Episode 46: Alicia Jo Rabins
on Composing a Life of Meaning
Alicia Jo Rabins’ Five Books:
1. Pirkei Avot — The Ethics of the Fathers
2. Reading the Women of the Bible by Tikva Frymer-Kensky
3. Japanese Death Poems written by Zen Monks
5. When We’re Born We Forget Everything by Alicia Jo Rabins
The Five Books is a podcast that celebrates the role of books in Jewish culture. Through author interviews, we delve into Jewish identity and discover each author’s favorite novels. Join us every week for new Jewish book recommendations! Some of our episodes have included conversations with Rabbi Sharon Brous (Senior Rabbi at IKAR, and author of The Amen Effect), Yael Van Der Wouden (author of The Safekeep), and Dara Horn (author of People Love Dead Jews.)
For feedback or author recommendations please email us at team@fivebookspod.org
The Five Books is a partner organization of Jewish Book Council, a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying and celebrating Jewish literature and supporting authors and readers.
The Five Books is fiscally sponsored by FJC, a 501c3 public charity.
Hosted by Tali Rosenblatt Cohen
Produced by Odelia Rubin
Editorial and website support by Amelia Merrill
Artwork by Elad Lifshitz of the Dov Abramson studio
Music by Dov Rosenblatt and Blue Dot Sessions.
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 performer of Girls in Trouble, an indie-folk song cycle about the complicated lives of Biblical women. It has an accompanying curriculum and is now being made into an indie web series! She is also the creator of A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff, which began as a one-woman chamber-rock opera and was adapted into an award-winning independent feature film.
Alicia’s Music Played in this Episode:
- Alicia Jo Rabins, “Blackberry Spring,” Sugar Shack
- Girls in Trouble, “Open the Ground,” Open the Ground
- Girls in Trouble, “River so Wide,” Open the Ground
Other Books Mentioned:
- Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
Other Episodes on Jewish Feminism:
- Francine Klagsbrun on Embracing and Reshaping Tradition
- Ilana Kurshan on Books as Blueprints for Life
- Nicole Graev Lipson on the Attention, Intention, and Complexity of Mothers
- Jennifer Weiner on “Women’s Fiction”
- Jessica Elisheva Emerson on Belief, Identity, and Women’s Desire
