This week, a very unorthodox Mother’s Day episode of our podcast. Our Jewish guest is Peninah Lamm Kaplansky, who in 2015 wrote a candid and moving account of her miscarriage, at 21 weeks, and the need for more resources and discussion surrounding infertility and miscarriage in Jewish communities. Our Gentile of the Week is Sister Julia Walsh, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration and a Catholic youth minister. Sister Julia tells us about the painful decision to give up motherhood, something she had always dreamed of, when she entered the life at 24, and the unexpected freedom she found in her work for the church. We also sit down with filmmaker Rachel Myers and her grandmother Roberta Mahler, the director and star of Wendy’s Shabbat, a documentary about a group of seniors who meet each week for Shabbat dinner at a local Wendy’s fast-food restaurant. Rachel and Roberta tell us what they learned about each other while making a film together, Roberta’s newfound celebrity status, and the ways Jewish community can be forged in the unlikeliest places.
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