Alicia Jo Rabins on Composing a Life of Meaning
About this episode
Alicia Jo Rabins discusses the moments that shaped her spiritual and artistic life, leading to her work in music and Jewish tradition.
In this episode, Alicia Jo Rabins traces the “red hot glow” of the moments that shaped her, both spiritual and artistic, and how they led her to a life rooted in music, text, and ritual. She’ll tell us how a chavruta (study partnership) with an Orthodox student while at Barnard College paved the way for her to transform her academic study into song in Girls in Trouble. As she details the pendulum swings in her religious and spiritual practices, we discuss the ways in which small moments – watching orthodox women wait for the electric doors to open on Shabbat, watching Titanic – have helped her to build a life and tradition wholly her own. Alicia Jo Rabins is a writer, musician, composer, performer, and Torah teacher. When We’re Born We Forget Everything follows her journey as a modern Jewish woman to owning ancient teachings and finding her own meanings in them, refracted through feminist interpretations of the lives of Biblical women. Alicia has published two award winning poetry collections, a collection of short personal essays called Even God Has Bad Parenting Days, and a children’s picture book called Hallelujah: The Story of Leonard Cohen. Alicia is the creator and…
People in this episode
Host: Tali Rosenblatt Cohen
Guest: Alicia Jo Rabins
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Girls in Trouble, When We’re Born We Forget Everything, Even God Has Bad Parenting Days, Hallelujah: The Story of Leonard Cohen, A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff
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