Extraordinary Ceremony

Dear Sara,

I wanted to get in touch and tell you how extraordinary the wedding
ceremony you did for Melissa and Pete was. My husband has never
cried at a wedding, and he cried at yours. If ever there was a person
who should be paid in the name of religion, it is you. You brought
everyone there to a place of joy, uplift, and sacredness-to feeling love.

I was brought up Catholic and you revealed the mysteries to us so that
we could draw from it. I cannot thank you enough on behalf of the
bride and groom, and for myself. I bless so many couples out there
that they are able to find you.

Regards,

S

Most Exquisite

Dear Rabbi Shendelman,

I was at Clarina and Patrick's wedding, and I didn't get a chance
to tell you this then. It was the most exquisite wedding ceremony
I have ever witnessed. Your manner, both your real depth and light
touch, your words, your singing and speaking voice-are so beautiful.
You were born to do this work, it's amazing.

It is also admirable how you handled the moment with the crying
baby with so much sweetness and the right touch of humor, to keep
the moment from being a distraction. It was touching.

I hope to see you again,

J

Perfect Mix

Dear Rabbi Shendelman,

The service was beautiful, and reflected the perfect mix of religion, spirituality, common ground, lightheartedness and humor. It was moving, inspirational, creative and brought us even closer together. Literally dozens of guests commented on how wonderful the ceremony was and we could not agree more. You have such a gorgeous singing voice and spiritual wisdom that shines so brightly.

We both think fondly (and often) about our wedding weekend. We eagerly await our wedding video to watch it all again. You were a big part of what made it so special.

We could not have been happier with the ceremony, and feel lucky that we selected you and that you selected us. Thank you!

Love,
B & R

Beautiful, Joyous Ceremony

Dear Rabbi Sara,

We would like to thank you so much for officiating our wedding ceremony. Everything was so beautiful and we are very happy that you helped Eugene and I to become one.

So many guests commented on the beautiful, joyous ceremony. We bless you with all our hearts that you remain such a success in bringing two loves together and in all of your personal and professional endeavors.

With love,

V and E

Exceptional, spiritual, moving and profound

Sisters

Karla Gudeon

www.karlagudeon.com

karlagudeon@karlagudeon.com

631-360-0789

Limited edition dry-point engraving

Dear Sara,

I want to send you thanks for your involvement in our ceremony and wedding experience in general. It is hard to know where to begin in expressing our appreciation for you and your work.

Before the wedding, our meetings, phone conversations and emails were all comfortable and exciting. After every one of these interactions, I left feeling so excited about our wedding ceremony and so sure that it would transpire as I imagined. Thank you for all your interest, involvement, input, and inspiration during the preparation times.

On our wedding day, your energy and presence were so calming and warming for me. I loved how you checked in with us before the ceremony and talked to us about starting our relationship anew with a clean slate based on love, about making wishes while walking down the aisle, about being sure to absorb the ceremony experience for at least one moment, and about our soon to be empowered privelidge of sharing blessings for one year. That experience was so grounding and calming that I was able to maintain a sense of presence that I carried into the ceremony.

I loved every element of the ceremony from the bells to the blessings, to the opportunity to say aloud our personal vows, to having our loved ones shout out their blessings, to acknowledging cell phones, to experiencing your smile. Everything was so amazing and remains surprisingly clear in my mind. I feel fortunate to be able to remember and relive this experience.

Again, thank you. Thank you for creating for us such a phenomenal ceremony and experience, thank you for all your love and groundedness, thank you for sharing with us traditions and spirituality, thank you for your humor and sense of the present, and thank you for sharing yourself with us.

Wondrous and Beautiful Experience

Dear Rabbi:

My husband and I so thoroughly enjoyed your wedding service I had to write to tell you! We spoke early on at the reception, just after the doors to the banquet room were opened. We live in LA. I wish you were down here so we could gain more spiritual guidance and fulfillment through your services. When we go up to SF area again we hope to attend one of your Sabbath services.

I am giving your email address and name to friends of ours who live in Piedmont -- they are searching for a new religious worshipping place.

Thanks again for helping to make the wedding event such a wonderous and beautiful experience. We try to live in the white light.

Namaste

Wonderful and Meaningful Ceremony

Dear Rabbi Sara,

We cannot thank you enough for making our wedding the special day that it was. I don't think the ceremony would have been as wonderful and meaningful as it was if we had a different officiant. We believe our finding you to officiate was truly meant to be. You did such a beautiful job and helped bring a deeper and more spiritual meaning to our ceremony. It was so amazing that our non-Jewish family and friends felt so happy about the ceremony, so inclusive.

Even now we are still hearing regular compliments on our wedding. More than a few of our parents' friends and our older family members have expressed that it was the best wedding they have even been to and one of the most beautiful ceremonies. And many of our friends have joked that they would convert to have such a lovely ceremony when they get married--but I know you do just as beautiful a job for your non-Jewish couples.

You became a very important part of our day and we really wanted to share some of the photos with you. We hope you enjoy them and know what a sense of meaning you helped bring to our wedding.

Thank you so very much!

Amazing mother and friend

Dear Ema,

You have been an amazing role model and mother this year.
You have been able to take everything that has happened and
at the end of the day remain cheerful and wonderful. You are
such a strong and incredible woman and I look up to you so
much. Thank you for being an amazing mother and a best
friend.

Love, Aliya

Passover Blessings

As we try to leave our slaveries behind, let us be aware that it is love that makes more love. That our freedom is a hard won thing made of right thinking and right action. We cannot just study the Torah, we must embrace the idea of loving our neighbor as ourselves in the real world. If we make a mistake, we must make amends; make teshuva. Plowing ahead, when we have destroyed people and things behind us, is not acceptable. If we are to do Tikkun Olam, to try and heal the world, singing and dancing will not be enough. We have to do the hard work of communicating well, of listening and seeing the pain of those around us. We have to honor those who have come before. If we do not have each other, who do we have? What is our work worth? All the poetic chat about the glorious dawning of a new day is but as cheap perfume - if there is no heart to reach out to a person in pain, there is no heart.

May we all, here at the narrow places trying to leave slavery, find the courage to blaze a new trail. May the love and compassion that fill us, rule our lives and liberate our hands and our lips. May we go forth to right action, and may this year's matza truly be the Bread of Freedom.

I bless you with really crossing over this Pesach.
You have carried so much and so many across the sea.
Your love is the raft and your brilliance is the sail.
God's love for you is the wind.
May you be filled with joy for the Tikkun Olam you have created and continue to create.
It is my blessing and great privilege to receive some of your joy and light.
I thank the Source of All Being for your presence on my journey.

Appreciative and thoughtful communication

Dear Rabbi Shendelman,

Thank you so much for your understanding, thoughtful and kind
response. It honestly means so much to me that you are not shaming me
for wanting to make changes. That type of love and support is what
has drawn me to Judaism in the past. Your compassion and
generosity of spirit were wonderfully calming for us. Michael and I were
very impressed and are talking about what to do. I have looked at your website,
and it is apparent to me why so many couples rave about you!

Sincerely, Joy


Dear Joy,

...it was really a pleasure sitting with you last night and
I am very happy to hear that it was helpful.

The main thing I want to tell you is that you are doing your
work with this enormous life transition very well. You are right in knowing
that this is very important and not a time to, 'just go along.'

Your wedding is a magic moment that deepens your relationship and
reaches toward the heavens. The blessings do magic. The connection you
make with each other during the ceremony itself, is hugely important.
That is why I am so focused in the ceremony on making sure that the
connection is made.

It matters to both families that they both feel honored and taken
into account in the ritual. Life long loves and life long resentments can begin
at a wedding, and also any time the whole family comes together: Bar Mitzvahs,
Consecrations, Confirmations, and Funerals. Your instincts are right, even if this
just turns out to be an exploration. It opens your hearts to each other even wider.

I feel such a strong, loving, compassionate bond between you. I know you
will have a brilliant life together. And also, the best marriages are when both
people consider their partner's needs slightly ahead of their own. I saw this
happening with you both last night.

I bless you with clarity, compassion, love, joy and peace.
And, of course, the wedding of your dreams.

Rabbi Sara

How Incedibly wonderful

Dear Sara,

How incredibly wonderful that in joining our lives, you joined our life. Thank you so much for the time you spent during pre-wedding "tuning in" and for marrying us with so much love, tradition, and inclusion of our families. We love you, wish you a truly blessed year and can't wait to share many love filled chapters with you.

Much love,

Kindness, positive energy...spiritual wisdom

Rabbi Sara,

Thank you so much for everything that you did to make our wedding ceremony so incredibly special! Your warmth, good humor, kindness and positive energy made our time under the chuppah unforgettable!

You have such a dynamic spirit, a gorgeous singing voice and a spiritual wisdom that shines so brightly! We are very lucky to have you in our lives!

Love,

Reflection of Light

Dearest Sara,

As Jews around the world acknowledge this week as
the Festival of Light, I am made warm and shown the way by the light you reflect.

Moving, inspirational, thought provoking, joyous Ceremony

Dear Rabbi Sara:

Hi, Hello, How are you? Greetings from the beach. Thank you so much for such a great wedding ceremony! Everything went well and smoothly.

Your wedding ceremony was moving, inspirational, fun, thought provoking, solemn, hopeful, joyous and creative. We truly felt blessed on our wedding day. Every single person in attendance really loved your service! One couple told us they wanted to be married again by you!

Hopefully we will see you again soon. Again, thanks for everything.

Exquisite, personal, meaningful and moving ceremony

Hello Rabbi Sara,

I have not been in touch with you in almost two years since you preformed our wonderful and eternally memorable wedding ceremony. Leo and I were married on Jan. 15, 2006 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco (just to give you a context of who I am) and you created for us such an exquisite, personal, meaningful and moving ceremony despite your having a flu and feeling totally sick before hand (which we never would have guessed until you told us days later, and no, neither of us got sick then.)

Anyway, we are at a new milestone in our lives as I am pregnant with a baby boy. He is due in mid-March.

Best Service

Sara,

I feel truly honored to be playing music with people I so highly respect musically and spiritually. I feel very blessed, and look forward to going deeper.

I must tell you about my Dad. He came for Erev Rosh, and he said it was the best Chochmat service he's ever come to. My dad is a notoriously tough customer, particularly in things spiritual, but the fact that he came, stayed the whole night, and then couldn't stop complimenting the "three women that led the service," is a testament to you and others. I, too, thought you did a wonderful job.



May we continue to integrate whatever wisdom is coming in.

thanks again...

Yari

We couldn't be happier

Hello Rabbi,

Yes, we are walking in heaven. Our families loved the ceremony; we couldn't be happier. You were amazing, thank you for everything. We feel very blessed.

All our love,
Brett & Stacy

Rabbi Shendelman welcomes a new you

Rabbi Sara Shendelman invites you to enter High Holy Day services as if you’re arriving at your own wedding—the community as a whole and each person individually are your bride and beloved at this soulful and uplifting journey into the new year.

Let the joy and solemnity of being embraced by your beloved sift down through you, until gratitude and prayer well up in response.

Witness your soul bloom as your voice unties in song with others.

As your defenses and tensions melt away, enter the new year a spirit unprotected, cleansed—opened.

Celebrate the fall High Holy Days
with Rabbi Shendelman and the Chochmat HaLev extended community
Opening to the Beloved

Each year, we gather on the high holy days to pray for blessing in the coming year and to meditate on the deeds of our past. From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, we examine ourselves, scrutinize our role in relationships, question our participation in the community, as well as the global impact of our lives.

This year, what if we choose to grow a little differently?
By opening.

What if we utilize the effort of internal inventory, to simply open to receiving the blessing that’s already all around us?
Life is here—in all its glory and challenge—waiting for us to experience it.

How much can you let in?
I Will Open To You My Beloved
Will You Open To Me

Blessing Ceremony honoring Rabbi Shendelman!

You are cordially invited to attend
the official "Blessing" ceremony
of Rabbi Sara Shendelman
on Saturday
the ninth of September,
two thousand and seven
at
Chochmat HaLev
2215 Prince St.
Berkeley CA 94705

Please join the extended community to share the blessings as Rabbi Gershon Winkler conducts a special ceremony to honor Rabbi Shendelman's anniversary of receiving smicha, recognizing her years of providing spiritual guidance, lighting the hearts, minds and souls of couples, students, new parents, newborns, and all attendees at religious and spiritual ceremonies where she has officiated.

The blessing will occur during Rabbi Winkler's talk "It's 5768--Do You Know Where You Are?" An evening of mind boggling wisdom from the Kabbalah that no one else is teaching, delving into the deeper meanings behind this intensive series of festivals: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Sh'mini Atzeret. Why so many in a single moon? What is it about autumn that makes the harvest festivals so cumbersome? Is there a lighter side to all of this? Come and find out with the rabbi from the far side. This evening is also a preview of Rabbi Gershon's upcoming 4-workshop series Life Cycling: Jewish Shamanic Wisdom of the Seasonal Celebrations, premiering this October.

Enjoy the celebration refreshments in honor of Rabbi Shendelman's deserved blessing.

You are the real deal!

"I am a wedding photographer seeking an officant for friends. In all my years of attending and photographing wedding ceremonies, I have witnessed a wide range and quantity of officiants. Sara, I honestly want you to know that you were my favorite of all those I have ever met. Your weddings are spiritual and bring in strong divine energy. The experience of what you contribute to the couple stands out in my memory as unique and unmatched. You are the real deal."

Preparing for the wedding

Dear Sara,

Here's your copy of the vows. We're each going to forward our individual
ones soon...

You are one of the most inspirational people we've met and can't thank you enough for your time, energy, and spirit you have shown through our few little pow-wows. We both love you and can't wait to see you again.

Thanks for being you

Sweet Seventh Anniversary

[My husband] and I are coming up on our 7th anniversary. I have thought of you so often over the years and each day celebrate the wonder of our wedding and our marriage. You helped us create something amazing.

You were a wonderful guide for us as we stepped forward to prepare ourselves with what and how we wanted our wedding, and with the surprises that came to us on that day and each day after. I mostly wanted to thank you, Sara, for such a precious ceremony for this couple who has deep faith in our marriage, our friendship and each other. Many blessings to you as you have given us!

The Happiest Day of My Life

Dear Rabbi Sara,

Erin and I were both really thrilled with the ceremony you created with us. I'm happy to hear that you got some amazing feedback from guests. I can easily say that the wedding was the happiest day of my life. We recorded the wedding and we enjoyed replaying it on our honeymoon. It was such a special day. Thank you for the essential part you played.

I had heard a rumor that you stayed late into the evening, but I wasn't sure, until now, that it was true. How about that! I'm glad you had a good time. God knows, we did! That sure was a good band, wasn't it?

The whirlwind that has been our life continues, though I think we are approaching the ground again. After the wedding we spent a week in Kauai, then, last Sunday, flew directly to our new home in Seattle. Erin has already started her Family Medicine residency and I am busy unpacking boxes and beginning to think about a job search. This certainly is an exciting time for us.

Thank you for the sweet message. All the best to you.

Thankful for the blessings of your wisdom, generosity and photographic talents

Dearest Sara,

Ed and I are delighting in married life! We think and speak of you often and send you blessings filled with loving, positive energy. Thank you so much more than words could ever express for creating the most beautiful ceremony, providing insights and words of wisdom, sharing the momento copy of our license, and taking wonderful photos.

How can it be that one beautifully sweet soul has so much talent in so many areas?? I know you are a superb photographer. I am so delighted that you were able to capture the special shot of me with my grandaughter, Abby.

It is a blessing to have you in our lives, and we bless you with prayers of happiness and fulfillment. You are loved and treasured, my wonderful friend,

Susan and Ed

Magnificent honeymoon followed Spectacular wedding ceremony

Hi Rabbi -

We just returned from our magnificent honeymoon on the north shore of Oahu last night and are adjusting to reality - it's been a while since we've been in it!!

Our wedding and ceremony were more spectacular than we could have ever dreamed and we are endlessly grateful to you for generously sharing your gifts and bringing such spirit and beauty to us.