THE JEWISH WAY TO A GOOD LIFE
With former senior rabbi at Sixth & I, Shira Stutman
Author of The Jewish Way to a Good Life: Find Happiness, Build Community, and Embrace Lovingkindness
Wednesday, November 5, 2025, 7:30 PM
Learn how to live with more joy, deeper purpose, and stronger connections as Rabbi Shira Stutman shares how timeless Jewish traditions can help offer inspiration for anyone looking to bring meaning and balance to their everyday lives.
Rabbi Shira Stutman, one of our nation’s most inspiring rabbis, invites Jews and non-Jews alike to explore some of Judaism’s core teachings for living a good life. This rich, accessible, and joyful book cracks open an ancient wisdom tradition for modern readers with relevant texts, humorous stories, and Stutman’s own insightful voice. Open and explore.
― Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi at Central Synagogue, New York City
Presented in partnership with the Konikoff Center for Learning of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.
Free and open to the community.
Pre-registration required.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rabbi Shira Stutman is the senior rabbi at Aspen Jewish Congregation and cohost of Chutzpod!, a podcast that shares Jewish approaches to life’s great predicaments. In 2021, she founded Mixed Multitudes, an organization dedicated to sharing the beauty, power, and diversity of Jewish life. She was named one of America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis by The Jewish Forward.
ABOUT THE BOOK
For as long as Judaism has been a religion, “Jewish” has been a culture. In The Jewish Way to a Good Life, Rabbi Shira Stutman invites readers of every faith — and none — to do chesed (good work), foster tzedek (justice), practice Shabbat (rest), and ultimately find happiness.
From Love and Sex to Mourning and Money, Rabbi Shira visits ten realms where we all get lost on occasion, to deliver spirited, surprising wisdom. On love: Sex is meant to be fun and liberating. On rest: Time is even more sacred than things. Again and again, she reveals how customs have survived not out of obligation but because they meet our deepest needs — from shiva, which allows mourning families not to be OK, to the unbridled joy of dancing the hora at weddings.
For anyone seeking community or simply “something more,” The Jewish Way to a Good Life offers practical, timetested ways to enrich our daily routines and engage those around us. By looking in and reaching out, we can all help tikkun olam—heal the world.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg has served as Ohef Sholom Temple's senior rabbi for 20 years and has been active in local communal agencies, serving on the boards of Jewish Family Services and The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater as well as on the Advisory Board of the Rumi Forum, Hampton Roads Chapter, and a co-chair of Hands United Building Bridges (HUBB). She is also a past president of the Board of Rabbis and Cantors of Hampton Roads. Rabbi Roz was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1996 and holds a Masters in Hebrew Letters from the same institution as. She previously served congregations in Scarsdale, New York, and Baltimore, MD, and has published articles in several books and publications.
PRAISE
Shira Stutman believes that pursuing justice and centering joy can change us and our world. So do I. No human being should be without justice in our abundant world. Each human being should be buoyed by joy that the world did not give, and the world cannot take away. Shira weaves a lovely tapestry of justice and joy in this thoughtful book designed for us all. Read it and get busy weaving in your community. Our broken and beautiful world is waiting.
― Reverend William H. Lamar IV, pastor at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Washington, D
As a Muslim, I found much-needed hope, guidance, and practical advice in Rabbi Shira Stutman’s The Jewish Way to a Good Life, in which she generously shares her community’s wisdom and traditions for a universal audience. This book, born from warmth and kindness, is the sermon we always wanted in Sunday school: inviting, nonjudgmental, uplifting lessons on how we can build resilience, empower our communities, tolerate our obnoxious family members, and resolve to live a life of purpose and empathy.
― Wajahat Ali, author of Go Back to Where You Came From
Thanks to the generous support of the Bartel Family, in honor of their parents and grandparents, Alan & Dolores Bartel, the following accessibility accommodations are available for UJFT's programs (depending on the program location). Accommodations must be requested at least a week prior to the event.
- Interpreting services for Deaf or non-English speakers
- Assisted listening services to amplify sounds
- Preferential seating near a presenter to aid in comprehension
- Sensory fidget tools
- Noise-reducing headphones
- Stand-assist devices
- Audio recording of written materials for the visually impaired
