On the first episode of 2025, I'm joined by repeat guest Joy Ladin. Joy is a widely published essayist and poet, literary scholar, and nationally known speaker on transgender issues. From 2003 to 2021, she held the David and Ruth Gotsman Chair in English at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University.

Her gender transition and return to teaching in 2008 made her the first openly transgender employee of an Orthodox Jewish institution. Joy's experience of being poetically mentored by the Shekinah resulted in the completion of a book length sequence, Shekinah Speaks, published by Selva Obscura in spring 2022, which she joined me to speak about on this podcast in 2023. She's published several other books, including, most recently, a new book of poetry, Family, and Once Out of Nature, selected essays on the transformation of gender. And she is the recipient of the National Jewish Book Award for The Book of Anna.

On this episode, we riff about:

The concept of family, at both the individual and national levels
How our personal narratives help us make meaning in our daily lives
How Joy's understanding of the Shekhinah, the indwelling presence of God typically gendered as female, has shifted since our first conversation in 2023
The role of gender binaries in helping us relate to divinity
Joy's perspective on the historical need for a transcendent God, and how both Jesus and the Shekhinah were responses to His limitations
What the Shekhinah can offer us in this particular moment in time

Notes about this episode:

You can learn more about Joy and all her work at https://joyladin.com/
You can watch mine and Joy's first conversation here: https://youtu.be/XYi7LUiNHJ4
You can also listen to this episode here: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/e1b56ad3-b881-458e-a9e3-e9fb1635760c

And here are a few more details about this show and my work:

If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/
You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.
Please – if you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review, and thank you for supporting my work!
For more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher. To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group, also @hometoher.
And to read about the Sacred Feminine, check out my award-winning book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine (Womancraft Publishing), available on Audible and wherever you buy your books!. If you've read it, your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are greatly appreciated!
Visit www.hometoher.com to learn more about your host, download a free meditation and sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest episodes.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Call of the Fire: A 6 Month Transformational Leadership Program for Women

The Call of the Fire is an intimate, 6-month group coaching program designed to help you experience your true power at a deeper level than you’ve ever known before. While patriarchal systems of domination have taught us that power is about control, hierarchy and the hoarding of resources, through The Call of the Fire you’ll learn that there’s a different, older, more time-tested way to understand and employ power. Once we know this, there’s no turning back. Rooted in the rich, yet largely hidden herstorical and mythological record of the ancient feminine, The Call of the Fire will introduce you to the secret roots of female power we all have encoded deep within us. And via group coaching, experiential exercises and more, help you access these roots to live your fullest, most unfettered life. The program begins with a 5-day, 4-night kick-off retreat on the Big Island of Hawaii October 15-19, 2025. For the following six months, we'll meet twice monthly via Zoom to explore 6 specific aspects of female power; practice accessing and embodying this power in your own life; and drop into deep community with your fellow sister seekers. You’ll also have access to tons of additional learning resources and the opportunity to meet 1:1 with me to clarify your goals and work on specific areas you may need support on. Learn more at www.hometoher.com!

Is Mix Tip YouTube Sabotaging Your Potential?