Category Archives: Kabbalah and Jewish Studies
Yom Kippur Angels and the Dancing Rabbi
It was Yom Kippur-the Day of Atonement- and I was on my way to the first worship of the holiday- Kol Nidre services. Jewish holidays begin and end at sundown. I was walking down West End Avenue off Broadway in … Continue reading
The Matzah of Healing
Passover is a stressful time for those who are alienated from family. I offer a way to deal with this. Passover illuminates the relationship between our very earthbound existence and the divine spiritual presence that is past our human horizon Continue reading
My Travels with the Covid Vaccine and the Prayer that Helped Me
I got my first shot of the Moderna vaccine January 5. As I walked from the vaccine injection booth to the open observation room where I was to sit for 15 minutes to be monitored for a reaction, I felt like I had completed a dangerous journey. I walked through tumultuous waves made of concern, fear, debate, much scientific investigation and even more emotional reckoning and soul searching that had occupied most of my time, awake or asleep for weeks. Continue reading
Candles and Covid
I light 2 menorahs each night of Chanukah. One is the traditional House of Hillel (what we were taught in Hebrew School) way that increases the number of candles each night. The other is according to the House of Shammai that decreases the candles each night. I have been doing this for years. Continue reading
Sukkot- A Place of Our Own
Jewish holidays are multi-layered. They recall our history and speak to current times. The cords of ancient ceremony entwine with modern day. Religious practice has been enhanced with a psychological and wider spiritual dimension which moves us from only a communal to a deeply personal encounter. These meaning-making additions create a relevancy to what we experience far from the sands of our lost Temple. This has created a multi-faceted dimension and significance to celebration that we can access and step toward each month. Continue reading
A Tale for Today
When gratitude is the most difficult to find, it is the time we need it the most. But you can find its grace in this story “The Tent of Gratitude’. Continue reading
Entering the Space Between Us
We would be fools not be afraid. This is ripping every emotional, social, and economic system to its shredding point. But we do not have to lose ourselves to this modern fall from what could be our redemptive amends for all that we have wrought. We can do this. You got this. I got this Continue reading
The Hebrew Month of Av
The Month of Av The summer is at its most high. The sun sits strong and holds court with our patience and ability to go about our days when the earth beneath us sends its heat toward us. The … Continue reading