Tonight’s question for this 7th night of Hanukkah is: What seven things or experiences bring you joy? Reb Nachman of Bratzlav taught: “Joy is not merely incidental to your spiritual quest, it is vital.” Despite Reb Nachman’s periodic bouts of severe depression, he stressed the importance of seeking joy." Having a regular spiritual practice of Continue Reading
Find Your Place
I remember one clear moment when I knew I had found "my place." In my 4th year of rabbinic school I participated in a 5-day Jewish spirituality retreat.* We studied the Zohar's interpretation of the Torah portion “Lech Lecha." The Zohar, Judaism's mystical interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, has a fascinating read on this text in Genesis. It is in Continue Reading
Love Yourself On The Way To Wholeness
High Holy Day Soul Work, Part 5 As Rosh Hashanah comes closer, our prayers become more urgent, because ready or not, the holy days are upon us. We reflect more deeply on our misdeeds of the past year, and where we have fallen short of being our best selves. Part of the powerful ritual we go through each High Holy Day season is the cleansing of our Continue Reading
Do The Cosmic Turn: Teshuvah
High Holy Day Soul Work, Part 4 The cosmic principle of the entire High Holy Day season is teshuvah - to turn. Unfortunately, it is often translated as “repentance” which sounds severe and judgmental. However, teshuvah actually means “to turn, return, restore.” My teacher, Rabbi Lawrence Kushner writes of teshuvah: “All God ever says is return (teshuvah) to Continue Reading
Prepare Your Soul: Brokenness & Wholeness; Part 2
High Holy Day Soul-Work, Part 2 The overarching theme of the High Holy Days is acknowledging brokenness and seeking wholeness. In last week's blog post, I wrote about how essential it is for each of us to “do our own soul work” during the month of Elul, the month that precedes Rosh Hashanah. Several core stories provide the metaphors we need on this Continue Reading
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