Rabbi Alissa Wise

ritual & lifecycles

I begin by understanding how our Jewish ancestors practiced and believed before integrating what those in front of me believe, think and experience. That means we prepare for a wedding by first understanding our inherited rituals and practices — the sexist and the sublime–and create a ritual that matches the couple in conversation with the tradition. When studying text, we will always contextualize what we read in the social and political experience of our ancestors, and then bring our contemporary sensibilities and commitments into the conversation.

I co-create life cycle rituals with people who are interested in making meaning from and marking time by Jewish traditions, mostly collaborating with those in multifaith, queer and/or anti-Zionist families. I don’t have a cookie cutter approach, and work best with those that want a ritual tethered to tradition yet flexible enough to hold us all.

offerings