Shalom. Peace. Integration. Wholeness. Hello and goodbye—an entire cycle of welcome. A face of the divine, according to the priestly blessing. And part of the name of a holy city. An aspirational name. Jerusalem, Yerushalayim: yerushat shalom, an inheritance of peace. Jewish liturgy is full of prayers for peace. One famous version closes every Jewish…
Category: Jewish Practices
Hanukah's Hidden Light
Hanukah has a clear spiritual meaning. On one level, it’s simple. And, on another, it’s mystical. Winter is a dark time. Daylight is short. Night is long. With just a few hours of sun, we humans don’t get enough vitamin D. So we get a little depressed. We need a lift. Something to substitute for…
Wisdom of Green Hair
Words of wisdom, from my late friend Gwen. “You have green hair.” Of course, I’ll explain. Gwen was part of our life in North Carolina. Back then, we lived “in the buckle of the Bible Belt,” as my spouse Charles likes to say. Our neighborhood was built on the old Billy Graham farm. There was…
Kohelet: Life, Politics, Spirit
What is Kohelet (Ecclesiastes)? It’s a work of existential philosophy, about the meaning of life. A political critique, looking realistically at life under monarchy, and how one can safely resist abuses. And a work of spiritual wisdom, teaching about equanimity under stress. Traditionally, Jews read this Biblical book each fall, during the holiday of Sukkot.…
Whom Can I Accuse?
“Whom can I accuse, of whom revenge demand, when I have borne deep suffering at my own hand?” This whole service video is beautiful—and I especially want to share these first six minutes of teaching and music with you. (Yes, it is me and Charles together!) Thanks to Rabbi Hannah Dresner for coordinating & leading…
Teshuva Builds Community
Social scientists say: People who belong to spiritual communities are happier. Why? More opportunities for connecting. Giving. And learning, through ritual, how to be with others. Including the Ten Days of Teshuvah, a Jewish New Year ritual for healing ruptures between friends and family.
Synagogue Life in COVID-19: Care, Conflict, and Teshuvah
A family friend of ours died this summer, from COVID-19 complications. I was the officiating rabbi at his burial. No tahara, ritual washing of his body, had been permitted. We, a small group of twelve, gathered at the graveside. Each of us wore a mask and disposable gloves. We stood six feet apart. After the…
Shema: Something old, something new
Shema. Deuteronomy 6:4-9. It’s featured in this week’s Torah reading, and in the daily liturgy. It was inside a gift I gave my father before he died. And in one I gave my daughter as she left home last week. More about that, below. Moses says, Shema! Listen! God is infinite being. Love God with…
To see with sad clarity
Towards the end of the Book of Job, Job finally learns to see. He says to God: “Until now, I only heard about you. Now I have seen you” (Job 42:5) What does Job mean? “I heard stories about you, God. But all about things that happened in the distant past, not in the living…
Niggun: Mantra of Calm
What is a niggun? Simply put: a niggun is a wordless melody. But, in spiritual work, it is more than that. A niggun is a melody of the soul. An expression from the heart of the composer. Or a soothing vibration gifted by another. Even, sometimes, a guide on an inner journey. If you’re lucky,…