Click Read More to get to the ink)

I've been invited to give the Dvar at Shomrei Torah Synagogue's morning service this Saturday - you can read it here , or zoom in here !  (click Read More to get to the links) חזק חזק ונתחזק                                                 

I co-facilitated a midrashic poetry retreat in the Mojave desert and the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles gave our write-up a home!

I'm thrilled to share that I'm among this year's awardees of a Bruce Geller Memorial Prize/Word Grant from the Institute for Jewish Creativity.  Part of my project involves co-hosting a retreat for liturgical poetry , the first ever Heshbon HaNefesh retreat .

Last week I wrote a dvar Torah for Temple Beth Am's "Taste of Torah", on Bamidbar (May 14, 2021) In the dvar, I mention a new series of poems I've been working on, inspired by a school assignment to create a water ritual. I wrote most of the poems I have so far in the desert, because the deserts are alive, even without water. Below are a few short excerpts.

My first year at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in LA has come to its close. Looking back, in the vacuum of the pandemic lock-down and quarantine, I ended up doing more creative projects than I realized. First of all, my chapbook Book of Failed Salvation was accepted for publication by Ben Yehuda Press - (forthcoming in late 2021) Here's an overview over some teaching/learning and reading events I have been involved in, and things on the horizon: Heshbon HaNefesh Poetry Workshop Tisha B'Av Edition : July 19, 6:30pm PDT Elul Classes on Forgiveness for Shomrei Torah Synagogue Incoming Rabbinic Resident at Temple Beth Am (School year 2021-22) Field Placement with Shomrei Torah Synagogue (Fall semester 2021) Interim poetry editor for Ben Yehuda Press (Current) RECENT ENGAGEMENTS  Reader at the 101 Jewish Poems for the Third Millennium Anthology Bay Area reading, June 13, 4-6pm PDT Panelist:  Ruth - A Case Study in Identity and Community , on Clubhouse and sponsored by O...

The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles published my Yom HaShoa-related poem Wannsee today.

A pre post-pandemic poem I wrote recently and read at Heshbon HaNefesh - A Poetic Accounting of a Pandemic Year is up today with Jewschool .