Briah Cahana (she/her) is a rabbinical student at Yeshivat Maharat in Riverdale, NY, in the 2023 class. Her upbringing in Sweden, Toronto, and Montreal enabled her to become a quick adapter to and great enthusiast for new environments, languages, and cultures. Her parents — a rabbi and social worker duo — modeled for her the sacred power of serving the community through spiritual care and social justice with an eye toward ecumenicism, women’s empowerment, and elder rights. During her undergraduate studies at McGill University, Briah co-spearheaded a women’s interfaith group aimed at building trust through art, volunteer work, and ongoing personal conversations. Later, while completing her M.A. in Jewish Studies, she found deep meaning working and volunteering as a doula with MBC – Montreal Birth Companions – providing emotional and practical support for low-income, immigrant, and single-mother women through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. The pandemic has brought Briah into organizing work for elders, disabled folks, and workers in Long Term Care Facilities. After this year, the need for spiritual care for those who are already so marginalized is evident as is the loss to the richness of our communities by continuing to alienate them, consciously or unconsciously. One of her aspirations with her organizing (JOIN for Justice and T’ruah) and rabbinic training is to fundamentally change the discourse around ageism and ableism in our society by centering individuals’ stories and re-integrating the Jewish values of kibbud av v’em [honoring parents/elders], protecting, respecting, and uplifting the voices of our most vulnerable members.
