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Helen Plotkin

Rabbi Helen Plotkin teaches at Swarthmore College and at Mekom Torah, a Philadelphia-area Jewish community learning project. She edited and annotated In This Hour, a collection of early writings by Abraham Joshua Heschel.

  • Book illustration, Yaakov Epter, 1922
    Book illustration, Yaakov Epter, 1922
    Holidays section icon
    The Meaning of the ‘Afikoman’

    And why children point the way toward our future

    byHelen Plotkin
  • John Martin, 'The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,' 1852
    John Martin, 'The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,' 1852
    Belief section icon
    Lessons From Sodom and Gomorrah

    What happened in the ancient cities that drew the wrath of God?

    byHelen Plotkin
  • Belief section icon
    Need a Reason to Repent? The Answer—No Matter Who You Are—Can Be Found Here

    The poem ‘Unetaneh Tokef’ reminds us that we can change our own character, even if we cannot completely control our future

    byHelen Plotkin
  • Belief section icon
    What’s the Point of Passover?

    Do today’s Seders exist to remember the past, or did past events occur so that they could be remembered later?

    byHelen Plotkin
  • Belief section icon
    Our Waterlogged Prayers

    As we endure a season of destructive storms and surging seas, why on earth would we pray for rain?

    byHelen Plotkin
  • Belief section icon
    Kol Nidre’s Conundrum

    How can you enter a day of moral repair with words on your lips that annul your past and future promises?

    byHelen Plotkin
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