Today is Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the month of Av.) It's the day the ancient temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. Our sages met challenge of the "center not holding" with creativity and resilience. If it weren't for those rabbis, who created new ways of praying, connecting with the Divine, and gathering together, we most likely wouldn't be here today, as Continue Reading
Mindfulness Practice & Tisha B’av
Although this piece takes off about a particular commemoration in the Jewish calendar, I am certain that the lessons are universal. This article was originally published in a collection honoring the retirement of my meditation teacher, Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg. (FYI — Tisha B’av is what’s considered a minor holiday, and a day of mourning.) YET — because Continue Reading
Life lessons from the saddest day of the Jewish year
On Tisha B'Av - the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av (July 16, 2013) we commemorate and mourn the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples in Jerusalem. For modern Jews, how might we make sense of this? A profound teaching may be uncovered from this little-known day: the fall of the Temple reflects the times in our own lives where things fall apart, where Continue Reading